Colchicum Genus in the Writings of Ancient Greek and Byzantine Physicians

Title:Colchicum Genus in the Writings of Ancient Greek and Byzantine Physicians

Volume: 24 Issue: 6

Author(s): Gregory Tsoucalas*, Theodoros Papaioannou, George Panayiotakopoulos, Zenia Saridaki, Dimitrios A. Vrachatis and Marianna Karamanou

Affiliation:

• University Institute of History of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Claude Bernard Lyon 1 University, Lyon,France

Keywords: Colchicum, ephemeron, hermodactyl, ancient Greek medicine, toxicology, herbal medicine.

Abstract: The plants of the Colchicum family were known during the archaic period in Greece for their deleterious properties. Later on, they were used for the treatment of podagra. The treatment was introduced by the ancient Greek physicians and passed on to the Byzantine and Arabian physicians to endure until nowadays. The first plant was most probably named "Medea" from the notorious Colchican witch. As the most common member of the family blossoms in autumn, the plant was named Colchicum autumnale. Various nominations were also used, such as Ephemeron, Hermodactyl, Anima articulorum and Surugen. Our article discusses them, while at the same time presents the most notable authorities who have used Colchicum plants in herbal medicine and toxicology.

Cite this article as:

Tsoucalas Gregory*, Papaioannou Theodoros, Panayiotakopoulos George, Saridaki Zenia, Vrachatis A. Dimitrios and Karamanou Marianna, Colchicum Genus in the Writings of Ancient Greek and Byzantine Physicians, Current Pharmaceutical Design 2018; 24 (6) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/1381612824666180115111546