# Confection of hyacinth

**Confectio de hyacintho**

**Known today as.** A cordial electuary of powdered jacinth, sapphire, emerald, and other stones, with coral, pearls, and gold.

Kind: Compound

## What was it used for?

Against fevers and the plague, and to strengthen the heart.

## What does modern science say?

Its stones and earths belong to a geological pharmacy that was declining by the late eighteenth century, replaced by a more empirical approach; see [The precious stones](https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/precious-stones).

## Pharmacognosy and toxicology

- **zircon**: the hyacinth stone
- **Armenian bole and terra sigillata**: the medicinal clays
- **coral and pearl**: calcium carbonate
- **saffron, myrrh, and camphor**: the aromatics

**Mechanism.** A cordial of ground gems and earths with saffron, made up with syrup of lemons: some medicinal clays bind acids and toxic substances in the gut, and Lemnian earth was taken from antiquity as an antidote to poisoning, which gives the antidote reputation a thread of pharmacology; the pearls and coral are calcium carbonate, an antacid. Against fever and plague it was the cost that impressed: Culpeper supposed it was given sparingly for its chargeableness.

**Dose.** Culpeper never gave above half a dram at a time, and very seldom so much.

**Standing.** In the London Pharmacopoeia of 1653; geological medicines were in decline by the late eighteenth century.

## Sources

- Culpeper, N. (1653). *Pharmacopœia Londinensis*.
- Wikipedia, “Zircon,” en.wikipedia.org (read 2 October 2026).
- Wikipedia, “Lemnian Earth,” en.wikipedia.org (read 2 October 2026).
- Wikipedia, “Pearl,” en.wikipedia.org (read 2 October 2026).
- Wikipedia, “Precious coral,” en.wikipedia.org (read 2 October 2026).
- Wikipedia, “Medicinal clay,” en.wikipedia.org (read 2 October 2026).
- Wikipedia, “Calcium carbonate,” en.wikipedia.org (read 2 October 2026).
- Duffin, C. J. (2013). “Lithotherapeutical research sources,” in *A History of Geology and Medicine*. Geological Society.
- Culpeper, N. (1653). *Pharmacopoeia Londinensis*, “Confectio de Hyacintho.”

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*Confection of hyacinth.* In *Materia Medica*, edited by B. C. P. Statema. Version 1, revised 2026-10-03. The Thinking Press. https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/confection-of-hyacinth

Historical description, not medical advice.