Ergot
Timeline
| c. 1000 BCE - 392 CE | Annual mystery rites dedicated to the goddess Demeter are held in the Greek city of Eleusis. The weeks-long celebration culminates in an all-night secret initiation rite. Some speculate that the initiation may have involved drinking a hallucinogenic potion containing ergot alkaloids. 1 | |
| 600 BCE | Assyrians describe ergot as a "noxious postule in the ear of grain." 2 | |
| 1039 | The first-known European outbreak of "Holy Fire" afflicts Dauphiné, France, the burial place of Saint Anthony. Members of his holy order form a hospital and begin caring for the afflicted, and the ailment subsequently becomes known as "Saint Anthony's Fire". Following the introduction of rye into Europe, ergot epidemics become a periodic fact of life. 2 [Details] | |
| Middle Ages | Midwives use weak ergot extracts to hasten labor and reduce postpartum bleeding. 3 | |
| 1676 | Ergot is discovered to be a cause of bread poisoning by Denis Dodart, who reports his findings to the French Royal Academy of Sciences. 4 | |
| 1692 | The salem witch trials in Salem, Massachussettes, may have been prompted by an outbreak of ergotism. 4 | |
| 1807 | In one of the first mentions of ergot in the United States, physician John Stearns recommends powdered ergot sclerotia as a therapeutic agent in childbirth, inaugurating modern scientific research into ergot's medicinal properties. 4 | |
| 1823 | Ergot alkaloids are no longer used during childbirth, but are administered afterwards to prevent postpartum hemorrhage. 5 | |
| Late 19th Century | Extracts of ergot are first used to treat vascular and migraine headaches | |
| Nov 16, 1938 | Albert Hofmann, a chemist working for Sandoz Pharmaceutical in Basel, Switzerland, is the first to synthesize LSD-25. He discovered LSD, a semi-synthetic derivative of ergot alkaloids, while looking for a blood stimulant. 6 | |
| 1951 | Contaminated flour causes an epidemic of delirium and fevers in Saint-Pont-Esprit, France, causing 200 illnesses and 4 deaths. French authorities alternately blame ergot and mercury poisoning. 7 |
References
- Schultes RE, Hofmann A, Rätsch C. Plants of the Gods. Inner Traditions. 2001.
- Ott J. Pharmacotheon, The Natural Products Co. 1993.
- Caporael LR. "Ergotism: The Satan Loosed in Salem?". Science. 1976;192(4234):21-6.
- van Dongen PW, de Groot AN. "History of ergot alkaloids from ergotism to ergometrine".Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol. 1995;60(2):109-16.
- Hofmann A. "Die Geschichte des LSD-25". Triangel Sandoz Zeitschrift fur Medizinische Wissenschaften. 1955;2(3):117-24. (as cited in Ott J. Pharmacotheon. 1993. pg 123.)
- Fuller JG. The Day of St Anthony's Fire. Macmillan Co. 1968.