Silphium was said to have medicinal properties. The Romans and Greeks also used it for cooking.
We had lost sight of him for 2000 years. In Turkey, a researcher has apparently found silphium plants, a “miracle plant” with golden leaves that was popular with the Romans and Greeks of the Mediterranean region in ancient times, reports National Geographic.
Mahmut Miski, a professor at the University of Istanbul, has been working on this system for 38 years. He now points to the strong similarities between his discovery, Ferula drudeana, and the silphium that researchers found after it became extinct in the 1st century.
Thick roots, grooved stem and circular flower clusters… The appearance seems to be the same as documented in many archives of the time, as is the chemical composition of the plant.
Valuable chemical compounds
According to our colleagues, Mahmut Miski’s discovery represents a “gold mine” of chemical compounds with special anti-cancer, contraceptive and anti-inflammatory properties.
“It’s like we’ve combined half a dozen important medicinal plants into a single species,” the professor told National Geographic.
In ancient times, silphium therefore had a variety of uses: the authorities prescribed it against hair loss, toothache, pleurisy and epilepsy. It was also a balm considered effective against dog bites and scorpion stings, our colleagues specify.
Only 600 plants known to researchers
In addition, the plant was also a refined spice used by chefs in their preparations. “Finding the original silphium and using it to rediscover ancient recipes would be something of a Holy Grail,” says researcher Sally Grainger.
“It’s intense and delicious. When you smell it, it makes you salivate,” she continues.
Despite everything, researchers prefer to be cautious: while the reappearance of this plant, if confirmed, would be excellent news, one must be cautious given its rarity. “As far as we know, there are only 600 of these plants worldwide,” explains Mahmut Miski.