The Journey of Cyrenaic Medicinal Plant Silphium: A Review
Taranisen Panda1*, Sarat Kumar Sahu2, Master Apollo3, Raj Ballav Mohanty4
1Department of Botany, Chandbali College, Chandbali - 756133, Odisha, India.
2Department of Botany, S.G. College, Kanikapada, Jajpur- 755011, Odisha, India.
3Department of Botany, Simulia College, Markona - 756126, Odisha, India.
4Ex-Reader in Botany, Satya Bihar, Rasulgarh, Bhubaneswar - 751010, Odisha, India.
*Corresponding author: taranisenpanda@yahoo.co.in
ABSTRACT:
The paper tries to discuss the mysterious extinction of the ancient herb known to the Romans as Silphium (Greek Silphion). It was assumed that the Silphium plants became lost in the first century AD. Moreover, evidence from the literature depicts the presence of Silphion plant up to the fifth century. Silphium in classical antiquity was used for being an aphrodisiac or as medicine. A myriad of medical properties attributed to Silphium, the most renowned use in ancient times was as a contraceptive, abortifacient, for menstrual disorders and as an emmenagogue that would expel the fetus. The valuable product was the resin. It was the indispensable article of trade from the ancient North African city of ‘Cyrene’, growing abundantly in a narrow coastal tract. It was so important a plant for the people of that locality that, most of their coins bore a picture of that plant. But unfortunately, the plant became extinct due to its over-exploitation, including over-harvesting and over-grazing, compounded by changes in the local climate.
KEYWORDS: Culture; Cyrene; overexploitation; trade; traditional medicine.
INTRODUCTION:
The disappearance of Silphium has raised numerous questions for scientists worldwide: could parts of nature vanish so abruptly, and what was the human role in its destruction? Furthermore, what should be the human role in its potential recovery? Nearly 2000 years ago, in the ancient Greek city of Cyrene in Northern Africa (modern-day Libya), a wild herb called "Silphium" with stout roots, stumpy leaves, small yellow flowers, and heart-shaped fruit thrived. It produced a valuable odiferous sap, earning the plant a worth equivalent to its weight in gold.
Figure 1a. Ancient silver coins of Cyrene, depicting Silphium plant.
Consequently, Cyrene remained the sole source of Silphium, contributing to the prosperity of the region through trade. In his work "Historia Plantarum," Theophrastus notes that Silphium was native to a 125-mile (201 km) strip of land in the fertile highlands of Cyrenaica, particularly abundant in Silphiofera near the Gulf of Syrtis. These hilly and forested meadows, receiving higher rainfall than the deserts to the south, provided an optimal environment for the wild plants to flourish and likely served as suitable areas for sheep and goat grazing6. Herodotus mentions the extent of the Silphium plant from the island of Platea to the Gulf of the Syrtis, covering about 350 km7. However, historical accounts suggest a larger area, ranging from 700 to 800 km with an additional stretch between Tobruk to El-Alamein near the Libya–Egypt border8. The mystery surrounding Silphium's extinction in the 1st century AD perplexes scientists1, 9. While many scientists hope it may still exist hidden in Northern Africa, and wait for its rediscovery. European and Arab texts continued to mention its culinary and medical value even after its disappearance10. The fact is that after a long period of its disappearance (1st century AD), its culinary and medical value had been mentioned in European and Arab texts10. For instance, Synesius (a Cyrenian aristocrat and bishop) mentioned that the Silphium was growing in Cyrene at the beginning of the fifth century and assured its presence in sending the juice of the plant to his friend Tryphon in Constantinople (i.e., now Istanbul, Turkey)11. In addition, ancient authors strongly suggested the appearance of Silphium in a particular ecological zone between the island of Platea and the Gulf of Syrtis, and it presumed that the Silphium of Cyrene survived in Central Anatolia while dying out completely in North Africa. Perhaps further research in this field can provide insight into Silphium’s extinction.
Over the centuries, the causes of the extinction of Silphium are different according to the ancient authors. Pliny the Elder decried that the end of wild Silphium in 1st-century AD was one of the first recorded cases of a species’ downfall in world history at the hand of human activity6. Pliny mentioned that the Roman farmers noticed how much this plant fattened their flocks, so they left them to graze in the places where it grew. This led to its extreme decrease to the extent that only a stalk of the plant was found and sent to Emperor Nero, as a precious gift12. Solinus, attributed the extinction of Silphium to its extremely high price which motivated the inhabitants to over-harvest the Silphium to get rid of the exhausting taxes imposed by the Roman reign. By contrast, Strabo, the Greek geographer and historian offered a different tale: he suggests Silphium became extinct due to the disputes among those who gathered it, particularly the shepherds of Cyrenaica, and the traders. According to him, the shepherds destroyed many plants, uprooting them, in signs of protest against their meager profits, compared to those of the merchants who then sold the plants on the Mediterranean market13. By that time, it became increasingly rare due to over-harvesting and all attempts of its cultivation failed. Doubtless, the main reason for Silphium’s extinction is the mal-administration of Roman reign14.
MATERIALS AND METHODS:
The medicinal uses of Silphium were compiled from the published literature. A clear, logical, and well-defined research question and purpose were established for a preliminary search in order to find pertinent articles, ensure the validity of the suggested theory, prevent answering the same questions twice and make sure we had enough articles to complete the analysis. To do this, a quick search in PubMed, Web of Science, Science Direct (Scopus) and Google Scholar using specific search terms like ethnobotany, Silphium's therapeutic benefits, etc. Links to articles with full free text access were available from several search engines. In other instances, full-text requests from authors directly through research websites like Research Gate were examined. Read relevant papers to gain a deeper understanding and analyze gaps that can help us formulate our research topic or goal more effectively. Most papers that were not related, duplicated and complete texts that weren't available, or were only abstracts were excluded. To organize and synthesize prior work around the selected theme and incorporation of new information into the body of existing knowledge, the results from several empirical investigations on the topic were combined.
Figure 2. Wild stand of mature Ferula asafoetida in the Kyzylkum desert [photo by Patrick Verhaeghe (public domain)].
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION:
Taxonomic Classification of Silphium:
There are numerous literature reports about images believed to show Silphium, which could potentially be used for botanical identification of the species behind that name. The images of Silphium in the coins of the Cyrenaica provide indicative pictures of the Silphium plant, showing fruits or whole plants with leaves, sometimes also with fruits and rootstock. It depicts that the plant is a member of Umbelliferae (Apiaceae). The detailed accounts of Silphium were specified by Theophrastus, in his “Enquiry into Plants”15, by Pliny in his “Naturalis Historiae”12 and by Kiehn16. They describe the whole plant from the roots to the seeds. According to this description, Silphium clearly is a member of the genus Ferula of the family Umbelliferae (Apiaceae)16. Of course, Ferula drudeana, F. narthex, F. tingitana, F. asafoetida and Margotia gummifera, have historically been suggested as possible identities1,6,17-20. The vegetative features of F. asafoetida (Figure 2) fit faithfully to Silphium, except for its alternate branching pattern. A fleshy perennial root with black bark and the size of the stalk of F. asafoetida is apparently close to Silphium. However, the original Greek text reads “narthex in size”15. The term “narthex” denotes Ferula communis whose stems grow about 3 meters with a diameter of 3–7cm21. This explanation is affirmed by Pliny, asserting that Silphium’s stalk was “like that of fennel-giant and of similar thickness”12. Amigues (2004)18 argued in favour of Margotia gummifera which showed some of the characteristics like aromatic resin, vertically striated stalk, fleshy roots, reddish-brown bark and celery-shaped leaves similar to Silphium. However, the diameter of the stalk (only 1 cm) of Margotia gummifera contradicts the notable thickness of Silphium’s stalk18. Finally, ancient authors' wide-ranging list of Silphium’s medicinal and culinary applications12,22 gave valuable insights into its potential phytochemical properties. Mainly, the resin exudates of F. drudeana and F. asafoetida showed similar chemical compounds as found in the laser of Silphium12,19,20,23. Moreover, the frequent use of processed exudate of F. asafoetida19 as an adulterate or substitute laser for medicinal and culinary use substantiates its similarity with Silphium. However, the foul odor of F. asafoetida differed from the pleasant smell of Silphium’s resin12,15,19.
History of Silphium use:
To list the various uses of this wonderful herb would be an endless task. Despite its many medical uses, Silphium has quite valuable cookery properties and was used in Greco-Roman cuisine24. A sticky reddish-brown resin produced by the plant after cutting into the head of the black rootstock or by carving the stalk was collected in jars and mixed with bran or flour. This resin was sold as a very expensive condiment and as medicine. The stems were roasted, the roots eaten with vinegar, while the precious sap of Silphium, known as laser, was grated over foods. As a forage plant, Silphium was credited with producing sheep that had tender meat. The perfume was extracted from its delicate blooms.
A myriad of medical properties attributed to Silphium, the most renowned use in ancient times was as a contraceptive, abortifacient, for menstrual disorders and as an emmenagogue that would expel the fetus25,26. The first or 2nd century CE physician Soranus of Ephesus ascribed that decoction of “Cyrenaic balm”, was helpful to induce menstruation27. Soranus further noted that ingesting "Cyrenaic juice" diluted in water at least once a month could prevent conception, and if taken "afterward," it could destroy any existing fetus. The first-century CE physician and botanist Pedanius Dioscorides described how Silphium was used as a contraceptive and abortifacient in De Materia Medica28. He advised that decoction prepared from Silphium, pepper and myrrh was useful to induce menstrual flow. Asclepiades of Bithynia prescribed Silphion to treat cardiac disease29. Pliny the Elder described thirty-nine remedies made with Silphion in his “Natural History”12. Hippocrates (460 BC-375BC), the legendary Greek physician who is regarded as the ‘Father of Medicine’, has described Silphium’s use in cough, sore throat, fever, indigestion, aches and pain and all kind of maladies. He advised to use the juice of the seeds, leaves or roots, alone or in combination with pomegranate juice, wine, goat or donkey milk, vinegar or water, to make poultices for the treatment of different types of ailments including ‘hernia’ in his book “On Fistulae”30 and explains the different methods of purging the uterus in his book De superfatione26. Both Hippocrates and Pliny mentioned that Silphium was used to expel the dead fetus from the placenta12,26.
Causes of extinction:
It seems fair to say that the disappearance of Silphium was caused by a combination of causes rather than a specific reason. Silphium’s high value, extensive over-harvesting, heavy grazing, and climatic changes fueled its extinction process1, 6, 31. Theophrastus and Pliny opined that Silphium was a rare plant only able to grow on its own and was impossible to be cultivated. Strabo (1924)13 theorizes that the growth of Silphium was well suited to the semi-desertic condition, but a low rate of seasonal precipitation or elevated temperatures in Cyrenaica’s local climate might have effectively disrupted the capability of Silphium’s seeds to germinate in the wild. Erosion of the soil due to overgrazing by sheep may have changed the topsoil composition, possibly leading to Silphium’s extinction. Another intriguing theory states that Silphium could have been a hybrid, and produced favorite results in the first generation. However, in the second generation, the hybrid plant seldom produces offspring from the seed with the same characteristics as the parent plant but spread by rootstock. Since the root portion of the plant was chiefly used for multiple purposes, overexploitation by completely uprooting the plant was an important cause of its extinction. According to Andrews (1941)1 deficiency of proper management under Roman rule and over-harvesting were the major factors for the extinction of Silphium. Palynological evidence from the Jebel al-Ahdar region in Cyrenaica unveiled a diverse ecosystem, dominated by native steppe-land taxa. However, signs of cultivation emerged with the presence of cereal grains, olives, and arable weeds, indicating extensive land use changes, including intentional vegetation burning, widespread clearing, heavy grazing, and soil erosion32. In Haua Fteah cave, a preliminary palynological study traced 37% of pollen samples back to animals, affirming the historical use of the cave for stalling livestock since the Hellenistic period33, 34. Cyrenaican Prehistory Project's recent excavations provided a detailed account of human occupation, revealing large inflows of eroded sediment linked to tilling for food crop cultivation. Positioned above and beneath a Graeco-Roman period structure, these deposits indicated substantial shifts in land usage and periods of heavy erosion just before construction35, 36. This multidimensional analysis underscores the intricate interplay of environmental, agricultural, and human factors contributing to the extinction of Silphium.
CONCLUSION:
The true identity and the present existence of this wonder herb is a mystery. Some think that, like the mythical “Sanjeevani herb”37 of the “Ramayana” era, it is still hiding from our sight as a Mediterranean weed in some inaccessible meadows, awaiting its rediscovery38. But it seems we are repeating the same mistake as a result of which out of the total estimated number of 8 million animal and plant species on earth, about one million are threatened with extinction due to anthropogenic activities39. Humphreys et al. (2019)40 estimated that on average, 2.3 species have become extinct each year for the past 2.5 centuries. Anthropogenic activities, responsible for the destruction and fragmentation of natural habitats, have significantly and adversely impacted wild plant populations globally41, 42. Suffice it to say that decrease in wild habitats enhanced the higher risk of local species extinction43. Furthermore, the world's seed-bearing plants are disappearing at a rate of nearly three species per year44 since 1900, a consequence of reckless human activities that pose a significant threat to biodiversity and ecological balance. This highlights the pressing need for conservation initiatives and responsible environmental practices to safeguard and preserve our planet's diverse biodiversity. We must act urgently to reverse the trend of species loss and protect the delicate balance of our ecosystems.
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Received on 30.03.2023 Modified on 06.09.2023
Accepted on 24.12.2023 ©A&V Publications All right reserved
Res. J. Pharmacognosy and Phytochem. 2024; 16(1):37-41.
DOI: 10.52711/0975-4385.2024.00008