1,000-Year-Old Saxon Remedy Kills Superbugs

[Valin]

Power Line:

John Hinderaker

July 13, 2015

 

This may not be the biggest news story of the day, but it must be the most curious. As you are no doubt aware, there is great concern over resistance to conventional antibiotics. “Superbugs” are developing that are not easily killed with known medicines. So someone at the University of Nottingham, in England, thought to try an ancient remedy: a salve for eye infections found in Bald’s Leechbook, a 10th century Saxon volume in the British Library. The results were surprising:

 

(Snip)

 

So what exactly is the potion? It doesn’t contain eye of newt, but close:

 

 

The recipe calls for two species of Allium (garlic and onion or leek), wine and oxgall (bile from a cow’s stomach). It describes a very specific method of making the topical solution including the use of a brass vessel to brew it in, a straining to purify it and an instruction to leave the mixture for nine days before use.

There is much more at the link, also here:

 

 

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[nickydog]

Bile from a cow's stomach....