Revalenta arabica

Classified ad for Revalenta arabica from The Courier (Hobart, Tasmania) November 1 1856, p. 4.

Revalenta Arabica, or Ervalenta, is a name given to a preparation which was sold in the 18th century as an empirical diet for patients, extraordinary restorative virtues being attributed to it. It was, in reality, only a preparation of the common lentil, its first name being formed for disguise by the transposition of its earlier botanical name, Ervum lens. While indeed lentils are a healthy and nutritious food, Revalenta Arabica's value was about similar to the common pea-meal (or ground split peas).

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