Medicinal Plants of the 1800s

Medicines during the 19th century were herbal. This was true for doctors, midwives and pharmacists. Victorians could not synthesize the drugs found in modern society and used natural substances such as plants for medicine. They did not have, for example, antibiotics except for the toxic Pyocyanase that scientists discovered in the 1890s. Many herbs the Victorians used were unsafe, of questionable efficiency or are now illegal.

Opium

• Victorians frequently used opium, made from the poppy plant (Papaver somniferum). The ancient Romans first introduced opium into Western use during their conquest across the Middle East and over Europe. The German physician Friedrich Sertuerner was an apocethary's assistant who first discovered morphine, the active ingredient of opium, by dissolving opium in acid and neutralizing the substance with ammonia. Heroin, a substance derived from morphine, was also used in Victorian times. This substance is illegal to use in modern society but opium and its derivatives were standard remedies for many ailments in the 19th century until doctors understood the addictive properties of the plant and sought to restrict its use. Pharmacists used opium and morphine for maladies such as headaches, gout, malaria and syphilis. Victorian parents and baby nurses used a mixture of alcohol and opium called laudanum to quiet babies and young children. This practice frequently led to infant and toddler mortality in the 19th century.

Absinthe

• Absinthe is a distilled liquor made with wormwood (Artemisia Absinthium). The herb, when combined with alcohol, becomes a narcotic that Victorians used for their ailments. This herbal preparation had alleged use for breaking up gallstones, restoring memory, preventing tiredness and curing rheumatism. Wormwood was also used to prevent lice, cure anemia and prevent fevers. Some of the cures were fancifully non-medical such as warding off dangerous animals and as antidotes to poisons. Absinthe is currently used as a drug in alcohol that can sometimes lead to hallucinations.

Cocaine

• Cocaine was a legal drug in Victorian times. Notable people who used cocaine in wine were Queen Victoria and Robert Louis Stephenson. The drug derived from the coca plant (Erythroxylum coca Lam.Coca) was used to cure depression, soothe tired throats and to ameliorate toothaches for children. Victorian parents used cocaine drops to quiet young children often with fatal results.

Herbal Gardens

• People in Victorian times, especially in rural areas and the American frontier, grew herbs in gardens for medicinal use. They also used wild and native herbs to cure their ailments. The native herbs varied by geographical area but people in the 19th century used cultivated plants as standard remedies to keep well. Victorians used such herbs as lavender (Lavandula angustifolia, or Lavandula officinalis) for indigestion, headaches and respiratory problems or roman chamomile for digestive problems and colic. They used mint (Mentha piperita) for digestive problems, headaches and soothing toothaches. Marshmallow (Althaea officinalis) was another popular herbal remedy for respiratory ailments.