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Botanical name: Colchicum autumnale
Common name: Meadow saffron, Autumn crocus
Perhaps used by the ancient Egyptians. Herbalists in the Byzantine
Empire are known to have regarded it as a treatment for rheumatism and
arthritis.
The active ingredient, an alkaloid called colchicine, continues to be
used today as a principle treatment for gout.
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"It
is an herb of the Sun, and under the Lion, and therefore you need
not demand a reason why it strengthens the heart so exceedingly.
Let not above ten grains be given at one time, for the Sun, which
is the fountain of light, may dazzle the eyes and make them blind;
a cordial being taken in an immoderate quantity, hurts the heart
instead of helping it. It quickens the brain, for the Sun is exalted
in Aries, as he hath his house in Leo. It helps consumptions of the
lungs, and difficulty of breathing. It is excellent in epidemical
diseases, as pestilence, small-pox, and measles. It is a notable
expulsive medicine, and a notable remedy for the yellow jaundice."
From The
English Physitian (1652) by Nicholas Culpeper
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