How was a fake drug detected?
Şirvânî, a 15th-century physician who came to Anatolia from Şirvan, explains in his pharmacy book how to tell a fake drug. Genuine turmeric peels in layers and tastes bitter, and inside its skin a dark core like blood can be seen; the fake is the opposite. Opium was tested by mixing it with water: if sediment stayed at the bottom it was fake, if not, it was genuine.
Source: Muhammed b. Mahmûd eş-Şirvânî, Şifa Bahçesi (Ravdatü’l-ıtr), I. Cilt, tahkik ve çeviri: Muammer Sarıkaya, Celal Turgut Koç, Orman Genel Müdürlüğü Yayınları, Tarih ve Tıp Serisi 1, Ankara (Şirvânî, Şifa Bahçesi (OGM publ.)). This is a folk record, not a treatment recommendation.
Flour sprinkled on wounds: yarrow