Advieh-e Jadideh (Novel drugs) in Aghili's Pharmaceutical Books

Advieh-e Jadideh” (Novel drugs) is a term used by Aghili Khorasani to introduce some ofthe single drugs of his pharmacopoeia. He defined this term as drugs originated abroad with no history of use in Iranian Traditional Medicine (ITM). Study of this issue has somehistorical points like mercantile aspects of traditional pharmacy. However, the currentinvestigation tries to clarify the approach of traditional physicians in encountering withwestern system of pharmacy and medicine. To this end, the term “Advieh-e Jadideh” wassearched through Aghili’s pharmaceutical books, i.e., Makhzan ul-Advia and Gharabadin-eKabir and then the nature, source of preparation, and scientific name of these drugs wereinvestigated. The results show that the term was used for 27 drugs in the books, out ofwhich the scientific name of 16 were determined. The nature of most of the drugs wasdetermined to be hot and dry and in determination of the nature of the drugs there were some controversies in some cases. Determination of the nature of the drugs was mostly based upon the use of them in foreign treatment systems. However, the common methods of comparison and experience were also employed. Out of the drugs, seven were originated from America, six from a region near Venezuela, and others were from China and other countries. The study shows that using other treatment systems along with the ITM was acceptable for Aghili Khorasani. The attempts to determine the nature of the drugs indicate the possibility of their integration into the drug system of ITM. With respect to the similar case ITM experience in dealing with modern medicine, it is suggested that by evaluation of the temperament of novel drugs and determination of the traditional mechanism of their effectiveness, the possibility of integration and simultaneous use of ITM with modern medicine be assessed.