Saint-John’s-wort, Hypericum, listed in many Mithridatium recipes, might help solve the ancient riddle of Mithradates’ immunity to poisons. Molecular scientists have recently discovered Hypericum’s astounding antidote effect. This herb activates the liver to produce a potent enzyme that can neutralize literally thousands of potentially dangerous chemicals. The scientists suggest that if Saint-John’s-wort was included in Mithradates’ antidote, it would have stimulated a powerful “chemical surveillance system” on “high alert,” able to sense and break down “otherwise deadly doses” of many
...more
