Sagapenum (

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

''σᾰγάπηνον'', ''σικβινίτζα'' (

Du Cange Charles du Fresne, sieur du Cange (; December 18, 1610 in Amiens – October 23, 1688 in Paris, aged 77), also known simply as Charles Dufresne, was a distinguished French philologist and historian of the Middle Ages and Byzantium. Life Educate ...

), ''σεραπίων'';

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

''sakbīnadj'';

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

''sagapenum'', ''sagapium'', ''seraphinum'' ( Pharm. Witenbergica)) is a historical plant from

Media Media may refer to: Communication * Means of communication, tools and channels used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Interactive media, media that is inter ...

, identified with '' Ferula persica'' and '' Ferula szowitziana'', also denoting its yellow translucent

resin A resin is a solid or highly viscous liquid that can be converted into a polymer. Resins may be biological or synthetic in origin, but are typically harvested from plants. Resins are mixtures of organic compounds, predominantly terpenes. Commo ...

, which causes irritation of the skin and whose smell resembles that of

asafoetida Asafoetida (; also spelled asafetida) is the dried latex (Natural gum, gum oleoresin) exuded from the rhizome or tap root of several species of ''Ferula'', perennial herbs of the carrot family. It is produced in Iran, Afghanistan, Central As ...

History

Pliny ('' Historia Naturalis'' 12.126, 19.167, 20.197) holds that sagapenum is similar to

ammoniacum Ammoniacum or gum ammoniac is a gum-resin exuded from the several perennial herbs in the genus ''Ferula'' of the umbel family (Apiaceae). There are three types of ammoniacum: the gums ammoniac of Cyrenaica, of Persia (the commercial one today), a ...

, and mentions its use in adultering

laser A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word ''laser'' originated as an acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission of radi ...

. According to

Dioscorides Pedanius Dioscorides (, ; 40–90 AD), "the father of pharmacognosy", was a Greek physician, pharmacologist, botanist, and author of (in the original , , both meaning "On Materia medica, Medical Material") , a 5-volume Greek encyclopedic phar ...

(''

De materia medica (Latin name for the Greek work , , both meaning "On Medical Material") is a pharmacopoeia of medicinal plants and the medicines that can be obtained from them. The five-volume work was written between 50 and 70 CE by Pedanius Dioscorides, ...

'' 3.85, 95), sagapenum smells like

silphium Silphium (also known as ''laserwort'' or ''laser''; Ancient Greek: , ) is an unidentified plant that was used in classical antiquity as a seasoning, perfume, aphrodisiac, and medicine. It was an essential item of trade from the ancient North Af ...

and

galbanum Galbanum is an aromatic gum resin and a product of certain umbelliferous Persian plant species in the genus '' Ferula'', chiefly '' Ferula gummosa'' (synonym ''F. galbaniflua'') and '' Ferula rubricaulis''. Galbanum-yielding plants grow plentif ...

, and has expectorant, topical, anti-convulsant, and abortifacient properties.

References

{{reflist Resins Traditional medicine Ferula