[About the Baume du commandeur]

The Baume du commandeur appears in Franch in 1694 in the Histoire générale des drogues [...] written by Pomet. It's a vulnerary drug with also numerous internal uses. Still present in formularies and sometimes used, its invention is attributed to Gaspard de Pernes, commander of Malta Order in Toul, in France. However, some observations induce us to think that the origin of this drug would be in eastern countries: first one of its other names, baume persique, secondly the name of a comparable other formula baume des Turcs, then the geographical origin of the majority of plants and drugs constituting the initially published formula, finally the appurtenance of G. de Pernes to Malta Order. Unfortunately, the transmissions, modifications and improvements of the formula since its beginning make today very difficult to discover the localization and dating of the creation of this famous drug.