| In a book on Ergot from 1908, Henry Wellcome, From Ergot to Ernuten, a Historical Sketch, the author writes on the ancient Chaldeans: “Rye was one of the cereals indigenous to the Euphrates Valley, and was called by the Chaldeans Zennu.” However, no mention of it occurs in the tablets at present known until about 1200 BC. In an inscription to Gudea on a Babylonian tablet, said to date from 2500 BC, mention is made of “the women who gather noxious grasses, and who were expelled from the city with the exorcists and mutterers of charms.” On an Assyrian tablet, about 660 BC, allusion is made to a “noxious pustule in the ear of grain.” Both noxious grasses and pustules likely refer to ergot. Again, from Ergot to “Ernutin”, we read the following about the early history of ergot: “The earliest allusion to ergot is said to be in the works of Theophratus (372-288 BC), who terms it luxuries vegetum. Pliny (AD 23-79) also mentions a disease which attacked corn in moist places which may probably refer to ergot. Galen (AD 130), in his work De Alimenti Facultatibus, appears to have been aware of the danger of using diseased grain for food, and it is probable that this vitiation of grain has existed from time immemorial.” (108) In a paper produced for the American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education titled Ergot and its Alkaloids, Paul L. Schiff, Jr., Ph.D. writes: “…the earliest authenticated reports of the effects of ergot occurred in Chinese writings in approximately 1100 BC, when the substance was used in obstetrics. A magic spell found in a small temple in Mesopotamia dating to 1900-1700 BC referred to abnormally infested grain as mehru, while Sumerian clay tablets of the same period described the reddening of damp grain as samona. In 550 BC, the Hearst Papyrus of Egypt described a particular preparation in which a mixture of ergot, oil, and honey was recommended as a treatment for hair growth. In 370 BC, Hippocrates furnished a description of corn blight and subsequently described ergot as melanthion, noting its use to halt postpartum hemorrhage.” (109) I find most interesting in these reports and accounts how the ancient people knew about ergot and its dangers. They also knew how to remove it from grain in order to eat the grain safely. It was also used in controlled ways, medicinally, for induced labor and abortions as early as 1100 BC in China. The ancient people knew it could be very dangerous. So dangerous that in fact, your limbs could rot and fall off and you could easily die from too much. I have seen zero evidence in historical writings of the use of any grain extract for mystical experiences, but I have seen hundreds of instances of the use of the mushroom, which is safe to consume without potential death. Why would people actively use an ergot extract which is unsafe when they could use something completely safe for getting intoxicated? |
The accounts of ergot knowledge in the last few centuries are presented by Albert Hoffman, in The Road to Eleusis, which I reproduce here: “Ergot was first mentioned as a remedy by the German physician Adam Lonitzer in 1582. He said it was being used by midwives to precipitate childbirth. The first scientific report on the use of ergot as an uterotonic agent was presented by the American physician John Stearns in 1808: ‘Account of the pulvis parturiens.’ But already in 1824 Dr. David Hosack, also American, recognizing the dangers of using ergot for accelerated childbirth, recommended that the drug be used in obstetrics mainly for this purpose.” (110) In the American Dispensatory, from the early 1900’s. we read the following concerning Ergonovine: “Ergonovine is a water-soluble alkaloid…decidedly more powerful in its effects on the uterus than are the other alkaloids of ergot; this difference is more marked on the puerperal than on the nongravid uterus… the first effect of ergonovine is a heightening of uterine tonus… its chief action is to produce rhythmical contractions.” (111) From Albert Hoffman, in Eleusis, again, we read: “Medicinally the most useful alkaloids stem from ergot of rye. The first ergot alkaloid that found widespread therapeutic use was ergotamine, isolated by A. Stoll in 1918. It is the essential component of pharmaceutical preparations such as ‘Cafergot’ and ‘Bellegal,’ medicaments against migraine and nervous disorders. Modern valuable ergot preparations are ‘Hydergine’ developed by A. Stoll and A. Hoffman in the Sandoz laboratories in Basel, containing hydrogenated ergotoxine alkaloids, used in the treatment of geriatric disorders, and ‘Dihydergot’ with dyhydroergotomine as active component, for the therapy of circulatory disturbances.” (112) Hoffman’s overall conclusion is that yes, it would have been possible, but much easier, if they used the grass Paspalum, which if I’m correct, was later found not to have been imported until 500 years later than the time of Eleusis. (108) From Ergot to Ernuten, a Historical Sketch, 1908, Henry Wellcome, p. 12-13 (109) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1637017/ (110) The standard monograph on the botany and history of ergot is G. Barger: Ergot and Ergotism, Gurney and Jackson, 1931 (111) US Dispensatory: 26:468 (112) Eleusis, p. 37 |