Verdigris
Aerugo; Greek ios
- Known today as
- Copper acetate, the green rust of copper.
- Kind
- Mineral, in 1 older authority
- Constituents
- copper(II) acetate, copper carbonate
- Poisoning
- Mercury, arsenic, lead, and antimony
- Earliest authority here
- Dioscorides (c. AD 40–90)
- In other databases
- Wikidata search
Caution. Poisonous.
Verdigris: what was it used for?
In salves to clean ulcers and eat away proud flesh, and in eye ointments.
Verdigris: what does modern science say?
Poisonous; abandoned in medicine. Long used as a green pigment.
Verdigris: is it poisonous?
Yes, in some form or dose. Poisonous. Its poisoning is mercury, arsenic, lead, and antimony: Minutes to hours for a large dose; months or years for the slow poisoning of the trades. Historical description, not medical advice; in a poisoning, call a poison centre.
Pharmacognosy & Toxicology
- Constituents
- copper(II) acetatebasic and neutral
- copper carbonatein the patina
- Mechanism
- A soluble copper salt: it precipitates proteins and kills bacteria and fungi on contact, which cleans an ulcer and eats proud flesh, and it is a powerful emetic by irritation of the stomach; absorbed, copper destroys red cells and the liver and kidney. It was the green of painters and the standard caustic of the surgeon’s shop.
- Toxic dose
- A gram swallowed vomits and can kill; the external use in the old salves was at low strength.
- Syndrome
- Mercury, arsenic, lead, and antimony
- Standing
- Copper sulfate replaced it as the fungicide (Bordeaux mixture) and the emetic was abandoned; obsolete.
- Goldfrank’s Toxicologic Emergencies, 11th ed. (2019), “Copper.” Standard reference work
- Scott, D. A. (2002). Copper and Bronze in Art: Corrosion, Colorants, Conservation. Getty. Verified against its record · doi:10.2307/1506788
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.
Verdigris: what did the older authorities say?
- Dioscorides
- Describes its making by hanging copper over vinegar.
Sources
- Dioscorides, De materia medica V. Primary text
Verification
- Checked
- October 1, 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
- Sources
- 3 cited: 1 verified against its record, 1 primary text, 1 standard reference work.
- 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
- Chicago
“Verdigris.” In Materia Medica, edited by B. C. P. Statema. Version 1. The Thinking Press, 2026–. Last modified September 25, 2026. https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/verdigris.
- MLA
“Verdigris.” Materia Medica, edited by B. C. P. Statema, version 1, The Thinking Press, 25 Sept. 2026, thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/verdigris. Accessed 8 Oct. 2026.
- APA
Verdigris. (2026, September 25). In B. C. P. Statema (Ed.), Materia medica (Version 1). The Thinking Press. Retrieved October 8, 2026, from https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/verdigris
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See Also
Poisoned alike: mercury, arsenic, lead, and antimony
Vitriol · Quicksilver · White arsenic · Passarino’s white powder · White lead · Orpiment and realgar · Antimony · Litharge · the syndrome, with all of them →
Also in Dioscorides
Vine ash in Dioscorides · Valerian in Dioscorides · Walnut, middle bark of in Dioscorides · St. John’s wort in Dioscorides · everything Dioscorides names →
Drawing on the same sources: Dioscorides, Scott
Nearby in the alphabet
The vernicle (leaving his image) · Verbena (Verbena officinalis) · Vinegar (Soured wine) · Unicorn’s horn (Monodon monoceros) · Vinegar of the four thieves (Vinegar steeped with herbs and garlic) · Turpentine
Historical description, not medical advice.