La farmacia d'epoca

Woods Areca Nut Toothpaste

Ok people, listen well. I might not be the ultimate “Victorian era fan” but I really know that lots of my reader keep asking me to write posts about Nineteenth century apothecary, so here you go (yep, readers you won. Again).

This time we have a lovely ceramic box of the Woods Areca Nut Tooth Paste, from the second half of Nineteenth century.

This toothpaste was made from the pulverized charcoal of areca nuts, the seed of areca palm, aka Areca catechu to all the botanists out there.

Areca palm grows naturally in the Tropical Pacific area, and the ancient inhabitants of those lands used to chew the fruit for its psychoactive property, a custom that is still alive and widely spread among those populations.

To the first Europeans the areca nut was not profitable, until it was discovered that the charcoal had some interesting characteristics, like preventing dental decay.

Toothpastes made from areca nut are one of the most easy to find remnants of the Victorian Era: at that time there were hundreds of toothpaste brands containing areca nut charcoal .

The William Woods & Son’s Areca Nut Toothpaste was one of the most famous brands in the British Empire, selling thousands and thousands of their toothpaste which was available even cherry flavored, but as always, all that glitters is not gold.

The continued use of Areca Nuts Toothpaste turned teeth black, a not so good feature for a toothpaste, but that wasn’t the major issue.

Areca nuts contain a mix of alcaloids, which the major part is represented by arecoline, a nicotinic acids-based alkaloid, responsible for its carcinogenic effect. Yes, using Areca Nuts Toothpaste may lead to the development of oral cancer, but even if there are clear evidences that prove the correlation between the chewing of areca nuts and cancer, this custom is so deep seated that is impossible to stop.

So Rita don’t tell me that “Victorian Era”, when the toothpaste was carcinogenic, the wallpaper contained cyanide and there weren’t antibiotics was awesome. (You‘ll never convince me this way!)

Here is the photo of the ceramic box:

It measures 6,8 cm x 4 cm ( 2,67 inch x 1,47 inch) and it could be dated around the late 1870s.

This toothpaste was made by the William Woods & Son, one of the most famous chemist shops opened at that time in the English town of Plymouth.