Some data from the archive of A.I. Shrenk on the use of plants in folk medicine by the population of Kazakhstan in the first half of the 19th century

Abstract

A previously unpublished document from 1841, titled “Extract from the medical-topographic description of Kokchetav district by doctor Bogoslovsky” was found in the archive of A.I. Shrenk at the St. Petersburg branch of the RAS Archives, along with materials from the herbarium of the Botanical Institute named after V.L. Komarov RAS (St. Petersburg, Russian Federation). The document contains interesting information about the use of some local and imported plants by the population to treat various diseases (scurvy, eye inflammation, fever, cystitis, scabies, lichen, etc.). This information probably attracted the attention of A.I. Shrenk, who collected diverse information about the poorly explored lands during his travels. The article describes the medicinal use of Allium cepa L., Lithospermum officinale L., Atraphaxis frutescens (L.) K. Koch, Pentanema salicinum (L.) D. Gut.Larr., Santos-Vicente, Anderb, E. Rico & M.M. Mart.Ort., Inula helenium L. and others, and clarifies the species of some of them. Such data enrich the existing scientific knowledge of the medicinal properties of plants and their use in the first half of the 19th century.