[Sca-cooks] medicinal recipies

[Lilinah]

Bear wrote:
>  > Camphor would be Cinnamomum camphora. When i mentioned this to a
>  > chemist friend, he was rather disturbed and said that it should not
>  > be eaten and that it causes liver damage. He suggested substituting
>  > menthol (NOT mint). Menthol is used in many products, like candy,
>  > mouthwash, toothpaste, etc. so it is safe to consume in small
>  > quantities. I don't know if druggists sell it (i know they used to
>  > sell wintergreen oil - i don't know if they still do), or if you'd
>  > have to get it from a chemical supply house or commercial flavor
>  > manufacturer...
>  >
>  > Urtatim (that's err-tah-TEEM)
>  > the persona formerly known as Anahita
>
>Camphor can cause liver damage, but that is normally from prolonged
>exposure.  Adults can take up to 2 mg/kg of body mass without noticeable
>effect.  It can be extremely toxic to small children and infants.  It's also
>not recommended for pregenant women.  You should be able to get it from a
>druggist.
>
>Reading over some of the survey info for poison control, I'd be willing to
>expirement with camphor as a spice, but I wouldn't want to use it in a
>feast.

This is all good to read, and rather as i suspected - i.e., i didn't 
know the exact amount, but i figured that a tiny quantity once or 
twice a year would probably not harm me. I'm not much of a drinker 
(although i've had hangovers 3 times in 57 years) and don't have and 
have never had any form of hepatitis, so i assume my liver is in 
decent shape.

I've also considered experimenting with alkanet, which was used to 
color some foods in period (fat soluble, not water or alcohol 
soluble). It is now used as a fabric dye, and was used in the first 
half or so of the 20th C. to color lipstick.

And there are some recipes in the Arabic language corpus that call 
for coloring nuts and salt blue with indigo.

How/where would i find out about toxicity issues with these substances?
-- 
Urtatim (that's err-tah-TEEM)
the persona formerly known as Anahita