Herbal medicine in ancient Egypt.
In Ancient Egypt, Civilization was not only the pyramids and tombs, but it included all aspects of human life, health, and well-being were some of the most cared arts by the pharaohs.
The physicians and magicians participated in the field of medical care From a holistic view, they conceived health and sickness as an unceasing fight between good and evil.
Most of the complementary medicine modalities originated from ancient Egyptians.
One of these modalities is herbal medicine, which is the subject we are going to spotlight in this review.
Our comments depended on what Ancient Egyptians recorded in their medical papyri.
Sources of knowledge of ancient Egyptian medical life
A few papyri have survived, from which we can learn about Egyptian medicine:
Edwin Smith Papyrus describes surgical diagnosis and treatments.
Ebers Papyrus on ophthalmology, diseases of the digestive system, the head, the skin, and specific maladies, a compilation of earlier works that contains a large number of prescriptions and recipes.
Kahun Gynaecological Papyrus, Berlin Medical Papyrus, London Medical Papyrus.
Hearst Medical Papyrus repeats many of the recipes found in the Ebers Papyrus.
The Demotic Magical Papyrus of London and Leiden contains some spells for treating physical ailments.
A great deal of our knowledge of Ancient Egyptian medicine comes from the Edwin Smith Papyrus, Ebers Papyrus, and Kahun Papyrus.
The Edwin Smith Papyrus and the Ebers Papyrus date from the seventeenth and sixteenth centuries BCE. These manuscripts are believed to be derived from earlier sources.
They contain recipes and spells for the medicine of a great variety of diseases or symptoms.
They discuss the diagnosis of diseases and provide information on anatomy.
They detail the ancient Egyptian concept of medicine, anatomy, and physiology.
The Kahun Papyrus is a gynecological text that deals with topics such as reproductive organs, conception, testing for pregnancy, birth, and contraception.
Among those materials prescribed for contraception are crocodile dung, honey, and sour milk.
Herbal medicine
Herbs played a major part in Egyptian medicine, the plant’s medicines mentioned in the Ebers Papyrus for instance include opium, cannabis, myrrh, frankincense, fennel, cassia, senna, thyme, henna, juniper, aloe, linseed, castor oil.
Cloves of garlic have been found in Egyptian burial sites, including the tomb of Tutankhamun and in the sacred underground temple of the bulls at Saqqara.
Many herbs were steeped in wine, which was then drunk as oral medicine.
Egyptians thought garlic and onions aided endurance and consumed large quantities of them. Raw garlic was routinely given to asthmatics, and those suffering from bronchial-pulmonary complaints.
Onions helped against problems in the digestive system.
Garlic was an important healing agent then just as it still is to the modern Egyptian and most of the people in the Mediterranean area.
Fresh cloves are peeled, mashed, and macerated in a mixture of vinegar and water.
This can be used to gargle and rinse the mouth, or taken internally to treat sore throats and toothache.
Coriander leaves were usually added fresh to spicy foods to moderate their irritating effects. Cumin, Cumin cyminum is an umbelliferous herb indigenous to Egypt.
The seeds were considered to be a stimulant, and convincing against flatulence they were frequently used together with coriander for flavoring.
Cumin powder was mixed with some wheat flour as a binder and a little water were applied to relieve the pain of any aching or arthritic joints.
Tannic Acid emanating from acacia seeds commonly helped for cooling the vessels and heal burns.
