Why Rabbits Act Like Rabbits
Lettuce as an aphrodisiac? Who knew?
According to this story, Egyptians ate lettuce to boost their sex drives.
An Italian researcher claims to have solved a century-old archaeological puzzle. In Egyptian bas reliefs, the lettuce plant appears as an offering to the ancient Egyptian deity Min, the god of fertility and sexuality. For more than a century, archaeologists have wondered why this rather bland vegetable was associated with the exuberant Min.
Italian ethnobotanist Giorgio Samorini identified the type of lettuce depicted in Egyptian bas reliefs as Lactuca serriola," a type of wild lettuce, described as a dandelion-like weed with bitter leaves. First cultivated by ancient Egyptians, L. serriola can be found throughout Europe, Asia, North Africa, Canada and the United States, growing wild on roadsides and along walls.
Evidently this plant doesn't look much like what most of us would recognize as lettuce. It has oblong, prickly-edged, leaves with a milky sap that runs when broken off.
Samorini tested the phytochemicals present in the sap and discovered that it has a double, opposite effect, depending on the dose. One gram acts as a calmative and painkiller; two to three grams have a stimulating effect.
Samorini says that the tropane alkaloids present in L. serriola, which are responsible for its stimulative properties, can be also found in plants of the nightshade family, such as the mandrake, long reputed for its magic and aphrodisiac powers.
Technorati Tags:
vegetables, vegetarianism, lettuce, aphrodisiac, aphrodisiacs, eros, sex, libido, seduction, Egypt, Egyptians, history, ancients, science, ethnobiology, arousal, news, archaeology, food, romance
According to this story, Egyptians ate lettuce to boost their sex drives.
An Italian researcher claims to have solved a century-old archaeological puzzle. In Egyptian bas reliefs, the lettuce plant appears as an offering to the ancient Egyptian deity Min, the god of fertility and sexuality. For more than a century, archaeologists have wondered why this rather bland vegetable was associated with the exuberant Min.
Italian ethnobotanist Giorgio Samorini identified the type of lettuce depicted in Egyptian bas reliefs as Lactuca serriola," a type of wild lettuce, described as a dandelion-like weed with bitter leaves. First cultivated by ancient Egyptians, L. serriola can be found throughout Europe, Asia, North Africa, Canada and the United States, growing wild on roadsides and along walls.
Evidently this plant doesn't look much like what most of us would recognize as lettuce. It has oblong, prickly-edged, leaves with a milky sap that runs when broken off.
Samorini tested the phytochemicals present in the sap and discovered that it has a double, opposite effect, depending on the dose. One gram acts as a calmative and painkiller; two to three grams have a stimulating effect.
Samorini says that the tropane alkaloids present in L. serriola, which are responsible for its stimulative properties, can be also found in plants of the nightshade family, such as the mandrake, long reputed for its magic and aphrodisiac powers.
Technorati Tags:
vegetables, vegetarianism, lettuce, aphrodisiac, aphrodisiacs, eros, sex, libido, seduction, Egypt, Egyptians, history, ancients, science, ethnobiology, arousal, news, archaeology, food, romance
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