Nondestructive analysis using muon beams identifies OGATA Koan’s sealed medicine
A group of researchers of Osaka University, in cooperation with the High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK) of the Institute of Materials Structure Science of the Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex (J-PARC), identified the content of a medicine bottle of Ogata Koan (1810–63), a physician in the Edo period, using muon beams.
Ogata Koan is the founder of Tekijuku, a place of learning that evolved into the Faculty of Medicine of Osaka University. The university preserves two medicine chests: the one Koan used in the prime of his life and the one he used in his last years.
In the medicine chests that he used in his last years, liquid or solid medicines were left in 22 glass bottles and 6 wooden cylinders, but it was impossible to open about half of these containers as their lids were completely stuck.
These two medicine chests that contain many medicines are very valuable medical inheritances that show his therapeutic strategies. The conditions of the medicines in the chests were not made for a long-term storage, so the medicines will deteriorate if they are not stored properly. To investigate an adequate preservation method, it is necessary to comprehend the physical properties of both the containers and their contents.
Since X-ray fluorescence (XRF) can only analyze the surface of a glass bottle, the group conducted nondestructive analysis using muon beams. The researchers created an artificial muon beam using an accelerator at the Muon Science Establishment (MUSE) of the Materials and Life Science Experimental Facility (MLF) of the Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex (J-PARC) and conducted muon beam analysis of a medicine bottle with the label "甘" in Koan’s medicine chest.
Through the preliminary test using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and muonic X-ray measurements, the bottle of the specimen, which contained white powdered medication, was found to be made of lead potash (PbO–K2O–SiO2) and the glass was 3 mm thick.
From muonic X-ray analysis, signals of mercury and chlorine were obtained. The historical research clarified that the letter "甘" on the label refers to the bichloride of mercury (HgCl2), which was consistent with the measurement results.
Japan experienced many outbreaks of cholera and influenza at the end of Edo period when Koan was active. He responded to the outbreaks using existing medicines, under the circumstances in which pathological causes and treatments were unknown. To learn about treatment before the modern period, his therapeutic strategies against infectious diseases serve as a great clue for clarifying treatments in those days. To elucidate therapeutic strategies, it is essential to clarify the whole picture of the medicines he used.
This study showed the chemical components of both the container and its content can be analyzed without destroying the container. This study will lead to the development of methods for preserving medical inheritances so that they can be handed down to future generations.
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The article, "A novel challenge of nondestructive analysis on OGATA Koan’s sealed medicine by muonic X-ray analysis," was published in Springer Nature at DOI: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11418-021-01487-0.
