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Lettuce, 'Lactuca sp.', as a medicinal plant in Polish publications of the 19th century

100%
Trojanowska A.
Kwartalnik Historii Nauki i Techniki
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2005
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vol. 50
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issue 3-4
123-134
EN
Mentions of lettuce (Lactuca sp.) that have appeared since antiquity contained similar information on its curative properties, but such properties were ascribed to different species or varieties. Apart from the wild and poisonous lettuce, also garden or common lettuce were identified as having curative action, and some publications lacked information enabling the precise identification of the lettuce in question. In the 19th century, attempts were made to put some order into the knowledge of lettuce as a medicinal plant. Information on lettuce, contained in Polish medical studies of the 19th century, points to the poisonous species 'Lactuca virosa' and the common or garden lettuce 'Lactuca sativa v. Lactuca hortensis', as being used as a medicinal plant. In that period, lettuce and especially the desiccated lactescent juice obtained from it, ' lactucarium', were considered to be an intoxicant, and were used as a sedative and an analgesic. The action of the substance was weaker than that of opium but free of the side-effects, and medical practice showed that in some cases 'lactucarium' produced better curative effects than opium. To corroborate those properties of lettuce and its lactescent juice, studies were undertaken to find the substance responsible for the curative effects of the juice. However, such studies failed to produce the expected results, and the component responsible for the curative properties of letuce was not identified. Medical practice thus had to restrict itself to the uses of the desiccated lactescent juice and extracts obtained from it. The possibility of obtaining 'lactucarium' from plants cultivated in Poland caused Polish pharmacists and physicians to take an interest in the stuff and launch their own research of lettuce and the lactescent juice obtained from it. Results of research on lettuce were published in 19th-century journals by, among others, Jan Fryderyk Wolfgang, Florian Sawiczewski and Józef Orkisz.
2
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KOUMISS AND KEPHIR AS FOODSTUFFS AND MEDICINES. DISCUSSIONS IN POLISH MEDICAL JOURNALS OF THE SECOND HALF OF 19th CENTURY

100%
Trojanowska A.
Analecta. Studia i Materiały z Dziejów Nauki
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2006
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vol. 15
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issue 1-2(29-30)
293-308
EN
Beverages based on fermented milk began to attract the attention of official medicine in the second half of the 19th century, first in Russia but later also in the lands of Poland and in Germany. Using observations of the practices of ethnic groups in southern and eastern Russia, where koumiss or kephir were traditionally consumed, it was concluded that the beverages could be effective in treating tuberculosis and diseases of the alimentary tract. At the same time, a number of studies were undertaken to establish the chemical composition and the curative properties of koumiss and kephir and to investigate the processes of milk fermentation. The research soon revealed that those beverages did not contain any specific ingredient that would be effective in treating tuberculosis. It was noted, however, that beverages based on fermented milk could be an effective supplement in treating a number of diseases that led to the emaciation of the body. Polish scientists were among the first to take an interest in the curative properties of koumiss and kephir, and to start research on the two beverages. This is testified to by a number of papers published in the period of 1860s -1880s in Polish medical journals. The uses of koumiss and kephir in medicine were discussed in publications by, among others, E. Milosz (1868), Wiktor Jagielski (1871) and Boleslaw Lutostanski (1872); the chemical composition, microflora and fermentation processes were discussed in works by Aleksander Weinberg (1869), Franciszek Fijalkowski (1875), M. Heilpern (1886) and Leon Nencki and Aleksander Fabian (1887).
3
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POLISH COCHINEAL (PORPHYROPHORA POLONICA), KERMES AND COCHINEAL (DACTYLOPIUS COCCUS) - INSECTS AS DYEING AND MEDICINAL RAW MATERIALS IN POLISH NATURALIST WRITING UNTIL THE 19TH CENTURY

100%
Trojanowska A.
Analecta. Studia i Materiały z Dziejów Nauki
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2008
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vol. 17
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issue 1-2(33-34)
15-31
EN
Dye-providing insects, and especially the Polish cochineal (Porphyrophora polonica) and cochineal (Dactylopius coccus) used to feature prominently in the work and writings of Polish naturalists. Originally they were viewed only as dyeing raw materials, used for the dyeing of fabrics, cosmetics and medications. Because of their intense red colour, similar to the colour of blood, they were also attributed with curative properties. As medicinal and dyeing raw materials, they were described in works published in the 16th and 17th centuries, including the 'Herbarz' (Herbal) by Marcin of Urzedów, and the 'Zielnik' (Herbal) by Szymon Syreniusz, as well as in the 'Observatio' by Marcin Bernitz. A major problem at that time consisted in identifying the nature of those raw materials, which were frequently in the form of desiccated grains and not always associated with insects. In the 18th century, research by naturalists, among them Johann Philipp Breyne of Gdansk (Danzig), made it possible to explain the life cycle and the sexual dimorphism of the Polish cochineal. At the beginning of the 19th century, attempts were made to reintroduce the Polish cochineal in the dyeing industry. In 1803, the Society of the Friends of Sciences in Warsaw set a prize for the best work on the breeding and uses of the Polish cochineal. In the 19th century, there was also research on the chemical composition of dye-providing insects. Studies on the dyes of the Polish cochineal that were launched in Poland at that time, in which Adam Kitajewski played an important role, marked a major step in gaining knowledge of the complex nature of the structure of the compound of the so-called animal chemistry.
4
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TRADITIONAL BELARUSSIAN HERBAL MEDICINE IN MICHAL FEDEROWSKI'S STUDY: 'LUD BIALORUSKI NA RUSI LITEWSKIEJ ...'

100%
Trojanowska A.
Analecta. Studia i Materiały z Dziejów Nauki
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2007
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vol. 16
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issue 1-2(31-32)
7-53
EN
Michal Federowski's study entitled 'Lud bialoruski na Rusi Litewskiej' (The Belarussian People in Lithuanian Ruthenia) was the result of more than a dozen years of the field research he conducted in so-called Lithuanian Ruthenia. In 1889, Federowski had been commissioned by the Anthropological Committee of the Academy of Learning to draft a comprehensive ethnographic description of the region, and in 1897 he produced the first volume of 'Lud bialoruski...', in which he included, among other things, materials relating to traditional folk medicine. The current paper is an attempt to provide an analysis of the materials on folk medicine collected by Federowski, and in particular to assess the substances used in it, from the perspective of contemporary pharmaceutical knowledge, as well as to look for other, non-empirical and non-practical considerations underlying the use of some medicinal plants. A comparison of the plant descriptions by Federowski with contemporary knowledge and current uses of such plants in herbal medicine shows that the Belarussian folk medicine relied mainly on plants whose composition and curative properties have been well confirmed by contemporary research: mint, thorn apple, nightshade, poppy, and hemp. Apart from the above plants, Federowski's descriptions also included species whose use in traditional folk medicine differed from that recommended in contemporary herbal medicine (e.g. plants used for fumigations), or whose composition and action remain rather poorly investigated or totally unexplained. The number of such plants is much smaller, and they may provide material for further research. Especially noteworthy among such plants are those that played a key role in folk medicine and which were attributed with special properties, e.g. adder's tongue or quaking grass. These plants functioned in the traditional lore and folk culture not only as curative agents but also as objects of beliefs, legends, and songs, which endowed them with an additional spiritual dimension and frequently had a decisive role for their medicinal use.
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