Golden pills

Statema, B. C. P.

Compound

Golden pills

Pillole auree

Known today as: Pilulae aureae, a standard compound of aloes, scammony, and colocynth.
Kind: Compound, in 2 older authorities
Constituents: aloin, scammonin, cucurbitacins, and 1 more
Poisoning: The drastic resins
Earliest authority here: Nicolaus (12th century)
In the Canale glossary: On the Manner of Discerning and Healing the Bewitched, Appendix A: Part Three, Chapter 4: Stronger Purgatives and Compound Medicines

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

Caution. Hazardous in some form or dose; see the modern assessment below.

Golden pills: what did Canale use it for?

Among the commended purges (ch. 4).

Golden pills: what does modern science say?

Harsh: Culpeper says they work “something harshly,” and before noon when taken in the morning. Aloes, he says, purges with such deliberation that it is given to withstand the violence of other purges, colocynth purges violently, and scammony so violently that it corrodes the bowels. Colocynth pulp extract has killed rabbits at 200 mg per kilogram a day.

Golden pills: is it poisonous?

Yes, in some form or dose. Its poisoning is the drastic resins: One to four hours. Historical description, not medical advice; in a poisoning, call a poison centre.

Pharmacognosy & Toxicology

Constituents

aloin ChEMBL
scammonin ChEMBL
cucurbitacinsfrom the colocynth
rose, mastic, aniseed, fennel, saffronthe correctives

Mechanism

Pilulae aureae: aloes, scammony, and colocynth with aromatics, “held to purge the head, to quicken the sences, especially the sight,” as Culpeper says.

Toxic dose

A drastic purge.

Syndrome

The drastic resins

Standing

Obsolete.

Culpeper, N. (1653). Pharmacopoeia Londinensis, “Pilulae Aureae.” Read in part · the text read

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.

Golden pills: what lore surrounds it?

Burton hoped his book would “take like gilded pills, which are so composed as well to tempt the appetite, and deceive the palate, as to help.” Gold leaf is in this book (see Gold leaf).

The Recipe

The recipe: 3 ingredients, each linked to its entry. For Club members. Create a free account or sign in.

Golden pills: what did the older authorities say?

Nicolaus: The Antidotarium Nicolai gives the pilule auree: aloes and scammony with roses, smallage seed, aniseed, fennel, saffron, the inside of colocynth, and mastic. They are called golden, it says, because as gold is the most precious of metals, so these pills are approved above others; they purge the head, sharpen the sight, and expel wind from the stomach and bowels.
The London Pharmacopoeia: Gave them in 1653, in Culpeper’s English, as pilulae aureae: aloes and diacrydium with red roses, smallage seed, aniseed, fennel, mastic, saffron, and troches of colocynth, “held to purge the head, to quicken the sences, especially the sight.”

Sources

[16] The British Pharmaceutical Codex (1911). London: Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain. Monographs as transcribed at Henriette’s Herbal Homepage, henriettes-herb.com. Read in full · the text read
[28] Culpeper, N. (1653). Pharmacopœia Londinensis, or, The London Dispensatory [the Royal College of Physicians’ pharmacopoeia in English, with Culpeper’s commentary]. London: Peter Cole. Text Creation Partnership edition A35381. Read in part · the text read
[111] Shafaei, H., Esmaeili, A., Soleimani Rad, J., Delazar, A., & Behjati, M. (2012). Citrullus colocynthis as a medicinal or poisonous plant: a revised fact. Journal of Medicinal Plants Research 6(35): 4922–4927. doi:10.5897/JMPR11.264 Abstract read · the text read

Antidotarium Nicolai. Read in part · the text read
Li, Q. Y., et al. (2021). Citrullus colocynthis (L.) Schrad (bitter apple fruit): promising traditional uses, pharmacological effects, aspects, and potential applications. Frontiers in Pharmacology 12: 791049. Read in part · the text read
Burton, R. (1621). The Anatomy of Melancholy. 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

7 cited: 1 read in full, 5 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: “Golden pills.” 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/golden-pills.
MLA: “Golden pills.” Materia Medica, edited by B. C. P. Statema, version 1, The Thinking Press, 3 Oct. 2026, thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/golden-pills. Accessed 8 Oct. 2026.
APA: Golden pills. (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/golden-pills

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