Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2024 All Rights Reserved

The Bulgarian treatment for postencephalitic parkinsonism based on belladonna

Photo: library

In 1900, a 24-year old man coming from the family of a herbalist from Sopot left for Constantinople to learn the secret of herbs. His name was Ivan Raev and two decades later he was to make a name for himself in Italy as the inventor of “cura bulgara”, or the therapy treating the symptoms of postencephalitic parkinsonism. His treatment is based on Atropa Belladonna, a plant that is highly toxic which is why it has been used as a poison, but also as a cure.

Ivan Raev applied his belladonna infusion for the first time to treat a woman from a village near Chirpan. Seeing her laying there, her face frozen, he said to himself: “This must be sleeping sickness,” and he took a handful of roots out of his bag. In the morning the woman had stopped having convulsions and was asking for food.

Read more about Ivan Raev’s incredible story in Bulgarian treatment saves Europe from deadly epidemic

Editing by Elena Karkalanova



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

Remembering Mykhailo Parashchuk who left his mark on emblematic buildings in Sofia

Ukrainian sculptor Mykhailo Parashchuk was born on November 16, 1878. He crafted the ornaments of some of the most emblematic buildings in the Bulgarian capital. Mykhailo Parashchuk was born in the village of Varvaryntsi, at the time within..

published on 11/16/24 7:10 AM

Ivan Rilski is the most beloved and revered Bulgarian saint

On October 19, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church honors the memory of the humble hermit from the Rila mountain and heavenly patron of the Bulgarian people and Bulgarian doctors. Called "an earthly angel" and "a heavenly inhabitant" during his lifetime,..

published on 10/19/24 5:15 AM

Nature is transformed on 6 August - Transfiguration Day in Bulgaria

On the sixth day after the beginning of the summer fasting dedicated to the Theotokos, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church celebrates the Transfiguration of the Lord, one of the twelve feasts of the Lord . And as the Bulgarian tradition dictates, the church..

published on 8/4/24 5:25 AM