Coral, red

Statema, B. C. P.

Animal

Coral, red

Corallo rosso

Known today as: Precious red coral, Corallium rubrum, of the western Mediterranean, prepared as powder.
Kind: Animal, in 2 older authorities
Constituents: calcium carbonate, magnesium, organic matrix
Earliest authority here: Ovid (43 BC–AD 17/18)
Qualities: Cold, dry, and binding (Culpeper). What the degrees mean
In other databases: GBIF search · Wikidata search
In the Canale glossary: On the Manner of Discerning and Healing the Bewitched, Appendix A: Part Three, Chapter 6: Remedies Given by Mouth After the Purge

Revised October 3, 2026: Checked against its sources, each read in full, in part, or in its abstract. Version 1, first published September 25, 2026.

Coral, red: what did Canale use it for?

In a powder, and tied about the neck to prevent bewitchment, “according to Dioscorides” (chs. 6, 10).

Coral, red: what does modern science say?

Long prized for jewelry.

Pharmacognosy & Toxicology

Constituents

calcium carbonate ChEMBLas calcite, the skeleton
magnesiumin the calcite, which is high-magnesium
organic matrix1–2 per cent, with over a hundred proteins

Mechanism

Powdered, it is calcium carbonate, the stuff of antacid tablets that relieve heartburn; tied at the neck it is a bead. Coral of another kind, the stony Porites, is used as a bone-graft substitute because its structure is like that of cancellous bone.

Standing

Overfishing and warming have shrunk its populations, and the IUCN classes it as Endangered.

Demers, C., et al. (2002). “Natural coral exoskeleton as a bone graft substitute: a review.” Bio-Medical Materials and Engineering 12. Abstract read · the text read

The abstract of each source, beneath its citation. For Club members. About the Club or sign in.

Constituent names open the compound’s record at PubChem, and “ChEMBL” beside a name opens its record at ChEMBL, the European Bioinformatics Institute’s database of bioactive molecules. Where a mechanism line was checked against ChEMBL (ChEMBL 37, read 1 October 2026), the check is shown with the measured value and its source paper, or says plainly that nothing has been measured. Doses are as the references give them, for description only; this is not medical advice. Each source carries the result of its check against Crossref, PubMed, or the authority’s page: see Verification.

What Medicine Makes of It

The Evil EyeEnvy, the glance, and the anthropology of misfortune.

Coral, red: what lore surrounds it?

Branches of coral were hung at the necks of infants as a preservative, Pliny says, and English nurses in Elworthy’s day still fastened “the coral and bells” on a baby’s neck; in Italy, Elworthy found, a pendent horn of coral or metal was worn by nearly everyone against the evil eye.

Used in These Compounds

Coral, red is an ingredient of 3 compound medicines in the database. For Club members. Create a free account or sign in.

Coral, red: what did the older authorities say?

Ovid: In the Metamorphoses, Perseus lays the Gorgon’s head on seaweed, and the weeds harden at its touch; so coral, a plant in the sea, turns to stone out of it.
Pliny: Reports that coral hung on infants was held to protect them.

Sources

Ganot, P., et al. (2024). Genome sequence of the Mediterranean red coral Corallium rubrum. BMC Research Notes 17: 375. Read in part · the text read
Le Roy, N., et al. (2021). The skeletome of the red coral Corallium rubrum indicates an independent evolution of biomineralization process in octocorals. BMC Ecology and Evolution 21: 1. Read in part · the text read
Garg, V., Narang, P., and Taneja, R. (2022). Antacids revisited: review on contemporary facts and relevance for self-management. Journal of International Medical Research 50(3). Read in part · the text read
Pliny the Elder. Natural History XXXII.11, trans. J. Bostock and H. T. Riley (1855). Perseus Digital Library. Read in part · the text read
Ovid. Metamorphoses, Books I–VII, trans. H. T. Riley. Project Gutenberg ebook 21765. Read in part · the text read
Elworthy, F. T. (1895). The Evil Eye: An Account of This Ancient and Widespread Superstition. London: John Murray. Read in part · the text read
Culpeper, N. (1653). Pharmacopoeia Londinensis: or the London Dispensatory. London: Peter Cole. Text Creation Partnership edition A35381. Read in part · the text read

Verification

Checked

October 1, 2026, and October 3, 2026

Passes

Every sentence read against its sources, in the pass over the remaining 343 entries
The Standing line checked against the authority it names (EMA, WHO, FDA, CITES, Commission E)
Every dated or regulatory claim checked by category across the database
Every source read, in full, in part, or in its abstract, and every sentence checked against what was read (October 3, 2026)

Sources

8 cited: 7 read in part, 1 abstract read. 1 with the abstract on file.

Corrections

None were needed.

What was checked, how, and what was found is set out on the Verification page. A checked source is one whose record was found; it does not make the entry medical advice.

Cite This Entry

Version 1 · first published September 25, 2026 · last revised October 3, 2026

Chicago: “Coral, red.” In Materia Medica, edited by B. C. P. Statema. Version 1. The Thinking Press, 2026–. Last modified October 3, 2026. https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/coral-red.
MLA: “Coral, red.” Materia Medica, edited by B. C. P. Statema, version 1, The Thinking Press, 3 Oct. 2026, thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/coral-red. Accessed 8 Oct. 2026.
APA: Coral, red. (2026, October 3). In B. C. P. Statema (Ed.), Materia medica (Version 1). The Thinking Press. Retrieved October 8, 2026, from https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/coral-red

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