Otiz the Iceman froze in the Alps 5,300 years ago. The well preserved mummy was discovered in 1991 by hikers in the remote Alpine border between Austria and Italy. Along with Otiz were found a copper ax, a flint-tipped dagger, a bow and arrows, and a pouch that, upon examination, was the Iceman’s traveling medicine kit. Inside the kit were over a dozen different plants along with berries and birch fungus, known to possess antibacterial properties. The active ingredients of birch fungus act as a disinfectant and coagulant to stop bleeding. The fungus is also an edible mushroom when eaten can initiate diarrhea. The oil of the mushroom is toxic to certain parasitic bacteria. According …