A history of Aloe vera

Aloe vera - FOCUS February 2017 at the History of Pharmacy Collection in Cluj-Napoca

The plant Aloe barbadensis or Aloe vera has a long history of medicinal use, for over three millennia. The Egyptians first used it to treat sun burns and intestinal parasites. In the sixth century the Arabs used it as laxative. Dioscorides recommended Aloe vera in afflictions of the digestive tract, of the mouth and of the skin. Aristotle presumably suggested Alexander the Great to conquer the island of Socotra, where aloe was cultivated, in order to ensure its constant supply. It seems that the plant was the secret ingredient in Cleopatra’s beauty treatments. Aloe was also popular among the Romans, described by Pliny the Elder in his famous book Naturalis Historia.

 Apothecary jars for aloe used in Baia Mare (present-day Romania)

For a long time, between the sixth century B.C. and 1673, the plant was only cultivated on the island of Socotra, east of Africa (today part of Yemen), reason for which one of its names was Aloe Succotor or Succotrina. In the seventeenth century the English started to import it from the Barbados Islands, calling the species Aloe Barbadensis.

Wooden apothecary jar for aloe from the Unicorn Pharmacy in Cluj-Napoca

          The History of Pharmacy Collection in Cluj-Napoca includes five jars for aloe, either as extract or powder. All of the items are dated to the nineteenth century and were used in various pharmacies: Baia Mare (the wooden jars inscribed PULV ALOES and ALOE), Cluj – the Unicorn pharmacy (the wooden jar with the signature ALOE SUCCOTOR), Tuda – the Velits pharmacy (the ceramic jar inscribed EX ALOES AQ) and Oradea – The Golden Cross pharmacy (the wooden jar marked ALOES LUCIDA – containing transparent or glassy aloe). These jars and a sample of the plant are exhibited in February part of the thematic display FOCUS - exhibit of the month.

Pharmaceutical jar for glassy aloe from Oradea

Ceramic jar from the old apothecary shop in Turda, near Cluj

Henbane as apothecary ingredient

Hyoscyamus niger, or Henbane, is a plant with all parts used medicinally for their multiple effects: sedative, psychoactive, antineuralgic, antispasmodic, anesthetic, and soporific. Though recommended against nervous agitation and various types of pain, the plant is toxic in high doses. Its pharmaceutical use was similar to that of opium, though it was weaker and did not cause constipation.

Henbane has a long history of use. The earliest was probably during the Neolithic, in magic fumigations and drinks that caused visual hallucinations and a sensation of flight. It is mentioned by Discorides, in his list of Dacian plants. Pliny the Elder talks of Herba Apollinaris, that some have equated with Henbane: the ancient Greeks believed that god Apollo himself discovered the plant and offered it to Aesculapius; it was also consumed by the priestesses of Apollo in his temple at Delphi in order to enter into a trance and prophesize.

In the old pharmacopoeias and natural medicine, the plant is recommended in various afflictions, among which tooth aches, when leaves or seeds of Henbane were fumigated into the patient’s mouth or turned into a concoction that he/she held in the oral cavity. It was also used in ophthalmology, since it dilates the pupils and contains atropine.

The History of Pharmacy Collection in Cluj-Napoca, Transylvania, includes eight jars, dated to the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, for the preservation of various products made of Henbane: extracts, seeds, oil. The jars (made of wood, glass, porcelain, glazed pottery) have been used in pharmacies from Cluj-Npoca, Turda, Baia Mare, and Iaşi.