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Friday 9 February 2018

Colchicum genus in the writings of ancient Greek and Byzantine physicians.

Curr Pharm Des. 2018 Jan 14. doi: 10.2174/1381612824666180115111546. [Epub ahead of print] Tsoucalas G1, Papaioannou T2, Panayiotakopoulos G3, Saridaki Z4, Vrachatis DA5, Karamanou M1. Author information 1 University Institute of History of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Claude Bernard Lyon 1 University, Lyon. France. 2 Biomedical Engineering Unit, First Dept. of Cardiology, Hippokration Hospital, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens. Greece. 3 Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, University of Patras, Patras. Greece. 4 Laboratory of Tumor Cell Biology, Medical School, University of Crete, Heraklion. Greece. 5 Department of Cardiology, Athens General Hospital "G. Gennimatas," Athens. Greece. 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. KEYWORDS: Colchicum; Ephemeron; Hermodactyl; ancient Greek medicine; toxicology. PMID: 29336250 DOI: 10.2174/1381612824666180115111546