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According to BBC News, scientists have recreated a piece of traditional medicine found on a 1,000 year old manuscript.
How many traditional medicines are there out there?What was the treatment? It uses garlic, onion, leeks, wine, cow bile and part of a cow’s stomach, and it was applied to the eyes.
Scientists reportedly think it is not any of the ingredients themselves, but is the combination.
The scientists were “astonished” when the treatment almost completely wiped out MRSA — methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus. 90 percent was killed of the bacteria could be killed.
The scientists thought it might have a small antibiotic effect, but the effect of the recipe “blew them away.”
The news was presented at a national microbiology conference, where it was treated as a novelty, according to one participant.
The book where the treatment was found? Bald’s Leechbook, a 1,000 year old book of medical-type treatments.
It has been noted that ancient northern Europeans may have practiced a type of medicine more similar to the modern version than may have been previously thought — using observation and experimentation.
The recipe in the manuscript:
Equal amounts of garlic and another allium (onion or leek), finely chopped and crushed in a mortar for two minutes.
Add 25ml (0.87 fl oz) of English wine – taken from a historic vineyard near Glastonbury.
Dissolve bovine salts in distilled water, add and then keep chilled for nine days at 4C.
