Historical Drugs in Transylvania: Disclosing the Composition of Ointments from the “History of Pharmacy Collection” in Cluj-Napoca Through a Multi-Analytical Approach

Abstract

The National Museum of Transylvanian History in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, features a History of Pharmacy Collection that documents the evolution of pharmacies in the region since the 16th century. Within the “Pharmatrans” project (2021–2023), we investigated the chemical composition of ointments from fourteen historical pharmaceutical containers dating back to the 18th and 19th centuries. Most samples were from an aristocratic traveling medicine chest, a key artifact in the collection. This study marks the first extensive analysis of historical pharmaceutical formulations in Romania, enhancing our understanding of these valuable items. The main ingredients of formulations were characterized using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS), solid-phase microextraction–GC–MS (SPME–GC–MS), and pyrolysis–GC–MS (Py–GC–MS). Additionally, high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-Q-ToF) was employed for the detailed analysis of lipid materials and polar compounds. Elemental analysis was conducted using field emission gun–scanning electron microscope (FEG–SEM) with energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The results revealed that twelve out of fourteen mixtures contained interpretable organic content, often aligning with the vessels’ labels. The findings indicate that Transylvanian elites in the late 18th century had access to both rare drugs and traditional remedies, reflecting contemporary trends in pharmacy.

Keywords

• pharmaceutical historical ointments
• gas chromatography–mass spectrometry
• analytical pyrolysis
• solid-phase microextraction
• liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry
• PHARMATRANS project