Medicine Dietetics and Pharmacology - Food Culture and Health in Pre-Modern Islamic Societies - page 247

Scorpion (Ar. Arab)

was generally considered to be the origi-
nal plant, namely either Penaea mucronata
L., or P. Sarcocolla L. or P. squamosa L. But
in 1879 W. Dymock was able to prove
that at least the Persian Sarcocolla is the
product of what he called Astragalus Sarco-
colla Dym. (Leguminosae). Widely known
in antiquity, the drug has practically dis-
appeared from the European store of
medicines, but, according to Meyerhof, it
is still well-known in the Orient, especially
in the drug market in Cairo.
According to Dioscorides, the yellow-
ish bitter resin was above all useful for
causing new flesh wounds ( σάρξ “flesh”,
κόλλα “glue”) scar over. Already al-Kindī
used it as component of a good number
of recipes, among others for leprosy. The
most detailed description is given by Ibn
al-Bayār on the basis of Greek and Ara-
bic sources as well as his own observations.
The resin consumes the festering flesh of
putrescent abscesses, assists the ripening of
tumours, carries away mucus and yellow
gall, and is a remedy for inflammations
of the eye, for agglutinating eyelids and
for excessive secretion of the eye. Taken
internally, the resin is a strong purgative,
but causes also the hair to fall out. The
best Sarcocolla consists of crushed, white
seeds, mixed with walnut oil. Measured
out in different ways, it can be mingled
with other drugs (sagapenum, myrobala-
num, aloes, bdellium, etc.). When taken
neat, the resin can be lethal; therefore, the
dose should not be more than 2¼ dirham s.
Ibn al-Bayār, however, maintains that he
saw in Egypt women partaking, immedi-
ately after a bath, of up to 4 ounces of
anzarūt , together with the pulp of the yel-
low melon, hoping to increase thus their
corpulence.

This branch of the arachnida , which is
met with as far north as lat. 45°, includes,
in Asia and Africa, some species whose
sting produces effects of a more or less
serious nature, and sometimes even
death. For this reason the scorpion has
always haunted the imagination of orien-
tal peoples; it has found a place among
the stars (a constellation and the 8th sign
of the Zodiac are named after it), and
has played some part in the magic and
the interpretation of dreams. As a protec-
tion against its sting, magic formulas and,
later, verses of the urān, were used,
engraved on rings and other talismans;
according to the Traditions, Muammad
saw no objection to this practice. The
observations of Arab naturalists, who
claimed that the scorpion escaped from
pain and intense heat by committing sui-
cide, and that the female carried its young
on her back and ultimately perished in
this way, have been confirmed in mod-
ern times. The behaviour of the scorpion
when confronted by human beings, and
the effect of its sting on different victims,
were noted at an early period; different
species were identified; but above all,
efforts were made to discover a remedy
against its sting. The best method, apart
from sucking the venom from the wound,
was to cut the animal open and place it
on the affected part. The scorpion played
an important part also in Arab medicine;
its ashes were an effective remedy against
calculus; its roasted flesh would cure
the eye complaint known as rī al-sabal .
Scorpion oil ( duhn al-aārib ), prepared in
various ways, was considered to possess
particularly curative powers; it was used
in the treatment of malignant sores, sci-
atica and pains in the back, orchitis, and
falling hair. In addition, cases are quoted

(A. Dietrich)