Human fat was mentioned in European

pharmacopoeia A pharmacopoeia, pharmacopeia, or pharmacopoea (or the typographically obsolete rendering, ''pharmacopœia''), meaning "drug-making", in its modern technical sense, is a reference work containing directions for the identification of compound med ...

s since the 16th century as an important

fat In nutrition science, nutrition, biology, and chemistry, fat usually means any ester of fatty acids, or a mixture of such chemical compound, compounds, most commonly those that occur in living beings or in food. The term often refers specif ...

ty component of quality deemed

ointments A topical medication is a medication that is applied to a particular place on or in the body. Most often topical medication means application to body surfaces such as the skin or mucous membranes to treat ailments via a large range of classes ...

and other

pharmaceuticals Medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal product, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy ( pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the ...

in Europe. In old recipes human

adipose tissue Adipose tissue (also known as body fat or simply fat) is a loose connective tissue composed mostly of adipocytes. It also contains the stromal vascular fraction (SVF) of cells including preadipocytes, fibroblasts, Blood vessel, vascular endothel ...

was mentioned as ''Pinguedo hominis'', or '' Axungia hominis''. The German medicinal Johann Agricola (1496–1570) described the recovery of human fat and its applications. In

traditional medicine Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous medicine or folk medicine) refers to the knowledge, skills, and practices rooted in the cultural beliefs of various societies, especially Indigenous groups, used for maintaining health and treatin ...

in Europe, human fat was believed to have a healing magic significance until the 19th century. Many

executioner An executioner, also known as a hangman or headsman, is an official who effects a sentence of capital punishment on a condemned person. Scope and job The executioner was usually presented with a warrant authorizing or ordering him to ...

s recovered the fat from the bodies of their executants, called "Armsünderfett" or "Armsünderschmalz" (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

: ''fat'' or ''grease from poor sinners'' put to death), and sold it. For some executioners the marketing of human fat was a major source of revenue. The human fat was used to make ointments for treatment of various diseases such as

bone pain Bone pain (also known medically by several other names) is pain coming from a bone, and is caused by damaging stimuli. It occurs as a result of a wide range of diseases or physical conditions or both, and may severely impair the quality of life. ...

toothache Toothaches, also known as dental pain or tooth pain,Segen JC. (2002). ''McGraw-Hill Concise Dictionary of Modern Medicine''. The McGraw-Hill Companies. is pain in the teeth or their supporting structures, caused by dental diseases or referred ...

and

gout Gout ( ) is a form of inflammatory arthritis characterized by recurrent attacks of pain in a red, tender, hot, and Joint effusion, swollen joint, caused by the deposition of needle-like crystals of uric acid known as monosodium urate crysta ...

. It was also regarded as a

panacea In Greek mythology and religion, Panacea (Greek ''Πανάκεια'', Panakeia), a goddess of universal remedy, was the daughter of Asclepius and Epione. Mythology Panacea and her four sisters each performed a facet of Apollo's art: * Panac ...

for particular diseases associated with

cachexia Cachexia () is a syndrome that happens when people have certain illnesses, causing muscle loss that cannot be fully reversed with improved nutrition. It is most common in diseases like cancer, Heart failure, congestive heart failure, chronic o ...

(e.g.

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

). Also an

analgesic An analgesic drug, also called simply an analgesic, antalgic, pain reliever, or painkiller, is any member of the group of drugs used for pain management. Analgesics are conceptually distinct from anesthetics, which temporarily reduce, and in s ...

effect in

rheumatoid arthritis Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a long-term autoimmune disorder that primarily affects synovial joint, joints. It typically results in warm, swollen, and painful joints. Pain and stiffness often worsen following rest. Most commonly, the wrist and h ...

was given to human fat. From the late 19th century, human fat was produced and offered under the

trade name A trade name, trading name, or business name is a pseudonym used by companies that do not operate under their registered company name. The term for this type of alternative name is fictitious business name. Registering the fictitious name with ...

''Humanol'' as a sterile, liquified preparation for injections in Germany. In 1909 it was introduced for surgical treatment of scars, wound disinfection, and wound revisions. In the 1920s it became out of fashion after low cure rates and the incidence of

fat embolism Fat embolism syndrome occurs when adipose tissue, fat enters the blood stream (fat embolism) and results in symptoms. Symptoms generally begin within a day. This may include a petechia, petechial rash, decreased level of consciousness, and shortn ...

s caused by its application. Until the 1960s various manufacturers offered alleged wrinkle creams for external use (''Hormocenta'' of Hormocenta Cosmetic Böttger GmbH, or ''Placentubex C'' of

Merz Pharma Merz Pharma GmbH & Co. KGaA (also ''Merz Pharma KGaA'' or ''Merz'') is an internationally active family-owned company, headquartered in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Merz is the parent company of independent businesses in the fields of aesthetic me ...

ceuticals) containing human fat from

placenta The placenta (: placentas or placentae) is a temporary embryonic and later fetal organ that begins developing from the blastocyst shortly after implantation. It plays critical roles in facilitating nutrient, gas, and waste exchange between ...

s collected from

midwives A midwife (: midwives) is a health professional who cares for mothers and newborns around childbirth, a specialisation known as midwifery. The education and training for a midwife concentrates extensively on the care of women throughout their ...

and obstetric departments for industrial purposes. The use of human placentas was terminated in favour of animal products. In 2009, a group of Peruvian gangsters, nicknamed " pishtacos" by the police, was accused of having manufactured and marketed human fat. However, the Peruvian

Ministry of the Interior An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, the ...

later described these allegations as a hoax.

Myths

Both Spanish ( sacamantecas) and Peruvian (

pishtaco A (in Northern Quechua "slaughterer, cutthroat"), (in Southern Quechua, similar meaning) or (in Aymara language, Aymara,"slaughterer") is a folkloric boogeyman figure in the Andes region of South America, particularly in Peru and Bolivia, whic ...

) folklore contain examples of monsters or criminals who murder human victims for their fat.

Manuel Blanco Romasanta Manuel Blanco Romasanta (né Manuela; 18 November 1809 – 14 December 1863) was Spain's first recorded serial killer. In 1853, he admitted to thirteen murders but claimed he was not responsible because he was suffering from a curse that caused ...

“O HOME DO UNTO”
, ''Romasanta, memoria cierta de una leyenda'', Xosé Domínguez. Quotes * Vicente Martínez-Risco Agüero, ''Discurso de ingreso en la Real Academia Gallega'', Editorial Moret, La Coruña, 1971 * Document by the mayor of Nombela, partido judicial of

Escalona Escalona is a municipality located in the north of the province of Toledo (province), Toledo, which in turn is part of the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha, Spain. According to the 2017 census (Instituto Nacional de Estadística (Spain), ...

province of Toledo Toledo () is a Province (Spain), province of central Spain, in the western part of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile–La Mancha. It is bordered by the provinces of Madrid Province, Madrid, Cuenca Province (Spai ...

. Part of the cause against Romasanta. (1809–1863), the first serial killer documented in Spain, was accused of extracting fat from his victims to sell in Portugal, exchanging an ounce of fat for an ounce of gold. This folk belief survives to the modern day. In Latin American urban legends, it is claimed that human fat is used to grease bells for better sound, or applied to modern machinery such as railways or airplanes.

References

History of pharmacy Connective tissue Endocrine system Human anatomy Animal fat products Lipids

Myths

See also

References