[The virtue of that precious balsam...: approach to Don Quixote from the psychopharmacological perspective].
The most outstanding novel of the Spanish literature, Don Quixote, represents the source to which the different specialists who intend to deepen their knowledge of the late Renaissance society usually address. This masterpiece of Miguel de Cervantes has been frequently approached from the psychopathological perspective to obtain a psychiatric diagnosis of its main character, Alonso Quijano. Also, other clinical approaches from the traumatological and general therapeutical view (oils, ointments, balms and other pharmacy preparations) have been frequent. We have tackled Don Quixote from the psychopharmacological perspective, a barely explored field. In this work, we intend to study the therapeutical cures used during the Cervantine time for the treatment of insane and mentally disturbed people (sedatives like opium, laxatives like hellebore, tonics, irritants and surgical techniques like bloodlettings and <<fuentes>>) and we analyze the limited and unspecific therapies, mainly of herbal origin (balms, purgatives and emetics), which Cervantes reveals to us in his novel. Among them, rhubarb root (Rumex alpinus), seeds of spurge (Euphorbia lathyris), St. John's Wort (Hypericum perforatum), main ingredient of Aparicio's oil, and rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis), primary component of the famous balsam of Fierabras, should be highlighted. We have also examined the possible scientific influences which might have inspired Cervantes in this field, mainly the works of Juan Huarte de San Juan The examination of men's wits and the one of Andres Laguna Dioscorides' materia medica.
Lopez-Munoz
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F
Departamento de Farmacología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Alcalá, Madrid. frlopez@juste.net
Garcia-Garcia
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P
Alamo
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C
D049669:History, 16th Century; D006801:Humans; D008091:Literature / Q000266:history*; D008513:Medicine in Literature; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy*; D011570:Psychiatry / Q000266:history*; D011600:Psychopharmacology; D013030:Spain