Paccianon the Neglected Galenic Drug for Ophthalmic Lesions

The Greco-Roman physician Galen of Pergamon was the first to mention a drug named Paccianon. This drug was unknown in ancient Greece and most probably through the School of Alexandria entered medical literature. Oribasius and Aetius were the only two practitioners who mentioned it after Galen, administrating it in various forms, such as poultice, mixture, and collyrium, for a series of ophthalmic diseases and cutaneous lesions. Modern medicine uses some of the material used in Paccianon's formula, proving its anticancer, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory properties. Paccianon constitutes one more example of the past that is significant in contemporary pharmaceutical chemistry. The drug was neglected through time, but its formula testified to the deep knowledge of the ancient Greeks in the botanical and mineral properties of various materials.