Science of toxicology in Rabban Al-Tabari’s Paradise of Wisdom: a review

As an important threat throughout history, poisonings have plagued mankind from ancient times to today. This review intended to answer the question that whether toxicology and intoxications have been addressed in the one of the oldest medical texts of traditional Persian medicine; Al-Tabari’s Paradise of Wisdom and whether there had been a specific approach to manage poisonings. An extensive research was conducted in Al-Tabari’s book Firdausu’l-Ḥikmat also known as Paradise of Wisdom using toxicology related keywords. Moreover, current literature was searched with relevant keywords using Web of Science, Science Direct, Embase, PubMed, Google Scholar, MagIran, IranMedex, and SID to adapt the data with modern toxicological knowledge. Our result revealed that Al-Tabari described the toxicity and pertinent treatments for Nerium oleander L, Papaver somniferum L, Aconitum ferox Wall, Euphorbia serrata, Anamirta paniculata, Semecarpus Anacardium, Brassica oleracea, Coriandrum sativum, Hyoscyamus albus, and Colchicum autumnale L. He indicated the toxicity of the winds that blowing from areas with toxic pollen and scent of plants. Also, he mentioned the toxicity of snakes, scorpions, spiders, bees, and rabid animals as well as the hazardous creatures including Mus musculus and Lytta vesicatoria along with some descriptions for related treatments. At the end, Al-Tabari reckoned the toxicology and treatments of some toxic minerals including mercury, iron, and lead. Conclusively, Al-Tabari contributed to toxicological sciences though dedicating a proportion of his book Paradise of Wisdom to the subject of toxicants and poisoning therapeutics. Further studies are recommenced to divulge toxicological science in historical sources including traditional medical works.

Keywords:

Toxicology , History , Persian Traditional Medicine , Medieval , Poisoning