colocynthis in honey
Toxicity is reported for this plant. Shown as a historical record for laboratory analysis only — not a preparation to make or take.
Original passage
There is another variety of the wild gourd, known as the “:” this kind is full of seeds, but not so large as the cultivated one. The pale colocynthis is better than those of a grass-green colour. Employed by itself when dried, it acts as a very powerful purgative; used as an injection, it is a remedy for all diseases of the intestines, the kidneys, and the loins, as well as for paralysis. The seed being first removed, it is boiled down in hydromel to one half; after which it is used as an injection, with perfect safety, in doses of four oboli. It is good, too, for the stomach, composed of and . In jaundice seven seeds of it may be taken with beneficial effects, with a draught of hydromel immediately after.
Pliny the Elder, The Natural History of Pliny, Volume 4 (of 6): Books XVIII–XXIII, translated by John Bostock; H. T. Riley (1856 edition) · Book 20, chapter 8 · THE COLOCYNTHIS: TEN REMEDIES. · lines 8427–8438 · passage pliny-nh:b20:c008:001
What the pipeline extracted
- 1PlantProvisionalNot independently validated. Read it as a lead, not a finding.colocynthis“colocynthis”
- 2Use (as written)ProvisionalNot independently validated. Read it as a lead, not a finding.for the stomach“for the stomach”
- 3FormProvisionalNot independently validated. Read it as a lead, not a finding.other“taken in pills”
- 4Fresh or driedProvisionalNot independently validated. Read it as a lead, not a finding.dried“the dried powder”
- 5ProcessProvisionalNot independently validated. Read it as a lead, not a finding.powder“the dried powder”
- 6Solvent / vehicleProvisionalNot independently validated. Read it as a lead, not a finding.Honey“boiled honey”
- PartNot stated in source
- HeatNot stated in source
- DurationNot stated in source
- FiltrationNot stated in source