Notes on Medicinal and other uses of plants in Egypt

The discovery of Capparis spinosa L. (Capparidaceae) in the Yanghai Tombs (2800 years b.p.), NW China, and its medicinal implications

“…Fruits and root bark were used to treat sciatica and spleen disease Rivera et al (2003) Dioscorides Ancient Greek 1st century Fruits and root bark were used to treat spleen disease, expels urine and bloody excrement, help the sciatica, good for ruptures and convulsions, drive out the menstrual discharge and the mucus from the head; root bark and leaves were used with honey were used for cleaning ulcers; fruits, root bark or seeds in vinegar for toothache; roots bark was used for taking away white vitiligo spots; root and leaves kill worms in the ears or as analgesic for ear ache Rivera et al (2003) Assaph Ancient Egypt 6th century Roots were used to treat all kinds of pains, women afflictions, insanity, and worms in the ears. It was also used as a diuretic drug, to cure the kidney and mouth sores, to treat rotting teeth and gums, scorpion stings, wounds and stomach problems, and also to accelerate menstruation Muntner (1969) Al-Kindi Ancient Arab 9th century Root skins were used to bandage the spleen, cure hemorrhoids, and dispel bad odors spirits Ibn Sina (1877) Pickled in salt water or vinegar as a condiment; also used in diverse plates of pasta, fish or meat Hill (1952), Uphof (1968), Inocencio et al (2000) Egypt (Ducros, 1930) Convulsions Fruits, root bark Ancient Greek (Rivera et al, 2003) Cough Fruits, leaves Arabs of Israel (Palevitch et al, 1985) Ancient Xinjiang, China (Anonymous, 2005a) Somali (Thulin, 1993) Diabetic Fruits Arabs of Israel (Palevitch et al, 1985); Fez-Boulemane and Tafilalet regions of Morocco (Jouad et al, 2001;Eddouks et al, 2002) Diuretic Root bark, fruits Ancient Babylonia (Ibn al-Baytar, 1874; Levey, 1966); ancient Egypt (Muntner, 1969); ancient Roma and Greek (Rivera et al, 2003) Iraq (Al-Rawi and Chakravarty, 1964); India (Kiritikar and Basu, 1987) Dispel (Osborn, 1968;Levey, 1978;Goodman and Hobbs, 1988 (Palevitch et al, 1985) Egypt (Ducros, 1930) Infertility Roots Arabs of Israel (Palevitch et al, 1985) Insanity Roots Ancient Egypt …”

“…India (Kiritikar and Basu, 1987) Kidney disease Roots Ancient Arab (al-Antaki, 1935); ancient Egypt (Muntner, 1969;Ben-Maimon, 1971) Leg pains/thigh sinew Plant Ancient Andalusia (Ibn al-Baytar, 1874); ancient Babylonia (Ibn al-Baytar, 1874; Levey, 1966) Entire plants Iran (Hooper, 1937) Mucus Roots, fruits Uigurs of China (Anonymous, 2005a,b) Ancient Egypt (Muntner, 1969); ancient Xinjiang, China (Anonymous, 2005a) Muscle pains Fruits Sinai Bedouins (Osborn, 1968;Levey, 1978) Mumps Egypt (Ducros, 1930) Nerve illnesses Leaves Arabs of Israel (Palevitch et al, 1985) Paralysis…”

Pests in an ancient Egyptian harbor

“…1 cm large and containing a single seed. Humans and animals eat fruits and young plants (Sudhersan et al, 2001), and a sweet concentrate made from the red drupes that produces a pleasant drink when diluted with cool water is consumed in Egypt (Osborn, 1968). Both seeds and fruits are consumed by Bedouins and animals in Sinai and the Negev (Bailey and Danin, 1981).…”

“…Inside the fruit is a white seed that is very hard when ripe and often compared to ivory. The nutritious pulp is the primary food source of this fruit and can be chewed, soaked in water, or ground into flour and mixed with water (Osborn, 1968). Baboons readily eat the doum palm fruit pulp (Manniche, 1989;Murray, 2000).…”

“…Both seeds and fruits are consumed by Bedouins and animals in Sinai and the Negev (Bailey and Danin, 1981). The dried leaves were used in tea in traditional medicine in Egypt (Osborn, 1968) and in Israel (cf. Ronel and Lev-Yadun, 2009).…”