Abstract
Scientific and cultural domains often exhibit a recurring rivalry about who first discovered a drug, identified a disease, developed a treatment, composed a melody, created an artefact, or introduced a new political theory. The apple, belonging to the Malus genus, can be used as a case study in this rivalry – initially in the fields of mythology, religion and art for thousands of years, and later in science since the beginning of the 19th century. To our knowledge, no previous study has examined this latter trajectory in detail. In this article, we present some examples of the dispute regarding its starring role in ancient narratives, and we then elaborate on the long lineage of scientific ancestors behind the discovery of phlorizin’s antipyretic, diuretic and myo-damaging properties, as well as its seasonal variations and the use of its tree bark as a source for medicinal compounds.
Keywords: the Forbidden Fruit, phlorizin, apple-tree root, Dioscorides’ diuretics, gliflozins