箭猪枣来源与真假辨别

In medieval Europe, when poisoning, plagues, and unknown diseases were widespread, people desperately searched for miracle medicines that could save lives. It was during those centuries that porcupine dates were already being circulated among European royalty, nobles, and renowned physicians. At that time, they were regarded as “life-saving divine medicine.”

In the 16th century, Portuguese royal physician Garcia de Orta personally administered porcupine dates to patients. In his Colóquios dos simples e drogas da India (Dialogues on the Simples and Drugs of India), he wrote: “The most miraculous medicine is porcupine date powder, which can miraculously bring the soul back to the body.” In an era without antibiotics or vitamins, this animal-derived stone became a beacon of hope against deadly diseases.

Dutch naturalist Albertus Seba also included porcupine dates in his Thesaurus, recording their effects on high fever, jaundice, plague, and gastrointestinal pain. He noted that these stones originated from porcupines in Malaysia and Indonesia, describing them as bile crystallizations formed during the animal’s self-healing process — known as “stones bestowed by God.”

In the 17th century, Swiss botanist Caspar Bauhin formally named this medicinal stone Lapis malaccensis (“Stone of Malacca”), pointing out that its medicinal value had already spread throughout Europe.

German botanist Georg Eberhard Rumpf (Rumphius, also called “the Plato of Indian natural history”) praised porcupine dates in his Herbarium Amboinense as a treatment for poisoning, fever, colic, epilepsy, gallstones, intestinal obstruction, and more than ten other diseases, calling it “the most precious natural medicinal stone of Southeast Asia.”

By the 18th century, German royal physician Michael Bernhard Valentini included porcupine dates in his private medical collection, recording their use in detoxification, fever relief, and calming the mind.

Even Robert Boyle, the father of modern chemistry, mentioned porcupine dates in his research, noting that natural medicinal stones could release tiny particles that penetrate the body through the skin to trigger real therapeutic effects — an early concept resembling today’s molecular therapy.

Historical records show that the price of porcupine dates was 40 times higher than gold. In Europe at the time, a single porcupine date could sell for 200 gold coins. Nobles often carried them in gold or silver cases as protective amulets to ward off poisoning and infection. The Grand Duke of Tuscany, Ferdinand I, even gifted a porcupine date to the Duchess of Mantua. Ordinary people who could not afford them would rent a porcupine date for a day to save a life.

Because of their immense value, counterfeits became common. Some fake porcupine dates were made from sand, mud, or even wrapped in gold foil with toxic heavy metals — imitating the appearance but causing poisoning when ingested.

To address this, Dr. Christopher Duffin from the Natural History Museum in London published papers thoroughly documenting the origins, structure, and historical uses of porcupine dates, and exhibited authentic 18th-century specimens. He pointed out that only porcupine dates naturally formed inside wild porcupines — crystallized through long-term bile metabolism — truly possess healing properties.

All of this reflects the true history of porcupine dates. They are not a modern invention, but an ancient healing secret that circulated for centuries across Europe, India, China, and the Malay Archipelago. They are not a myth, but a natural miracle repeatedly recorded, studied, and revered by doctors, scholars, royal physicians, and scientists throughout history.