Ann: Marginal note in: Kitab Al Akrabazin
from Najib al Din al Samarqandi (d1220).
(The Book of Compound Drugs) (1330 ??)
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Taken from: Selected Essays - Volume 1 Tigani El Mahi - 1981
The manuscript is a copy from 1237AD. The author writes that Khat is useful for the relief of melancholia and depressive symptoms.
A marginal note in a different hand states: Khat (1) is a shrub of Kilwa and of Yemen, popularly known as Kafta.
Kilwa according to the Miller Atlas 1519
Note: I putted the tentative date of the marginal note on 1330 as that was the period that Kilwa was at its high point and
best known in the world.
(1) Khat: a flowering plant that contains the alkaloid cathinone, a stimulant, which is said to cause excitement, loss of appetite, and euphoria. Consumption is legal in the nations where its use is traditional of those cultures, including Somalia, Djibouti, Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, and Yemen.
