Examination of the antibacterial properties of sphagnum moss (Sphagnum spp.) and its significance with turf burning in Ireland

摘要

Traditional herbal cures and remedies have played an important historical role in the treatment of various illnesses and diseases in Ireland for the past 300 years. Recently, their use and diversity in Northern Ireland has been reviewed in the publication by Dr Linda Ballard from the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum at Cultra, Co. Down/ which details the local plants used and for what purpose. From this publication, the employment of moss and peat is documented as a cure for sprains and for erysipelas, respectively, where, in the former, moss is simply rubbed onto the sprain. In the latter, one source cites a poultice of black peat from a bog hole, which should have no contact with air and be boiled with churned buttermilk. In addition, there is historical evidence2 that peat bogs were used to preserve foodstuffs, particularly fats, commonly known as 'bog butter', where the low pH of the surrounding milieu arrested growth of food spoilage organisms and hence preserved the product for an extended period of time.