„Remedy Preparation” Skills of Egyptian Physicians: Plants Transformations, Vehicles and Galenics

Sridi, Yasmine (2022) „Remedy Preparation” Skills of Egyptian Physicians: Plants Transformations, Vehicles and Galenics. In: Aegyptus et Pannonia VIII. : Acta Symposii anno 2021. Magyar-Egyiptomi Baráti Társaság, Ókori Egyiptomi Bizottság, Budapest, pp. 157-174. ISBN 978-615-6571-02-1

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Abstract

The article is part of the research axis of “Herbal medicine and present-day medicine”: it intends to analyse the “remedy preparation” skills of Egyptian physicians in the light of the knowledge and practices of modern herbalism. Herbal medicine has multiple ways of extracting the active substances of medicinal plants and of applying the resulting preparations: Firstly, I focus on the extraction of active principles: nowadays we can resort to various methods using infusion, tincture, tonic wine, or medicinal oil. We note that extraction is always done with a solvent, a carrier substance, that must be chosen based on its physicochemical affinity with the active principle required: hydrophilic, lipophilic, etc. However, we realize that – without knowing or even being aware of the biochemical composition of the plants they used – Egyptian physicians had already set up a number of these processes: water (dew), alcohol (wine, beer), oil, but also milk and honey. A study of lists of remedies, the Ebers papyrus for example, will make it possible to systematize the transformations applied to the plants. I present the numerous vehicles – mw, Hnq.t, irp, mrH.t, irt.t, bi.t – and their uses. Secondly, I present how these active substances were administered: today’s herbal medicine has recourse to an arsenal of galenic forms such as capsules, ointments, cataplasms, inhalations, ... Once again, an analysis of Egyptian medical texts allows great understanding of the possible applications of the various remedies and, by extension, great skills in their preparations. To become aware of this reality, archaeological reconstructions will demonstrate the “very modern” character of these medicinal preparations. The Ebers papyrus and the remedies which were explained in it are also the ground material for this part of the paper.

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