# Quince (Cydonia oblonga)

**Cydonia*, “the apple of Cydon”*

**Known today as.** *Cydonia oblonga*.

Kind: Plant  
Qualities: Cold and dry, and binding (Galenic tradition).

## What was it used for?

Binding and cordial: quince jelly and paste to stay fluxes and vomiting and to comfort the stomach.

## What does modern science say?

Rich in pectin; a gentle food for an upset stomach.

## Pharmacognosy and toxicology

- **pectin**: high in the fruit, the jelly
- **mucilage**: in the seed
- **amygdalin**: in the seed
- **tannins and procyanidins**: 

**Mechanism.** The pectin and tannins bind a loose stool, which is the quince jelly for fluxes; the seed mucilage, quince gum, soothes the throat and was once the hair-setting lotion. A quince syrup matched the drug in a trial of reflux in children (Zohalinezhad, 2015).

**Dose.** A food; the seeds in quantity release cyanide.

**Standing.** A food; the seed mucilage is in the Iranian traditional pharmacopoeia.

## What lore surrounds it?

Marmalade was first made of quinces: the word comes from the Portuguese *marmelo*.

Some classicists have proposed the quince, not the modern apple, as the golden apple of Greek myth, the fruit of the Judgement of Paris and of the garden of the Hesperides, since the apple familiar today came late to the Mediterranean. It is one candidate among several, with the citron and the orange, and the question remains open.

## What did the older authorities say?

**Plutarch.** Says Solon’s law bade an Athenian bride eat a quince before entering the bridal chamber.

## Sources

- Plutarch, *Life of Solon*.
- Zohalinezhad, M. E., et al. (2015). “Effects of quince syrup on clinical symptoms of children with symptomatic gastroesophageal reflux disease: a double-blind randomized controlled clinical trial.” *Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice* 21.

---

*Quince.* In *Materia Medica*, edited by B. C. P. Statema. Version 1, revised 2026-09-25. The Thinking Press. https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/quince

Historical description, not medical advice.