Carl Christian Klein (ed.); Christian Gottlob Gmelin; Hipólito Ruiz López; et. al.

Abhandlungen und Versuche über die Ratanhia.

Stuttgart, F.C. Löfflund; Wien, C. Gerold, 1819.

8°. [6], XXXVII, [1], 170 pp. With 1 large folding engraved and hand-coloured plate of Krameria triandra (32 x 22 cm).

Contemporary marbled paper boards.

               Rare early monograph on the medicinal properties and therapeutic application of the South American ratanhia, the root of Krameria triandra, a shrub native to the Peruvian and Bolivian Andes. The reddish-brown root, valued for its strongly astringent qualities, was widely employed in early nineteenth-century medicine for inflammations of the gums and oral mucosa, especially stomatitis and pharyngitis, and was commonly administered as a gargle or topical preparation. Ratanhia later also gained prominence in homeopathic practice.

The volume was edited by the Stuttgart physician Carl Christian Klein and incorporates an abridged German translation of Hipólito Ruiz López’s account of the plant’s discovery in Peru, together with chemical analyses by the noted chemist Christian Gottlob Gmelin. Additional contributions by Renard, Juch, Flacho, Karpe, Vogel, and others document contemporary clinical observations and pharmaceutical experiments relating to the plant’s efficacy.

A fine botanical plate illustrates the species in detail, including root structure and floral characteristics.

Contition: Binding somewhat worn, lower spine with partially removed paper label. First part of contents foxed. Folding plate partially slightly toned. Otherwise in good condition.