A medicinal tablets found in a sunken ship 2,000 years ago become the first material evidence that the ancient Greeks used certain plants as medicines.
For years, researchers looked for evidence to prove that the Greeks and Romans really put into practice medicine in describing their academic writing. Now, DNA tests linked samples of onions, alfalfa, celery and other herbs found in a shipwreck with the classic texts of Diocorides, who wrote the Encyclopedia of Natural Substances in the first century
This discovery, experts say, could be important in the current research in medicine. Toumaide Alain, historian of the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington, says that the tablets analyzed could have been used to treat gastric diseases on board.
" This is the first time that a medicinal compound was analyzed. Previously plants were found in archeological sites, but never tablets. This is new " said Toumaide to the BBC.
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