The black elderberry has been known since the 5th century BCE and was mentioned in the writings of Hippocrates, Dioscurides and Plinius. It can be found in every pharmacopoeia. Elderberry wine was traditionally used for influenza and the ill effects of the chills. From time immemorial, the juice of the black elderberry has been an invaluable remedy.
The elder has been termed "the medicine chest of the country people," (Ettmueller). It is said that the great physician Boerhaave had such a high opinion of its curative properties that he never passed an Elder without raising his hat! A measure of its great popularity in Shakespeare's time is reflected in the line from the Merry Wives of Windsor, Act II, Scene 3: "What says my Asculapius? My Galen? My heart of Elder?"
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