Colchicum Genus in the Writings of Ancient Greek and Byzantine Physicians.

The plants of the Colchicum family were known during the archaic period in Greece for their deleterious properties. Later on, they were used for the treatment of podagra. The treatment was introduced by the ancient Greek physicians and passed on to the Byzantine and Arabian physicians to endure until nowadays. The first plant was most probably named "Medea" from the notorious Colchican witch. As the most common member of the family blossoms in autumn, the plant was named Colchicum autumnale. Various nominations were also used, such as Ephemeron, Hermodactyl, Anima articulorum and Surugen. Our article discusses them, while at the same time presents the most notable authorities who have used Colchicum plants in herbal medicine and toxicology.

Isolating Colchicine in 19th Century: An Old Drug Revisited.

Colchicine is a tricyclic alkaloid extracted from the herbaceous plant Colchicum autumnale. Known since antiquity for its therapeutic efficacy in the treatment of gout, colchicine was reintroduced in 19th century pharmacopeia, thanks to the work of the French chemists and pharmacists Pierre-Joseph Pelletier (1788-1842) and Joseph Bienaimé Caventou (1795-1877) who in 1819, isolated a peculiar substance in the roots of Colchicum autumnale. In 1833, the substance was further analyzed by the German pharmacist and chemist Philipp Lorenz Geiger (1785-1836), who coined the name colchicine. In 1884, the French pharmacist Alfred Houde (1854-1919) produced for the first time pure crystallized colchicine in granules of 1milligram which is still sold under this trade name in several countries. In the last two centuries, colchicine's indications were furthermore expanded. From anti-gout drug during antiquity and a diuretic in 19th century, colchicine is currently administered in several affections such as Adamantiades-Behcet's disease, familial Mediterranean fever, pericarditis and atrial fibrillation.

Colchicine: an ancient drug with novel applications.

Colchicine is a treatment for gout that has been used for more than a millennium. It is the treatment of choice for familial Mediterranean fever and its associated complication, amyloidosis. The 2009 U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval of colchicine as a new drug had research consequences. Recent investigations with large cohorts of patients with gout who have been taking colchicine for years have demonstrated novel applications within oncology, immunology, cardiology and dermatology. Some emerging dermatological uses include the treatment of epidermolysis bullosa acquisita, leucocytoclastic vasculitis, aphthous stomatitis and others. In this work we relate the history and the new horizon of this ancient medicine.

[Gout in the age of Justinian - a consequence of lead poisoning?]. / Podagra på kejser Justinians tid. En følge af blyforgiftning?

Compared to other chronic conditions, gout has a remarkable position in medical, historical and other texts from the Byzantine Empire in the sixth century AD - the age of emperor Justinian. The disease and its treatment is thoroughly described in the medical literature, and an effective and still applied drug for treatment of acute attacks - colchicine - was invented already in the fourth century by Byzantine physicians. The disease was apparently accumulated among Byzantine emperors, and according to one source, Justinian was a patient himself. Also, gout may have been common among the citizens of Constantinople. As gout can be due to lead poisoning, a contributing cause for this accumulation may have been exposure to high levels of lead, originating from water pipes, wine containers and cooking pots used for producing the sweetening grape syrup sapa. Although gout seems to have been a significant, widespread and invalidating disease, its influence on the Byzantine society is uncertain. The position of the disease can be interpreted as an indication that lead poisoning was a common condition, thus contributing to other and possibly more important effects on the population and the society.

A brief history of gout.

Gout is relatively unique among rheumatological diseases in that its effects were common and, at least in history, disproportionately represented in prominent authority figures. Effective treatments have only been available for just over a century and therefore for the most part, the disease has run relatively unchecked. Consequently, it may have had global ramifications. The history of gout, from apocryphal orthodoxy to medical clarity, is reviewed, using a few of the more colourful characters in its considerable pantheon.

[The autumn crocus: two millenniums of actuality]. / Le colchique: deux millénaires d'actualité.

Colchicum holds a singular place in the History of Medicine. Many names were given through the ages: "ephemera", "finger of Hermes", "pater noster", "tue-chiens". Modern phytonyms clearly refer to the land of Colchis, a mythical place close to Armenia. Several centuries were needed to understand that, despite a frightening reputation, colchic was an elective treatment for the gout. In its long story, appears famous personages as Theophraste, Paulus Aeginata, Gilbertus Anglicus, the baron Storck and Benjamin Franklin. In modern times, colchicum has received besides gout, a wide array of new indications, among others: Behcet disease, collagen diseases and malignancies. A scarcely known chapter of genetics is the findings in 1889, by B. Pernice, an obscure physician from Palermo, of the major mitoic changes observed on gastric and intestinal mucosa of two dogs which had received large doses of colchicum. In spite of their scientific value, the works of Pernice remained largely ignored until 1949. Recent advances in colchiocotheraphy have shown fascinating new fields for research: thus in the familial Mediterranean fever, close to periodic disease, genetic disorder elective for subjects originated from all over Mediterranean and around Black Sea... the mythical country of Colchis. No other medicinal plant than colchic, except poppy, can give such records of perennial use in such a wide range of disorders.

[The centennial of the discovery of the antimitotic properties of colchicine]. / Sur le centenaire de la découverte des propriétés antimitotiques de la colchicine.

Pernice, a sicilian pathologist active mainly in Italy (Palermo) from 1884 to 1906, published one hundred years ago the first observation of the mitotic changes observed in two dogs injected with a large dose of tincture of Colchicum. His description of the considerable increase in mitotic figures in the gastric and intestinal mucosa, and the absence of ana-telophases, clearly illustrate the well-known effect of a spindle poison. They were however completely forgotten until 1949. The modern aspect of the action of colchicine on mitosis in relation with the properties of microtubules and their dynamic condition are briefly considered in relation with the history of colchicine in modern cell biology.