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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bezoar | 2/2 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bezoar | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T16:24:07.305365+00:00 | kb-cron |
== History == The word bezoar is derived from the Persian pād-zahr (پادزهر), literally 'antidote'. People believed that a bezoar had the power of a universal antidote and would work against any poison – a drinking glass that contained a bezoar could allegedly neutralize any poison poured into it. The myth of the bezoar as an antidote began in the Islamic world and India. Healers in these regions believed that bezoars had the ability to cure disease and overall protect the body, but most importantly, cure poison. Well-known Islamic physicians, such as Ibn Zuhr, played an important role in spreading this belief, where they describe bezoars as effective antidotes against poison . Ibn Zuhr (d. 1161), known in the West as Avenzoar, is thought[by whom?] to have made the earliest description of bezoar stones as medicinal items. Extensive reference to bezoars also appears in the Picatrix. Through Arabic sources like medical texts and translation movements, bezoars were introduced into Europe in the 12th century. Later on, between the 16th and 17th centuries, bezoars became much more common across Europe due to the increase in global trade. Bezoars, along with other valuables like jewels and diamonds, were brought from India and the East Indies. Bezoars from monkeys and the goats in the East Indies were considered to be the most valuable and most effective antidotes to poison. During this time, bezoars were extremely popular due to new beliefs that the stone could also cure many other illnesses, such as plague, epilepsy, and melancholy, in addition to being a "cure-all" for poison. Bezoars were important objects in Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II's cabinets of curiosity and in natural-history collections, mainly for their use in early-modern pharmacy and in the study of animal health. Since bezoars began as extremely rare objects, they were mainly found in royal or elite collections, where they were treated as prized possessions and symbols of wealth rather than medicinal. Elites kept bezoars in their possession not only for bodily protection, but also to represent their wealth and rank. For example, Queen Elizabeth I of England worn a bezoar ring. As bezoars were gaining more popularity in the 16th century, skepticism about their effectiveness increased. To prove the effectiveness of bezoars being able to cure poison, physicians conducted poison trials. In 1567, French surgeon Ambroise Paré did not believe that it was possible for the bezoar to cure the effects of any poison and described an experiment to test the properties of the stone. A cook in the King's court was sentenced to death and chose to be poisoned rather than hanged, under the condition that he would be given a bezoar after the poison. Paré administered the bezoar stone to the cook, but it had no effect, and the cook died in agony seven hours after taking the poison, proving that – contrary to popular belief – the bezoar could not cure all poisons.
As the demand and price of bezoars increased, counterfeit stones became a major issue. Because real bezoars were valuable and expensive, many traders began selling counterfeit stones, making it difficult to tell which stones were real. While poison trials were conducted to test the effectiveness of the stone, they were not always used to determine their authenticity. Instead, other tests included applying poison on a needle and passing it through a dog's leg, and if the dog survived, then the bezoar stone was considered to be real. The increasing skepticism, counterfeit stones, failed experiments, and advancements in medicine led to a decline in bezoars in Western medicine. Modern examinations of the properties of bezoars by Gustaf Arrhenius and Andrew Benson of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography show that when bezoars are immersed in an arsenic-laced solution, they can remove the poison. The toxic compounds in arsenic are arsenate and arsenite; each is acted upon differently by the bezoars: arsenate is removed by being exchanged for phosphate in brushite found in the stones, while arsenite is bound to sulfur compounds in the protein of degraded hair, which is a key component in bezoars. A famous case in the common law of England (Chandelor v Lopus, 79 Eng Rep. 3, Cro. Jac. 4, Eng. Ct. Exch. 1603) announced the rule of caveat emptor ("let the buyer beware") if the goods purchased are not in fact genuine and effective. The case concerned a purchaser who sued for the return of the purchase price of an allegedly fraudulent bezoar.
== See also == Bezoardicum Coca-Cola treatment of phytobezoars Enterolith Fecalith Gastrolith Goa stone Gorochana Regurgitalith Snake-stones Toadstone
== References ==
== Bibliography == Barry Levine. 1999. Principles of Forensic Toxicology. Amer. Assoc. for Clinical Chemistry. ISBN 1-890883-87-5. Martin-Gil, F. J.; Blanco-Alvarez, J. I.; Barrio-Arredondo, M. T.; Ramos-Sanchez, M. C.; Martin-Gil, J. (11 February 1995). "Bézoard du jéjunum provoqué par une épluchure de pomme" [Jejunal bezoar caused by a piece of apple peel]. La Presse Médicale (in French). 24 (6): 326. PMID 7899397. Deprecated link at archive.today (archived 5 December 2012) This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chambers, Ephraim (ed.). "Bezoar". Cyclopædia, or an Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences. James and John Knapton, et al.
== Further reading == Borschberg, Peter (2016). "The Euro-Asian Trade in Bezoar Stones (approx. 1500–1700)". In North, Michael (ed.). Artistic and Cultural Exchanges between Europe and Asia, 1400-1900. pp. 29–43. doi:10.4324/9781315262062. ISBN 978-1-315-26206-2. Borschberg, Peter (2006). "O comércio, uso e falsificação dos bezoares de porco-espinho na Época Moderna" [The Trade, Forgery and Medicinal Use of Porcupine Bezoars in the Early Modern Period (c.1500–1750)]. In Pinto, Carla Alferes (ed.). Oriente (in Portuguese). Vol. 14. Lisbon: Fundação Oriente.
== External links ==