Accuracy of Dioscorides', De materia medica (First Century CE), Regarding Diuretic Activity of Plants

Objectives: Assess whether an ancient text on herbal medicine accurately characterizes a class of herbal diuretics. Design: The Greek text of Dioscorides De materia medica was assessed for herbs stated to have diuretic activity, and then modern research was sought to determine how accurate the ancient assessment of these herbs was. Results: Of the 105 plants cited as having diuretic activity by Dioscorides, 56 (53.3%) genuses are confirmed as being diuretic in animal or human research. For another 38 (36.2%) genuses, no research related to diuresis could be identified. Six (5.7%) genuses had mixed results in modern research, whereas a mere 5 (4.8%) genuses were shown to not have diuretic activity. Considering the 67 genuses that were investigated, 56 (83.6%) were confirmed. Conclusion: This analysis confirms that Dioscorides was accurate in determining the diuretic nature of herbs, raising the possibility that he was right about other therapeutic suggestions concerning herbs he made. For the remaining herbs that have not been assessed for diuretic effect, it is not yet known if Dioscorides was accurate. Our findings suggest that the 38 herbs Dioscorides categorized as diuretics that have not been studied for diuretic function are candidates for research in this regard.