![]() ![]() It is considered to be a divinely favored plant which can cure seventy-two varieties of ailments the least severe of which is leprosy (Majlesī, pp. 311-16).įolk medicine practices reflect a classical belief in the medical properties of esfand, while attributing a number of magico-medical properties to it. 108 for other medical benefits of the plant see Andalosī, pp. Crushed seeds of esfand may be used in the preparation of a fertility drug for women, while smoke from its burning roots can help determine whether or not the woman is barren (Ḥāseb Ṭabarī, p. 206).Īphrodisiacal properties have been suggested for the plant. It was considered efficacious to cold swellings, and some classical physicians such as Kendī also used it in treating epilepsy and insanity (Jamālī Yazdī, p. Although the most important use of esfand in Persia involves magical practices, its various parts were used in cures for a variety of ailments (e.g., throat diseases Ebn Rabban, p. The plant is considered to be hot by nature, and can be used as a diuretic, a vomitive, and an agent to facilitate menstruation in cases of amenorrhea (Ebn Rabban, pp. ![]() Two varieties of the plant are mentioned in the early medical texts, the white rue and the more potent black rue. Later Greek authors refer to it as persaia botane (Flattery and Schwartz, pp. the earliest description of the plant, calling it pêganon agrion. Dioscorides provides in the 1st century C.E. 40).Įsfand was well known among the ancient Indo-Iranians. Peganum harmala wild rue), a common weed found in Persia, Central Asia, and the adjacent areas (for the the plant’s name in other Iranian languages see Flattery and Schwartz, p. ESFAND ( sepand, sepanj, espanj < Proto-Ir.
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