Scammony

Having contacted the Royal College of Physicians, we believe this sample to be ‘Pure Scammony in three valves of shells’. Lombe Athill, who signed the piece of card, was a Registrar and Secretary at the Royal College of Physicians between 1861 and 1868. In 1867, the College of Physicians presented its Materia Medica Collection to the School of Physic in Trinity College Dublin. In this collection was a sample labelled ‘Scammony, pure, in three valves of shells’, which was obtained by the RCPI when a Dr. Neligan purchased the sample, along with 43 other samples, upon the closing of the International Exhibition of 1862 in London. The sample originally came from Turkey.

Latin Name: Convolvulus Scammonia

Common Name: Scammony

Scammony is a flowering plant that is native to countries in the Eastern Mediterranean, such as Turkey, Syria, Greece and up north as far as Crimea in Ukraine. The medicinal part of Scammony is the dried resin extracted from its root.

The primary active ingredient in Scammony is a glycoside called Scammonin (C34H56O16)

Historical Medicinal Use:

• In Ancient Greece, Scammony was considered a cathartic and a purgative agent, useful for treating oedema and removing bile or phlegm - Dioscorides, De Materia Medica

• In Unani Medicine, Scammony was employed in the treatment of epilepsy and chronic headaches due to its purgative effect.

• In Early Modern History, Nicholas Culpeper described Scammony as being useful for the treatment of epilepsy, dropsy and jaundice, again down to its powerful purgative effect.

• It was also used as an anthelmintic agent

In Modern Medicine, Scammony has fallen out of use due to its potent and irritating effects on the gastrointestinal system. It remains inert until it comes in contact with Bile in the duodenum. It converts to a potent purgative and stimulates both peristalsis and the release of secretions from intestinal walls via osmosis. This leads to a very strong purgative effect leading to severe diarrhoea, dehydration, electrolyte imbalance and cramping. 

Sample #38/43