SWEET MEDICINE

Research at Country Doctor Museum Leads to Student Publication

Early in 2021, while students were still predominantly participating in remote learning, Harriot College undergraduate and graduate students spent a portion of their academic work on exhibits and research within the Country Doctor Museum, prior to its reopening in May. Rebekah Burroughs (English and History, ’21) interned at the museum, researching instruments and creating exhibits that are displayed at the Brody School of Medicine. Burroughs said it was not a ‘normal’ experience, since the museum was closed to visitors during the internship, but she said she enjoyed working with the collections and exhibits in person.

Chemistry doctoral student Elizabeth LaFave, and a team of undergraduates in a chemistry instrumental lab, conducted chemical analysis research on items at the museum, which recently led to a published article in the International Journal of Historical Archaeology.

LaFave described her research as an interdisciplinary project that used chemically-based techniques to answer historical questions and develop a more complete view of homeopathy during the late 19th century. LaFave and her group analyzed two sets of homeopathic remedies, stating the following:

“The first, Humphreys’ Homeopathic Specifics, was marketed directly to consumers (often sold in pharmacies). Humphreys’ earlier remedies did not contain an ingredients list, so we employed mass spectrometry techniques to identify the components in Humphreys’ remedies,” LaFave said. “In doing so, we also addressed the controversy associated with homeopathic remedies during the time. We gathered period pieces from newspaper advertisements, false advertisement judgments, health insurance statistics and patient testimonies to more fully develop a picture of how our chemical analyses could fit into the atmosphere of debate between allopathy (traditional western medicine) and homeopathy during this period. Overall, we found that although all of Humphreys’ 30+ specifics contained the same basic ingredients, they were not simply ‘sugar pills’ as critics often claimed. Rather, these remedies contained apigenin (as well as a host of other sucrose-related compounds). Apigenin is offered as a modern-day vitamin and has been shown to have medicinal qualities. However, the amount (g/g) of apigenin in Humphreys’ remedies was significantly lower than amounts shown to be beneficial as daily supplements.”

“We have continued this project to include analyses on a second set of homeopathic treatments, Boericke & Tafel,” LaFave said. “Unlike Humphreys’ remedies, these treatments were sold specifically to homeopathic physicians. Additionally, these remedies did have their ingredients listed and were marketed as ‘pure.’ This semester, we are using similar mass spectrometry techniques to 1) validate that the remedy contains what is advertised and that they are ‘pure’ and 2) offer a comparison to Humphreys’ remedies in terms of amount (g/g) of active ingredient to offer evidence towards effectiveness of treatment.”

View photos, descriptions and videos from Burroughs and LaFave’s experiences with the Country Doctor Museum below.