New insights into the composition of historical remedies and pharmaceutical formulations: the identification of natural
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(2021) 13:2
ORIGINAL PAPER
New insights into the composition of historical remedies and pharmaceutical formulations: the identification of natural resins and balsams by gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric investigations Francesca Caterina Izzo 1
&
Giulia Carolina Lodi 1 & Maria Luisa Vázquez de Ágredos Pascual 2
Received: 9 July 2020 / Accepted: 28 October 2020 # The Author(s) 2020
Abstract The present paper reports one of the first studies on the identification of natural resins and balsams in modern era drug formulations. Gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was applied to investigate the composition of ancient remedies and pharmaceutical formulations coming from the Spezieria di Santa Maria della Scala in Rome, founded at the end of the seventeenth century by the Discalced Carmelites. The obtained results highlight the presence of complex mixtures containing resinaceous and lipidic-based compounds. Thanks to the detection of characteristic markers, it was possible to identify several natural resins, such as guaiacum resin, ladano resin and scammony resin. Balsamic and aromatic compounds characteristic of essential oils were identified as well. In addition, an anti-inflammatory ointment, composed by mixing Venetian turpentine, a Pinaceae resin and a triterpene resin exudate of a plant from South America, was found among the analysed formulations. Combining the analytical results, the historical research and the botanical composition, it was possible to formulate compositional hypotheses of this historical medicine and provided some indications about their use in health. The study of historical drugs is not only important to know the practices handed down by apothecaries in the past, but also fundamental to reconstruct historical recipes that can inspire new dermatological, cosmetic, hygienic and current curative products. Keywords Historical drugs . Spezieria of Santa Maria della Scala in Rome . Natural organic compounds . GC-MS . Resins . Balsams
Introduction Ethnobotanical research on pharmaceutical remedies obtained from medicinal plants is continuously developing, thanks to the understanding of the therapeutic use of these plants and their importance in the historical, geographical, socio-cultural, anthropological and economic fields (Medeiros and De Albuquerque 2012; Reyes-García et al. 2006; Jarić et al. * Francesca Caterina Izzo [email protected] 1
Sciences and Technologies for the Conservation of Cultural Heritage, Department of Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Via Torino 155/b, 30174 Venice, Italy
2
Faculty of History and Geography, University of Valencia, Av. Blasco Ibañez 28, 46010 Valencia, Spain
2007; Thomas et al. 2009; Liu et al. 2009; de Albuquerque et al. 2007; Berihuete-Azorín 2013). The testimony of the use of medicinal plants and natural remedies dates back to ancient times. Most of the ancient populations were in close contact with the surrounding environment and from which they took the ingredients to pro
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