Lupines, Manganese, and Devil-Sickness
An Anglo-Saxon Medical Response to Epilepsy
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 15026708 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Peter Dendle (Pennsylvania State University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2001 |
| Volume | 75 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 91-101 |
| Publication date | 2001-03-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Bulletin of the history of medicine (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0007-5140 • E-ISSN: 1086-3176 |
| Publisher | Project MUSE (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1353/bhm.2001.0009 |
| PMID | 11420453 |
| OpenAlex | W2005764326 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 6 |
The most frequently prescribed herb for "devil-sickness" in the vernacular medical books from Anglo-Saxon England, the lupine, is exceptionally high in manganese. Since manganese depletion has been linked with recurring seizures in both clinical and experimental studies, it is possible that lupine administration responded to the particular pathophysiology of epilepsy. Lupine is not prescribed for seizures in classical Mediterranean medical sources, implying that the Northern European peoples (if not the Anglo-Saxons themselves) discovered whatever anticonvulsive properties the herb may exhibit
Ancient history · Anglo saxon · Art · Epilepsy · Herb · Literature · Manganese · Medicinal herbs · Psychiatry · Traditional medicine · Vernacular · Botanical Research and Chemistry · Chemistry · History · Linguistics and language evolution · Medicine
| Citations per year | 0.08 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2014 - 2014 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |