As part of the project, the examination of aged Polish diaries, letters, and archived private notes of pharmacists was necessary to unravel the recipe.
The Historical Institute of the University of Wrocław, under the supervision of Dr. Jakub Węglorz, undertook this task. Meanwhile, the reconstruction and subsequent analysis of the recreated drug were handled by researchers from the Department of Pharmacognosy of Wrocław Medical University, led by Dr. Danuta Raj.
“I must admit it was a difficult project. The first main difficulty was that
there were as many as 71 ingredients. Some of them, such as ginger or black pepper, were not problematic for us,” said Dr. Raj.
Vipers turned out to be a problem.
“We managed to ensure that no vipers had to be killed for the purposes of our project. We only used those that had not survived in the natural environment,” says Raj.
She adds that the importing of other ingredients, some from Asia or Africa, required a lot of creativity. The researchers were aided by
filmmakers who brought lemongrass and bloggers and missionaries who helped bring together other ingredients.
The reconstruction of Theriac by Wrocław pharmacists was based on a recipe from a
licensed pharmacist in Toruń, documented in 1630. This recipe’s practical application was historically validated during plague outbreaks.
According to Dr. Raj, Theriac does not work as well as people had expected in ancient times or even four hundred years ago, when it was extremely popular and expensive.“At that time, it was believed that the drug protected against poisoning and diseases, including epidemics, and that it was a very potent drug. It was feared and the dosage was very precise. It was known that, for example, it could not be used in fevers because it could lead to death.
We absolutely do not confirm this,” says Dr. Raj.
She adds that studies have shown that the drug
is closer to a placebo than to the powerful mixture that people believed it to be in the past.
History of Theriac
Theriac has been recommended since antiquity as an antidote to poisoning, gaining particular significance during epidemics.
Due to its high cost, it was accessible only to a select few during epidemics, with licensed pharmacists overseeing its production.
The Venetian Theriac was highly esteemed due to its exemplary recipe. Through the licensing system, Theriac's production spread to Poland.
While the medicine has been subject to research by modern scientists, the team from Wrocław Medical University stands out as
the only team globally to have authentically recreated it in line with historical procedures and recipes.
