Origin of Porcupine Bezoars

Porcupine bezoars have a long history of use, believed to have originated in the Middle East and introduced to Europe by Arab merchants and physicians during the Crusades.

Animal bezoars refer to masses of undigested material in the gastrointestinal tract. The earliest studies on animal bezoars can be traced back to Persia (modern-day Iran), where scholars like Abu Mansur Muwaffak and Al-Biruni described various types of bezoars in detail. The term "bezoar" comes from the Persian word "padzhar", meaning "antidote".

Spread of Porcupine Bezoars

During the Age of Exploration, European nations established trade routes to acquire valuable exotic goods, including animal bezoars prized for their remarkable medicinal properties. These bezoars were widely traded across Europe, India, China, and Southeast Asia.

Garcia de Orta (1490–1568), a Portuguese Jewish physician and naturalist, studied medicine in Spain but fled his homeland due to religious persecution. Serving as the chief physician to Viceroy Martim Afonso de Sousa, he settled in Goa, India. In 1563, he published Coloquios dos Simples e Drogas e Cousas Medicinais da India, where in the seventeenth dialogue he mentioned: "Among all medicines, the most effective are three bezoar stones, which Persians call pazar. Their effects are miraculous, nearly enhancing the heart's function. Many of my patients reported feeling restored in strength, as if their soul had returned to the body."

Proliferation of Fake Porcupine Bezoars

As demand increased, various types of bezoars were identified, but the market became flooded with counterfeit products. To address this, Portuguese Jesuit Gaspar Antonio created the Lapis de Goa. However, even these products were often replaced by inferior imitations, where carefully blended plant and animal components or gold-leafed stones were substituted with coarse sandstone pebbles.

Scientific Documentation of Porcupine Bezoars

Caspar Bauhin (1560–1624), a renowned Swiss botanist, moved to Switzerland due to his father's conversion to Protestantism. After studying medicine in Italy and Germany, he returned to Basel in 1580, serving as a professor of anatomy, botany, and medicine, as well as city physician and university rector. In 1613, Bauhin published De Lapidibus Bezaar Orient. Et Occident., documenting the porcupine bezoar (Lapis malaccensis).

References:
1. Duffin, C. Porcupine Bezoars

Written by the Dr Victor Team