Dear Editor
I enjoyed reading the article by Buenz EJ et al drawing attention to the
life of G E Rumphius on his text, Ambonese Herbal. Many years ago in
writing an historical paper on Rauwolfia and Ancient Medical Writings of
India² I came across a reference by Woodson³ which illustrated an
engraving of Rauwolfia from Rumphius' supplement to the Herbarium Ambionse
published in 1755. Rumphius (Rumpf) was sometimes known as the 'Pliny of
India" and had been sent by the Dutch East India Company to the island of
Amboina to collect data on useful and remarkable plants on the spice
islands. In the text by Woodson³ on Rauwolfia it is stated that the
manuscript of Rumpf was published long after his death by Burmann in
Amsterdam.
Specifically, in the case of Rauwolfia, one of the alkaloids,
reserpine, became a widely used anti-hypertensive agent in the 1950s.
Rauwolfia was known in Indian Materia Medica for many years and is cited
in the Susruta Samhita by the name Sarpagandha. The Sanskrit name is
derived from two words, sarpa m. snake, the Sanskrit word resembling the
latin serpens, and gandha m.smell. It was Vaikil who first drew attention
in the western world to the antihypertensive effects of Rauwolfia, used in
its crude form, in an article in the British Heart Journal in 1949.
References
1. Buenz, E.J., Bauer, B.A., Johnson, H.E., Tavana, G etal
Searching historical herbal texts for potential new drugs, BMJ, 2006;
333:1314-5
Somers, K.
Notes on Rauwolfia and Ancient Medical Writings of India. Medical History
II 1958; 87-91(1958);
3. Woodson, R.E.
In Rauwolfia, Botany, Pharmacognosy, Chemistry and Pharmacology, 1957
Little Brown & Co, Boston
Vaikil, R.J.
Brit Heart Journal XI 1949; 350 et seq
Professor Krishna Somers
MB BCh (Rand) FRCP (Lond & Edin) FRACP FACC DCH
Level 3, Ainslie House
48 Murray Street
Perth 6000 Western Australia
Ph: +61 (0) 8 92242589
Fax: +61 (0) 8 9221 3323
Email: krishna.somers@health.wa.gov.au
Rapid Response:
Article by Buenz
Dear Editor
I enjoyed reading the article by Buenz EJ et al drawing attention to the
life of G E Rumphius on his text, Ambonese Herbal. Many years ago in
writing an historical paper on Rauwolfia and Ancient Medical Writings of
India² I came across a reference by Woodson³ which illustrated an
engraving of Rauwolfia from Rumphius' supplement to the Herbarium Ambionse
published in 1755. Rumphius (Rumpf) was sometimes known as the 'Pliny of
India" and had been sent by the Dutch East India Company to the island of
Amboina to collect data on useful and remarkable plants on the spice
islands. In the text by Woodson³ on Rauwolfia it is stated that the
manuscript of Rumpf was published long after his death by Burmann in
Amsterdam.
Specifically, in the case of Rauwolfia, one of the alkaloids,
reserpine, became a widely used anti-hypertensive agent in the 1950s.
Rauwolfia was known in Indian Materia Medica for many years and is cited
in the Susruta Samhita by the name Sarpagandha. The Sanskrit name is
derived from two words, sarpa m. snake, the Sanskrit word resembling the
latin serpens, and gandha m.smell. It was Vaikil who first drew attention
in the western world to the antihypertensive effects of Rauwolfia, used in
its crude form, in an article in the British Heart Journal in 1949.
References
1. Buenz, E.J., Bauer, B.A., Johnson, H.E., Tavana, G etal
Searching historical herbal texts for potential new drugs, BMJ, 2006;
333:1314-5
Somers, K.
Notes on Rauwolfia and Ancient Medical Writings of India. Medical History
II 1958; 87-91(1958);
3. Woodson, R.E.
In Rauwolfia, Botany, Pharmacognosy, Chemistry and Pharmacology, 1957
Little Brown & Co, Boston
Vaikil, R.J.
Brit Heart Journal XI 1949; 350 et seq
Professor Krishna Somers
MB BCh (Rand) FRCP (Lond & Edin) FRACP FACC DCH
Level 3, Ainslie House
48 Murray Street
Perth 6000 Western Australia
Ph: +61 (0) 8 92242589
Fax: +61 (0) 8 9221 3323
Email: krishna.somers@health.wa.gov.au
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests: No competing interests