ABSTRACT
Since antiquity, gold has been prized not only for its beauty but also for medicinal purposes. The therapeutic use of gold in China and other ancient civilizations has been traced back to around 2500 BC [1]. Swarna bhasma (gold ash) is a remedy containing pure gold used by ayurvedic physicians in India since ancient times to treat an array of disorders and diseases including loss of memory, infertility, bronchial asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, and diabetes mellitus [2]. Gold and silver coatings on medications made by Taoist philosophers of ancient China circa 600 BC were used to help enhance the quality of their potions [1]. The Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder and Greek physician Dioscorides both recorded the medicinal use of gold in the rst century AD [1].
