Outdated Herbal Remedies Trivia Quiz

Answer: Cucumber

What is now known as Ecballium elaterium, or commonly the squirting cucumber, is a wild species of cucumber that is native to the Mediterranean region. As its common name implies, the fruit of this plant, if handled when ripe, explodes, squirting out its seeds and juices which could be harmful if coming into contact with the eyes. For this reason the Romans typically harvested the fruits before they reached maturity, left them to rest overnight and cut them open the following day. The seeds were preserved in ash until required and from these the juices were squeezed and collected in beakers of fresh rainwater to which they they would sink to the bottom. The beakers were then left in the sun for the liquid to thicken from which lozenges were made.

When mixed with other ingredients, these lozenges could be taken either orally or ground to make poultices and ointments, such as in the case of the freckle remover. It was believed that a concoction made with water would cure lumbago, one made with a woman's breast milk would cure malaria and when mixed with honey and water it was a cure-all for ailments of the liver. For women, ingesting elaterium could induce menstruation but also cause an aborted pregnancy.

Aside from its supposed medicinal benefits, folklore suggested that a seed from this cucumber which had not touched the ground would increase a woman's chances of conception if it was fastened to her body and also, that if a seed were wrapped in lamb's wool and fastened to her loins during childbirth without her knowing, then her labour would be easy.

Answer: Snakes

The Romans put great faith in the abilities of the radish as a snake repellent, particularly against the species known as the horned viper. They believed that smearing the juices or rubbing the seeds of this vegetable onto the skin would deter said snake from biting those who came into contact with it. If a person was unfortunate enough to be bitten, the radish was also seen as being effective in counteracting the venom of not just snakebites, but also the sting of scorpions. A scorpion itself could supposedly be killed by placing a radish on top of it.

The radish was believed to have a number of medicinal benefits. Wine infused with the skin of the radish and drunk in the morning was said to break-up and eliminate gallstones, roasted seeds were chewed to cure coughs and asthma and a decoction of radishes and vinegar was used to treat intestinal worms. Amongst the more bizarre claims was that a woman could cure pains in the womb by placing a radish on her navel and that rubbing one on her head would cure her of hair loss.

Answer: Asparagus

Let's get one thing straight before proceeding; there is no suggestion that spears of asparagus should be taken in any other way but orally to induce movement of the bowel. The recommended preparation was to cook the asparagus in wine to which was added cummin for use as a mild laxative. The same was used to dispense flatulence, improve the eyesight and relieve pains in the chest and spine. Equal quantities of asparagus seed and cummin in a liquid concoction, or alternatively the ground root in wine, were used for pains in the loins and kidneys. Toothache was treated with the juice of the root that had been boiled in wine being applied to the mouth.

Probably more to do with its phallic shape than anything else, asparagus (particularly the white variety) was also considered an aphrodisiac. The water that the asparagus had been boiled in was drunk to increase one's lustful desires. Canines were not so fortunate however as this same water was believed to be lethal to dogs. Perhaps the most bizarre claim of the powers of asparagus belongs to that which states a person applying pounded asparagus mixed with oil to their body would never be stung by bees.

Answer: Aphrodisiacs

By translating 'Ars Amatoria' from Latin to English you get 'The Art of Love', Ovid's tongue-in-cheek guide (mostly for men) on how to find, seduce and keep a woman. So, plants with aphrodisiacal properties were more likely to be mentioned in it than those that induce or mask unpleasant bodily functions and odours. The following is a translation from the English poet James Michie who translated many of the works of the ancient Roman poets.

'Eat white onions from Megara, the hot
Sexy rocket from your garden plot,
Hymettus honey, eggs, the nuts that fall
From the needle pine...'

But before offering these, Ovid also named some other supposed aphrodisiacs that were to be avoided owing to their potential for being injurious to the health.

'Some recommend the use
Of aphrodisiacs such as savory juice
(Believe me, it harms you and it's vile)
Or pepper mixed with nettle-seed, or camomile.'

Answer: Stinging nettles

The stinging nettle belongs to the plant genus Urtica whose name is derived from either uros or urere, both being Latin words for 'to burn', hence the term urtification. Those of you who have been stung by this nettle would know too well that it is a very uncomfortable sensation. This is caused by the hollow needles on the plant which, when contact is made with them, inject a mixture of formic acid and other chemicals into the skin. Roman soldiers saw this as an effective way to stave off the cold of winter. They would rub the nettles onto the body, particularly the hands and legs, to warm it.

As another remedy that is not without its merits, stinging nettles were used to treat people suffering from rheumatic pain in the joints. Again, the nettles were placed on the skin at the location of the pain and the warming effect brought relief to the sufferer. But spare a thought for the impotent Roman gentleman who would endure having nettles applied to his penis with the promise of it helping him to achieve an erection. OUCH! I'd rather be celibate.

Answer: Gladiators

It's most likely that all four options ate parsley at one time or another, but it has been recorded that gladiators were supplied with parsley to chew before stepping into the arena to fight. Whether there is any credence to the supposed power of parsley in the sense of bringing courage to a person or that it was based on folklore and myth and therefore more of a placebo is open to conjecture. The Romans certainly did believe it had some special qualities however. Sprigs of parsley were placed in containers of milk to stop it from curdling and were also thrown into ponds with sick looking fish in the belief that it would rejuvenate them. There was also the practice of wearing upon the head a crown of parsley stems to protect oneself from excessive consumption of alcohol.

Amongst its medicinal uses were included an ointment made from the foliage to relieve hardness of the breasts and the same mixed with honey for ailments of the eyes. The juice of the roots were mixed with wine and administered into the ear canal for those hard of hearing. The pounded seeds prepared with wine were used for jaundice, the breaking up of bladder stones and to ease painful urination and menstruation. Gladiators who were fortunate enough to survive their bouts could also have benefited from the seeds. A poultice made from these and applied to the skin was used to restore bruises to their natural colour, and one made from the pounded leaves to arrest the flow of blood from wounds of the limb.

Answer: Chickpeas

Hummus is a 'dip' type food from the Middle East, the main ingredient of which is chickpeas that have been boiled so as to soften them for mashing. The water that chickpeas had been boiled in was recommended to be drunk by lactating mothers so as to increase the flow of breast milk. The water that had been used to cook barley was believed to have the same effect. Other remedies included drinking the freshly squeezed juice from the berries of the chaste tree and a detoction made from the flowering perennial hollyhock.

There were benefits in consuming the chickpeas too, not just the water they were boiled in. Epilepsy, jaundice, fluid retention, swollen liver and inflammation of the testicles were all said to be remedied by chickpeas and if taken with honey they would cure gangrenous sores. Folklore also recommended the removal of warts by touching them with a single chickpea at the time of a new moon. The chickpea was then to be tied in a linen cloth which the person was required to throw behind themself.

Answer: Halitosis

Pliny prescribed this recipe for what he termed "offensive breath" in his multi-volume work 'Natural History.' He called for equal quantities of leaves from the myrtle and mastic trees and a half quantity of gall-nuts. All three were pounded together and sprinkled with old wine and given in the morning to be chewed by those with bad breath. Another decoction he recommended was beating equal quantities of ivy berries, cassia and myrrh and again sprinkling with wine and taken orally.

Pliny might not have been far off the mark when prescribing mastic. Although he only mentioned the leaves, the resin from this Mediterranean native had been harvested and dried for use as a chewing gum by the ancient Greeks. So too Sultans of the Middle East saw its benefit as a breath freshener when chewed. In a study conducted in 1995, researchers at the University of Thesaloniki found a reduction of more than forty percent of bacterial plaque in the mouth through the use of mastic resin.

Answer: Cypress

The pounded leaves of the cypress were added to pearl barley and applied to the heads of patients who were suffering from headache associated with sun exposure. On their own, leaves were applied to fresh wounds of the flesh, and when mixed with wax were used as an ointment to relieve swelling of the testicles. A concoction of one part leaves to two parts soft bread was kneaded in wine and applied to the feet to relieve pain and tiredness.

The oil of the cypress was also harvested and, when taken orally with other liquids, was seen as beneficial to snake bite and hernias as well as dispersing tumors. The pounded roots and leaves were taken with drink as a curative for problems of the bladder as well as an anti-venom for bites from spiders.

Answer: Pedanius Dioscorides

Greek by birth, Dioscorides was a travelling physician with the Roman legions during the reign of Emperor Nero. This enabled him to learn of the herbal remedies that other peoples used from the plants that were common to their regions. This in turn led to him writing the five volumes that comprised 'De Materia Medica' around the second half of the first century. It was a pharmacopoeia listing and describing plants that were believed to be of medicinal benefit, and the methods to be followed in their preparation and administering. This work was held in such high regard that it was still referred to until the seventeenth century.

Along with the work of Dioscorides, I have also relied on Pliny's 'Natural History' whilst researching for this quiz. This thirty-seven volume work from the latter half of the first century also contains many sections that discuss the medicinal uses of various plant species.

Catullus was a poet from the first century B.C. whose works were often of an erotic nature and Procopius was a historian during the reign of Emperor Justinian in the sixth century. Charlatanus Quackius is an entirely fictitious name, but if you do come across a doctor answering to such, walk the other way.