PharmAntica©
Rediscovering Ancient Pharmacopoesis
The past few decades have witnessed an unprecedented increase in the interest for both medicinal and edible plants. This is specifically the case of the Mediterranean flora, which is renowned for its rich biodiversity, its health benefits, and its long-standing traditions deeply rooted in history. Climate change has raised alarms about the potential loss of not just these plants, but also the traditional knowledge they embody. A sense of urgency brought scientists back to ancient texts, to explore new or renewed applications of these plants, particularly for healthy foods and the essential new medicines that are necessary to tackle antibiotic resistance and the emerging health challenges of our time. A notable success story in this field is that of YouYou Tu, a Chinese scientist who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2015 for her innovative work on Artemisinin, based on the traditional uses of a Chinese species of Wormwood.
This revival of interest in a tradition that has persisted for thousands of years and was interrupted only in the early 20th century by the advent of pharmaco-chemistry, has generated a surge in publications that revisit the ancient Greek medical literature from the Hippocratics to Late Antiquity and beyond. Despite their undeniable appeal, not all these publications deliver the complete, accurate, and reliable information that is essential. Many concentrate on a narrow segment of the extensive documentation available, often failing to cite their sources correctly or analyzing texts through a literary lens instead of investigating them from the relevant fields, from botany to pharmaco-therapeutics.
PharmAntica seeks to address these and other shortcomings by providing detailed entries on a wide range of plants, both major and minor, aiming to compile as many texts as possible—if not all—, presenting them in their original language as per standard editions, along with any available or original English translations. Entries analyze the documentary corpus from all relevant scientific disciplines to ensure accurate and thorough exploration.