USEFUL PLANTS IN RENAL THERAPY ACCORDING TO PLINY-THE-ELDER

The Naturalis Historia of Pliny the Elder consists of 37 books, of whi ch 16 are devoted to botany. About 900 plants are named, but many name s are synonyms and identification is often impossible. Where identific ation is possible it is achieved by comparison of the actual names wit h the vernacular names in related languages or by indirect evidence fr om their medical use. In this way 130 plants used in renal therapy dur ing Roman times can be identified. Many were eaten as part of the diet , and the distinction between medicinal and edible plants was not clea rcut. Pliny was also the first author to comment that wild species are more active than cultivated ones. Most of the plants reported by Plin y are also mentioned by Dioscorides, and more than 30 of them were als o listed by Plenck. Several are still quoted in modem pharmacopeias.