Pill-popping ancients liked a good dose of vegetables, archaeobotanists have found after analyzing plant DNA in Greek-made pills from a 130 BC shipwreck.

Though archaeologists have known about the ship since the 1980s, this is the first time researchers have had a crack at analyzing the drugs found onboard. Using the GenBank genetic database as their guide, they have found that the pills appear to contain carrot, parsley, radish, alfalfa, chestnut, celery, wild onion, yarrow, oak, and cabbage.

Geneticist Robert Fleischer of the Smithsonian’s National Zoological Park says that many of the ingredients match those described in ancient texts, New Scientist reports. Yarrow was meant to slow blood coming from a wound, and carrot–as described by Pedanius Dioscorides, a pharmacologist in Rome–was thought to ward off reptiles and aid in conception.

Fleischer and colleagues presented these first results yesterday at the Fourth International Symposium on Biomolecular Archaeology in Denmark, and Nature’s blog The Great Beyond reports that the pills also contained some surprises. For one, researchers found sunflower or helianthus believed to be a New World plant unknown to the Europeans until the 1400s. Now researchers must determine if the ancient Greeks really prescribed sunflower concoctions or if the some modern, ancient drug handlers contaminated the find. They also hope to find “theriaca,” a medicine described in ancient texts as containing 80 different plants–a pill to put the modern health drink V8 to shame.

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Image: Wikimedia Commons / Dioscorides: Materia Medica.

No one will stop you from puttering around the supermarket in sweat pants and mangy hair, but the produce selection faces far more stringent standards. Throughout Europe, crooked cucumbers, forked carrots, and bananas with one too many blemishes have been banned from the markets for the past two decades. But a new decision by the European Union will lift appearance-based restrictions for 26 types of fruits and vegetables, including asparagus, cherries, and onions, allowing all shapes and sizes to vie for a place in your shopping cart. Ten other types of produce, including apples, peaches, and tomatoes, will enjoy relaxed standards, but misshapen individuals will still need to be labeled as such.

Proponents of irregular produce cited the recent economic downturn and the wastefulness of throwing away produce just because they are the “wrong” shape. However, political support for the new standards was far from unanimous, with 16 out of the EU’s 27 nations voting against the changes. The new rules will take effect next July. Produce not included in the list, like bananas, will still have to pass strict beauty standards.

Authorities were eager to offer their praise of the deregulation:

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