Abstract
Centuries before juglone was isolated and structurally analyzed it was employed as a medicinal ingredient in combating venereal diseases, eczema, mycotic infections, gastro-intestinal disorders and a number of varied pathologically unrelated diseases. Juglone, 5-hydroxy-1, 4-naphthoquinone, is a naturally occurring compound in walnut tree bark and walnut coverings. | History records the use of bark and shell covering extract in Greek medicine about 200 years before Christ. During the Revolutionary War it was used to cure colonial troops suffering from dysentery and severe gastro-intestinal disorders. Whether any medicinal value was obtained from the naphthoquinone in many of the aforementioned diseases is debatable, but the extract is rich in vitamins, especially vitamin C. | The green covering of walnut has been used in European folk medicine to counteract dermatomycoses by simply removing the cover and rubbing it over the infected area. It was as a result of a “transplant“ of a portion of European folk medicine to the United States that I became acquainted with pharmaceutical qualities of walnut coverings.