[105] NGP: Chapter 1
, “[105] NGP: Chapter 1”, in New Green Pharmacy: The Story of Western Herbal Medicine, 1 vol., Vermilion, 1997.
1600 - 1699 (C17th)
Pedanius Dioscorides
Publication:
De Materia Medica (Περὶ ὕλης ἰατρικής)
Date:
1st Century
Description:
The first clear and comprehensive medical work which became the prototype for all modern pharmacopeias and which still provides a relevant reference today [105]. Containing descriptions of around 600 plants, many previously unknown to medicine, it continued in popular circulation until around CE 1600 [105].
Summary:
A surgeon from Anazarbus, Dioscorides travelled widely in Asia Minor and the Roman Empire with the armies of Emperor Nero [105]. Seeing the need for an accurate, definitive medical resource, he documented the medicinal plants he came across and wrote 'De Materia Medica' [105]
