Arum was used in ancient times by farmers to gauge a season's fertility. Being one of the first plants to appear in the spring, the size of the arum's spadix was used to estimate the size of the harvest for that year.[139] The ancient Greek physician Dioscorides noted the abortive use of Arum dracunculus in 50 BC. Later a myth developed, that when a dragon is slain, wherever the dragon’s blood touches the ground, ‘dragon arum’ sprouts. Ironically, the myth is not far from the truth, as the arum carrion flowers are believed to have evolved to resemble in color, texture, and odor of decaying animals to attract flies as pollinators. The foul smell of arum flower is reputed to abort a newly conceived embryo, which seems hard to believe, but recent studies have shown an increased risk of miscarriage in women who are exposed to inhaled sulphide chemicals.[140] The volatile chemicals emitted by dragon arum flowers to attract pollinating insects are dimethyl oligosulphides.
Sulphur has an ancient reputation as an abortive fumigant. Sulfur has the ability to cause blood to not clot as readily. Dioscorides in his Materia Medica prescribed sulphur fumigation to expel a fetus. Onions and garlic contain sulphur and also have a reputation as abortifacients. An 8th century Sanskrit text instructs women wishing to induce abortion to sit over a pot of stewed onions.[141]
Gathering: Arum dracunculus grows wild in Crete. The plant parts are gathered in midsummer and the seeds in the fall.
Preparation: Arum would probably be most effective in early pregnancy when teratogenic agents have more influence on the growing fetus.
Words to the wise: Arum dracunculus does NOT have a modern medicinal herb record. There are no scientific studies on the possible effects of Arum dracunculus internally. Laboratory tests have indicated that inhaled sulfur derivatives can cause serious vascular damage in veins of the brain, the heart, and the kidneys.
Watch for signs of Toxicity Specific to Arum dracunculus: Inhaled sulfides can cause eye irritation, sore throat, coughing, and fluid in the lungs. Inhalation of the fragrance of Arum dracunculus flowers has caused dizziness, headache, and vomiting.
Arum Abortifacient Drink*: 30 Arum dracunculus seeds in 4 oz. (125 ml) of wine.[142]
*Signs of toxicity for internal consumption of the seeds of arum are unknown. Extreme caution!
Avocado
A ha, I only plant them and look! And LOOK what happens. They plant more and they plant more. It is the avocado tree that my father planted, and I am going to plant it again and again!
-Aztec metaphor[143]
AKA: Aguacate, palta, abacate, ahuacatl, and alligator pear.
Parts Used: Shoots, young leaves, and seeds.
Medicinal Properties: Abortifacient, astringent, carminative, and emmenagogue.
Effects on the Body: Reduces bood sugar and interferes with normal lactation.
Abortifacient Action: Uterine contraction, dopamines may interfere in ovarian hormones, and embryo toxic.
Contains: Volatile oil (methylchavicol, alpha-pinene), tryamine (oxytocic), serotonin (oxytocic), dopamines, flavonoids, and tannins.
Description: The avocado is a vigorous tropical tree, often reaching over 30 ft. (9 m) in height. The avocado tree’s dark green leaves are glossy. The pear-shaped avocado fruit is a familiar edible and is commercially grown for distribution around the world. Flesh is pale yellow to yellow green, buttery with a unique, rich, and creamy flavor. The avocado, indigenous to Central and South America, is grown around the world in warm climates. There are many varieties of avocado.
Avocados have an ancient history as a human food, possibly as far back as 5000 BC. Avocado seeds have been found buried with Incan mummies dating to 800 BC. The avocado fruit, although poisonous to most birds, was the main diet of the Quetzal, the sacred bird of the Mayans. The Aztecs considered the avocado powerfully sacred, as pairs of avocado fruit were thought to resemble the male anatomy. The word avocado comes from the Aztec word ‘ahuacatl,’ meaning testicle. The avocado was known to the Aztecs as a fertility vegetable. Young women were forbidden to set foot outside while the avocado fruit was being harvested.
A myth from Guiana about the avocado hints at avocado fertility effects:
Seriokai often gathered avocados with his wife in the forest of Orinoco. During one of these gathering expeditions, a tapir fell in love with his wife and at last won her heart. When the unsuspecting Serokai climbed down from the avocado tree, the bag on his back filled with heavy fruit, his wife struck him with an axe, cutting off his leg. Gathering up the fruit, she hurried to the tapir’s hiding place, and she and the tapir hurried away together. Serokai was nursed back to health by his tribe, and fitted with a wooden peg for a leg. He started after the runaways. Although their path had long been obliterated, Serokai traced them through the forest by the avocado trees that had sprouted from the seeds scattered by his faithless wife. He followed the avocado trees over mountains and forded rivers to find the trees again. The trees grew smaller the nearer he came to the runaways. Eventually, they became sprouts and then only seeds, and then he saw footprints. When he overtook them, he sent an arrow into the body of the tapir, who at that moment bounded off the edge of the world. Seeing her companion so transfixed, the woman leaped also. Hot in his pursuit of vengeance, Serokai followed, and he still hunts the unrepentant ones through space. He is the constellation of Orion, his wife is Pleiades, and the tapir is Hyades, with the bloody eye.[144]
Avocados developed a stigma as a sexual stimulant, and individuals who were concerned about appearing chaste did not purchase or consume them in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Growers of avocados pursued a public relations campaign to debunk the stigma, and avocados eventually became popular as a food in North America.
The shoots, young leaves, and seed of the avocado are used as abortifacients in several countries. An infusion of the young leaves occasionally combined with pieces of avocado seed is used in Costa Rica as an emmenagogue and abortifacient.[145] In Cuba, the hot water infusion of avocado shoots is taken orally as an abortifacient.[146] The Kichos Indians of Peru drink the hot water extract of the leaves of avocado as an abortifacient.[147] In Trinidad, the avocado seed is grated into a glass of water, and then the water is taken to induce abortion.[148] In Central and South America, the leaf juice, bark of young stems in decoction, or the avocado seed is cooked and eaten to produce abortion.[149]
In scientific studies, avocado has shown a uterine stimulating effect in the rat uterus.[150] Dopamine has been found in the leaves, and may be the reason that the avocado leaves are used for fertility regulation. Recent scientific studies indicate that dopamine receptors are present in the ovaries.[151] Researchers at the Garvan Institute in Australia have found that avocado contains the fungicidal toxin, persin, which leaches into the flesh of the avocado from the pit. Persin is generally considered safe for human consumption as humans cannot digest it, but persin is very toxic to domestic animals exposed to it. Tests have shown that persin can kill breast cancer cells and enhances the effects of the breast cancer drug tamoxifen.[152]
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John M. Riddle,
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