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Originally written in Greek in the first century, De Materia Medica is a book on the medicinal properties of plants that was widely in use until the Renaissance. In it, Dioscorides recommends willow, or ‘ιτιά’, for colic, gout, and ear pain. Early physicians, such as Dioscorides and Galen, recommended willow bark as a treatment for a variety of symptoms and diseases.

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