Thomas Jefferson was growing mustard plants at Monticello, in part for their medicinal value, and the Lewis and Clark expedition relied upon various poultices, including mustard, for the treatment of bruises, wounds, infections, and muscular aches. In the late 1700s and early 1800s, doctors in Russia were using them as a treatment for mental illness and Spanish missionaries in California for a variety of illnesses. The Mustard Plaster Goes World-Wideīy the late 1500s, the use of mustard plasters had spread to England and other parts of Europe, and then to the New World. If not applied properly or used too long, the heat generated could cause burning and blistering of the skin. The paste is then wrapped in a flannel or other cloth and placed on the affected area, the original theory being that the heat caused by the substances in the mustard would draw out poisons from the body. Although there are various recipes for making a plaster, all basically use ground mustard seed, preferably from the pungent black variety, and flour mixed with water.
However, the most common medicinal use of mustard through the centuries was the mustard plaster, first recommended by the father of medicine, Hippocrates, as a treatment for pulmonary illnesses and rheumatism. The first century CE Greek physician, Dioscorides, prescribed mustard for everything from tonsillitis to epilepsy, and the Romans combined ground mustard seed with vinegar to make an ointment for snakebites and scorpion stings and chewed the seed to relieve toothaches. Mustard was used as both a condiment and medicine by the ancient Egyptians, Sumerians and Chinese. The use of the mustard plant for medicinal purposes goes back several millennia.
Long the staple of many household first aid supplies, the mustard plaster has had an interesting history dating back two thousand or more years.
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