In the seventeenth century the opium poppy was administered to patients as a sedative and for the treatment of cough and pain: this is demonstrated by the analyzes conducted on bone remains and brain tissue samples found in the Cà Granda burial ground, the historic hospital in Milan as well as one of the oldest in Italy, founded in 1456 by Duke Francesco Sforza. The results are published in the journal Scientific Reports by researchers from the University of Milan.
The research was coordinated by Gaia Giordano, PhD candidate in translational medicine, and by Mirko Mattia, curator and conservator of the Anthropological Collection of Labanof (Laboratory of Forensic Anthropology and Odontology) and of Musa (University Museum of Anthropological, Forensic and Medical Sciences for Human Rights), under the guidance of pathologist Cristina Cattaneo and forensic toxicologist Domenico Di Candia.
Thanks to innovative archaeotoxicology techniques, the researchers analyzed nine well-preserved brains together with their original skulls. The results of the analyzes (performed by liquid chromatography coupled to triple-quadrupole mass spectrometry) demonstrate the presence of active ingredients of the opium poppy (Papaver somniferum), namely morphine, noscapine, papaverine and codeine. The traces were found in six of the nine subjects examined. “The results obtained in this work constitute the first report on the detection of opium in archaeological bone finds,” say Mirko Mattia and Lucie Biehler-Gomez, palaeopathologist at Labanof and co-author of the publication.
The data help to shed light on the pharmacological practices of Milan in the 1600s and in particular on those administered at the Ca’ Granda, “one of the most important and innovative hospitals of the entire Renaissance and Modern Age, both in Italy and in Europe”. explains Gaia Giordano “In fact, it provided free assistance to the poor population of Milan, it had specialized doctors and surgeons, strict hygiene and health standards and a large hospital pharmacopoeia”.
Source: Ansa
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