The herbal materia medica in Greek texts
An underlying concern of all studies of herbal materia medica cited in ancient and mediaeval sources is the reliability of modern-day identifications. Without question, the identification of plants mentioned in historical texts is highly complex and of wider importance too. Given that traditional medical sources can be promising starting points for the development of new therapeutics, the impact of a false identification can be severe. As part of an interdisciplinary research project in humanities and sciences, the British Society for the History of Pharmacy have developed a new methodology based on a multi-step procedure for the identification of plants and minerals in historical texts.
Andreas Lardos who heads the Research Group for Phytopharmacy and Natural Product Chemistry at Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW) in Wädenswil (Switzerland) will discuss the work.
Time: 18:30 GMT
