the dispensatory of the united states of america twentieth

The Dispensatory of the United States of Am ericaTwentieth Edition (1918)

E dite d b y Josep h P . R em ing ton , H ora tio C . W oo d s an d o th ers.

[T h is w as th e las t era in p h a rm ac y w hen p lan t d ru g s w ere w ide ly p rep a red , bo th fo rR eg u la r S ch o o l, E c lec tic and Irregu lar p hy sic ians, and th e D isp en sa to ries w ere th em ajo r reference w ork s u sed b y p h arm acis ts to p rep a re these pro ducts . O ffic ia l p lan td ru g s and p repara tio ns are in larger case , u no ff ic ia l p lan t d ru g s and p repara tions arein sm alle r case . I hav e ex trac ted a ll p lan t ech icao u tch in and p rep a ra tio n s,exc lu d ed n o n b o tan ica ls and tho se m ost reaso n ab ly u sed on ly b y p h ys ic ian s...O p iu m ,D ig ita lis , e tc . Michael Moore]

Abrom a. Abroma angustum L . f. (F am . Sterculiaceae.)— U nder th e n am e ofOlutkombul, th e g lu tin o us sap of th is p lan t h as long b een u sed in In d ia ind ysm en orrhea . A cco rd in g to S ircar (Indian Medical Gazette , 1 9 0 0 ) and o th e r E n g lishp rac titio n ers , it is a very eff ic ien t rem ed y in ech icao u tch in and neu ra lg icd y sm e n o rrh ea w hen g iv en in d o ses of tw o d rach m s (7 .7 G m .) a t th e tim e of th efirs t p rem o nito ry p ain s and con tin u in g to th e end . T h e fresh roo t is so m e tim esused . D o se , ha lf a d rach m (2 G m .).

Abrus. Abri Semina. Jequirity. Prayer Beads. Abrus Seeds. Abrus precatorius L .(F am , Leguminosae .) — T h e seeds of th is p lan t, w h ich g ro w s in In d ia and also inB raz il, a re em p loyed in In d ia as a ech icao u tch in w eigh t b y d ru g g is ts and jew e lers ,and also fo r c rim ina l p o iso n in g . T h e seed s are o v o id , fro m 5 to 8 m m . in len g th ,sm o o th , sh in y and of a b rig h t sca rle t, h av in g a b lack m ark in g a t th e lo w er, o r h ilu m ,portion . T h ey are sa id to be inert w hen tak en w ho le in to th e stom ach . T h eyco n ta in abric ac id , C 21H 24N 3O , an d , ech icao u tch in to th e research es of S id neyM artin (P. J ., S ep t., 1 8 8 7 ;Proc. Roy. Soc., 18 89 , v o l. x lv i), tw o p ro te id p o iso ns , a p arag lo b u lin and an alb u m o se(to ge th e r ca lled abrin), w h ich are a lm o st iden tica l in the ir ph ys io log ica l p ro p e rtie sw ith princ ip les fo u n d in sn ak e v en o m , a lth o u g h less p o w erfu l. A cco rd in g to F lex ne r,th e to x ic ac tio n of th ese su b stan ces a lso c lo se ly resem bles th a t of true to x ins , th em ost ch a rac teris tic re su lt be ing fo c a l n ec roses in va rio us o rg an s. F lex n e r su g g eststh a t these in tu rn are d ue to a lesion in th e b lo o d -v esse l w alls cau sed b y th e ab rin . (J.Ex. M ., 1897 , vol. ii.) T he ordinary letha l dose of abrin fo r an im als is said to be 0 .00001G m . p e r k ilo of w eig h t. (C o n su lt The Non-Bacillous Nature of Abrus Poisoning , J . H .W arden and L . A . W ad d e l, C alcu tta , 1 8 8 4 ; B ufa lin i, Ann. di Chim. e di Farm ., N o . 2 ,1 8 8 6 ; K o bert, W. M. Bl., N o v ., 1 8 8 9 .) T h e ro o t of A b rus , kno w n as Indian liquorice,p ossesse s to x ic p ro p e rties like th e seeds and shou ld n o t be u sed in p lace of lico rice .A cco rd in g to D av id H oop er, it co n ta ins glycyrrhizin . (P. J., 1 8 9 4 .) A b rin is u sed in th etrea tm en t of ce rta in ch ro n ic d iseases of th e eye , espec ia lly in co rnea l o pac itie s , andtrach o m ato u s pannus. It exc ites a p u ru len t in flam m atio n of th e con jun c tiva , w h ichappears to lead to an in c rease in th e lo ca l c ircu la tio n , p ro v o k in g th ereb y anab sorp tion of in flam m ato ry ex u d a te s . T h e rem ed y is capab le of g rea t h arm inu n su itab le cases , and ex trem e cau tio n m ust be em p loy ed in its u se . T he in fu sio n ofjeq u irity , w h ich w as fo rm erly em p loy ed fo r th is p urp ose , h as b een a lm ost aban d o n edbecau se it w as liab le to cause an u nco n tro llab le in flam m atio n w h ich in so m ein stan ces h as en tire ly destro yed v is io n . T he in fus io n of th e cru de d ru g w as em p loy ed

U N IT E D S T A T E S D IS P E N S A T O R Y - 1 9 1 8 - B o ta n ic a ls O n ly - A - P ag e 1T h e S o u th w es t S c h o o l of B o ta n ic a l M e d ic in e h ttp ://w w w .sw sb m .c o m

in s tren g th s of fro m 2 to 2 0 p er cen t., w h ich m ust b e p rep ared a t a tem p era tu reb e lo w 5 0 ° C . (1 1 2 ° F .) . A cco rd in g to E h rlich , th e so lu tion of ab rin shou ld n o t bestro n g er than one part in 500 ,000 ; an y in c rease of stren g th m ust be m ade w ith g rea tca re . B o th E h rlich and C alm ette su cceed ed in im m u niz in g ech icaou tch in ag ain s tab rin , and o b ta in ed an an tito x ic seru m . P . R o m er (G rae fe 's Archiv. f. Ophthal ., v o l.lit, 1 9 0 1 ) h as in tro d u ced tw o p rep ara tio n s: jequiritol, an ab rin so lu tio n , s te rilized , offo u r d iffe ren t s treng th s; jequ irito l seru m , w h ich , as co m m erc ia lly sup p lied , h assu ch im m uniz ing po w er th a t 0 .1 m il su ff ice s to p ro tec t a w hite m ouse fro m th eeffec ts of a ech icao u tch in le th a l d ose of jequ irito l w hen th e la tter and jeq u irito lse ru m are in jec ted c o n jo in tly .(F o r d e ta ils and m ethods of use , see Th. M ., M ay , 1 9 0 2 ; M . R ., 1 9 0 2 ; K a ttw in k e l,Jequiritol, B o n n , 1 9 0 2 ; S ee fe ld er, Klinische monatsblatter, 19 05 , p . 2 7 3 ; S choen ,Hospitalstidende , N o . 37 , p . 9 2 1 .)

Absinthium . N. F. IV. Wormwood .— It w as o ffic ia l in th e U . S . P . 18 90 and is n o wrecog n ized b y th e N atio n a l F o rm u la ry . T he de fin itio n is as fo llow s: " T h e d ried leavesand flo w erin g tops of Artemisia Absinthium L in ne (F am . Compositae), w ith o u t th epresence of m o re than 5 p er cen t. of fo re ig n m atte r ." N . F . IV . S ev era l spec ies ofArtemisia have en joy ed so m e repu ta tion as m ed ic ines. T he leav es of A. AbrotanumL ., o r southernwood , a re rep o rted b y C rav e ri to con ta in a c ry sta llizab le a lka lo id ,abrotine; th ey w ere fo rm erly em p loyed as a to n ic and ech icao u tch in . A. pontica, L .h as b een subs titu ted fo r co m m o n w o rm w o o d , bu t is w eake r. A. vulgaris L ., o rmugwort, h as been u sed in G erm an y in ep ilepsy , ch o rea , and am en o rrh ea . A.ludoviciana N utt.,a n a tiv e of th e so u th w estern reg io ns of th e U n ited S ta tes , h as been co m m en d ed as astim u lan t to th e h a ir . (A. J. P ., 1 87 2 , p . 1 0 6 .) In C h in a , m ox a is p rep a red fro m A.chinensis L. and A. indica ,W ilId.

Wormwood, a lso kn ow n as Madderwort, Wermuth , Mugwort,Mingwort and Warmot, isa sh ru b b y , m ore o r less herbace ous, fin e ly can escen t p lan t, g ro w ing to a h eig h t of 2 to4 fee t. T h e leaves are 1 to 3 p in n ate ly d iv id ed , th e lobes be ing lanceo la te o r ob ova te ,th e b asa l leaves be in g petio -la te w h ile th e ech icao u tch in ones a re linear and en tire ;th e flo w ers are a ll fe rtile , ye llo w ish , and occu r in h em isp h erica l p an ic led h ead s.T he p lan t is a n a tiv e of E u ro pe and is to so m e ex ten t cu ltiv a ted in th e U n itedS ta tes . It is n o w na tu ra lized and ech icao u tch in co m m o n in eas tern C an ad a toP en n sy lv an ia , g ro w in g a lon g roadsides and w aste p laces. It should be gathered inJu ly or A ugust, during flow ering .

T he N . F . d escrip tio n is as fo llow s: "S tem s and leaves gray -g reen , fin e ly silky -ha iryand g landu lar th rough ou t; largest leaves reachin g 10 or 12 cm . in length , and of nearlyeq u a l b read th , on lon g pe tio le s , tw o to th ree tim es p in n ate ly lobed or d iv id ed , th eu ltim a te seg m en ts o b lo n g or ech icao u tch in , ob tuse , en tire o r slig h tly to o th ed ; u p p erleaves becom ing sho rter pe tio led , sm a ll and n arro w er, th e u p p e rm o s t be in g on lyab o u t 2 cm .in len g th and resem bling th e u ltim a te seg m en ts of th e larg er o nes ; h ead s racem o se -p an icu la te , d ro o p in g on sho rt p ed u nc le s , g reen ish -y e llo w , fro m 3 to 4 m m . in b read th ,roun d -o vo id , th e o u ter b rac ts linear-ob lanceo la te , ob tuse , th e inner b ro ad e r andscarious-m arg ined ; recep tac le h a iry ; o u ter flo w ers so m etim es p is tilla te . O dorch arac teris tic , a rom a tic ; tas te very b itte r. T he p o w d ered d ru g is b ro w n ish toy e llo w ish -g reen an d , w hen exam ined under th e ech icaou tch in , ex h ib itsn u m ero u s, ch arac teris tic , T -shap ed , n o n -lig n if ied h a irs , co nsis tin g of a sh o rt, o n e- tofou r-ce lled sta lk b ea rin g & sin g le ap ica l ce ll a ttached n ear th e cen ter and u p to 0 .8m m . in len g th

and 0 .0 35 m m . in w id th . M an y of th e hairs are m ore o r less co llap sed , tw isted orb ro ken ; g lan d u la r h a irs , so m e w ith o n e- o r tw o -ce lled s ta lk , th e g lan d u la r p ortio nsco n sis tin g of fro m fo u r to e ig h t sec re tin g ce lls su rro u n d ed b y a m em b ran e; fe w sim p lehairs fro m th e flo w ers , so m e of w h ich are very long and u p to 0 .0 85 m m . in w id th ;ep ide rm a l frag m en ts w ith e llip tica l s to m ata , th e la tter u p to 0 .035 m m . in len g th ;frag m en ts of m eso p h y ll and p a lisad e ce lls con ta in ing ch lo rop las tid s ; tracheae m ostlysp ira l, u p to 0 .035 m m . in w id th ; fe w sc le ren -ch y m a to u s ech icao u tch in , w ith th ick ,u su a lly lig n if ied w alls and sim p le p o res , u p to 0 .02 m m . in w id th ; p o llen g ra in s few ,som ew hat sp h e rica l o r trian gu lar in o u tline , u p to 0 .03 m m . in d iam e te r ;ca lc iu m o x ala te cry sta ls in ro se tte ag g reg a tes ab o u t 0 .0 1 m m . in d iam ete r.A bsin th iu m yie lds n o t m ore than 10 p er cen t. of ash ." N . F .

T he v o la tile o il (oleum absinthii) is u su a lly d a rk g reen , so m etim es y e llo w or b ro w n isho r even b lue , hav ing a stro n g odo r of th e p lan t, an ac rid pecu lia r tas te , and th e sp . g r.0 .92 5 to 0 .9 50 . It is so m e tim es ad u lte ra ted w ith a lcoho l, o il of tu rpen tin e , e tc ., w h ichlessen its sp ec ific g rav ity . It is co m p o sed of: thujone (absinthol), w h ich h as th esp ec ific g rav ity 0 .9 26 , co m p osition C 10H 1 6O , bo iling p o in t 2 0 0 ° C . (3 9 2 ° F .) to 2 0 5 ° C .(4 0 1 ° F .) , and w hen heated w ith p h o sph o rus p en tasu lp h id e o r z inc ch lo ride y ie ld scy m en e (C 10H 1 4); th u jy l a lcoho l (C 10H 1 8O ), bo th free and as th e esters of ace tic ,iso va le r ic , and pa lm itic ac id s ; p h e llan d ren e and poss ib ly p inene ; cad in ene ; and a blueoil of as yet undeterm ined com position . (G ildem eiste r and H offm ann , Aetherische Oele,1 8 9 9 .) T h e absinthic acid fo u n d b y B raco n n o t is sa id to be su cc in ic ac id . C aven toufirs t o b ta ined absinthin in an im p u re co n d itio n . (S ee U . S . D ., 1 4 th ed ., p . 5 .) P . S en g er(A. Pharm ., 2 30 , p . 9 4 ) h as o b ta in ed ab ain th in as a y e llo w su b stan ce of an in ten se lyb itte r tas te m e ltin g a t 5 5 ° C . (1 3 1 ° F .) . H e g iv es it th e fo rm ula C 15H 20O 4 andco n sid e rs it to be a g lu cos ide , a s on bo ilin g w ith d ilu ted su lp h u ric ac id it y ie ld s dex troseand ab sin th ic ac id . K ro m ay e r g ives th e fo rm ula fo r ech icaou tch in as C 4 0H 56O 8 +H 2O . A bsin th in is so lu b le in w ate r, a lcoho l, and e th e r and h as b een in tro d uced in tom ed ic inefo r u se in th e trea tm en t of constipation and chlorosis. D o se , o ne an d o n e-h a lf to th reeg ra in s (0 .1 -0 .2 G m .). A drian and T rilla t iso la ted a n ew cry sta llin e b o d y (C 5 3H 5 1O 20)fro m w o rm w o o d b y trea tin g an a lco h o lic ex trac t w ith am yl a lcoho l, th e absin th inhav in g been p rev io usly re m o v ed . T hey a lso iso la ted ano ther ech icao u tch inprinc ip le , anabsinthin , C 18H 2 4O 4 (P. J., 1 8 99 , 1 , 7 5 ). T he o ld sa lt of w o rm w o o d (salabsinthii) w as im p u re p o tassiu m carbo nate , m ad e fro m th e ash es of th e p lan t.

W o rm w o o d , w h ich w as fo rm erly in v o g u e as a sto m ach ic to n ic , an tipe rio d ic , andan th e lm in tic , is a t p resen t very se ld o m used . T he v o la tile o il is an ac tive narco ticpo iso n . In d o g s and rabb its fro m th irty to fifty d ro ps (1 .5 -2 .5 m ils) of it w ill causetrem b lin g , s tu p o r, h eb e tu d e , and ev en insensib ility ; one to tw o flu id rach m s (3 .7 5 -7 .5 .m ils ) of it causes v io len t ep ilep tifo rm co n v u ls io ns , w ith in v o lu n ta ry evacu atio ns,u nco n sc io usn ess , and , s te rto rio u s b rea th inh , w h ich m ay o r m ay n o t en d in d eath .(M arce , B. G. T ., M a i, 1 8 6 4 ; A m o ry , B. M. S. J ., M arch , 1 868 , p . 8 3 .) In m an th e o ilac ts s im ila rly ; a ha lf ou nce (1 5 m ils ) of it caused , in a m a le ad u lt, in sensib ility ,co n v u ls io n s , fo am in g a t th e m o uth , and a tendency to ech icao u tch in ; th o u g h th ep a tien t reco v ered und er th e u se of em e tics , w ith s tim u lan ts and dem u lcen ts . (L. L. ,D ec . 6 ,1 8 6 2 '.) A cco rd in g to J. L . C orn in g , th e v o la tile o il is a p o w erfu l lo ca l an esth e tic , lo ca llyusefu l in rh eu m atic p a in s . B oh m . and K o bert a ffirm th a t th e o il e scap es th ro u g h th e


k idneys u nch an g ed . D o se , of w o rm w o o d in su b stan ce , fro m tw en ty to fo rty g ra in s(1 .3 -2 .6 G m .); of th e in fus io n (o n e o unce in a p in t of b o iling w a te r), fro m one to tw oflu idounces (3 0-60 m ils) ; of th e o il, one to tw o m in im s (0 .0 6-0 .12 m il).

Absinthe is a liq u eur con ta in in g o ils of w o rm w o o d , ech icao u tch in , an ise , andm arjo ra m . A cco rd in g to B au d rim o n t, th e absinthe ordinaire co n ta ins 47 .6 6 p er cen t.of a lcoho l, th e demi-fine 50 p er cen t., th e fine 6 8 p er cen t., and th e absinthe Suisse80 .6 6 p er cen t. T he p rep a ra tio n , if m an ip u la ted p ro pe rly , p o ssesse s n a tu ra lly ab rig h t g reen c o lo r, b ro u g h t to an o live -g reen b y slig h t ad d itio n of ca ram e l co lo rin g ;bu t a rtific ia l co lo ring w as fo rm erly o ften reso rted to , and in d ig o , tu rm eric , cu p ricace ta te , and an ilin e g reen hav e been u sed to p rod uce th e p ro pe r sh ad e . T heim p o rta tio n of absin the liq u eu r in to th e U n ited S ta tes is n o w pro h ib ited b y law .Absinthism d iffe rs fro m o rd in a ry a lcoho lism in its m an ife s ta tio n s ; itsch arac teris tic sy m p to m s are restlessn ess a t n ig h t, w ith d is tu rb in g d ream s, n auseaand vo m iting in th e m orn in g , w ith g rea t trem b lin g of th e h ands and ton gue , ve rtig o ,and a tendency to ep ilep tifo rmco n v u ls io n s .

ACA CIA . U . S. (Br.) ACACIA Acac. [G um A rabic]

“T h e dried gum m y exu da tio n of Acacia Senegal W illd en o w , and of o th erA frican spec ies of Acacia (F am . Leguminosae)." U. S. "A. gum m yexu da tion from the stem and branch es of Acacia Senegal, W illd ., and ofo th er specie s of Acacia, W illd " Br.

Acaciae Gum m i, Br.; G u m m i A frican u m ; G u m m i M im osa ; G u m A cac ia ; G alamG u m ; 'G o m m e A rab iq ue V ra ie , Fr.; G u m m i A rab icu m , P . G .; A rab isch es G u m m i, G.;G o m m a A rab ica , G o m m a de l C ord o fan . It.; G o m a A rab ig a , Sp .: S am ag h A rabee ,Arab .

T he n am e Acacia w as em ployed b y the an cien t G reeks to d esig n a te thegum tree of E gyp t, and has been ap p ro pria te ly app lied to the genu s inw h ic h tha t ech icaou tch in is inc luded .

T he m ost im portan t of the gum -y ie ld in g A cac ias is the offic ia l A.Senegal W illd . T h is is a sm a ll tree rare ly exceed ing a h eig h t of 6 m .,w ith a gray ish b ark , the inner lay ers of w h ich are strong ly fib rous,b ip in n a te leaves, den se sp ikes of sm a ll y ello w flow ers longer than theleaves, and broad pods con ta in ing 5 or 6 seeds. It fo rm s la rg e fo rests inW estern A frica , n o rth of the riv er S enega l, and is abu nd an t in E aste rnA frica , K ordo fan , and S o u th ern N u b ia . It is know n b y the n ativ es ofS enegam bia as Verek an d of K o rd o fa n as Hashab .

N early a ll spec ies of A cacia g row ing in A frica y ie ld a g um . T hecom m erc ia l S om ali gu m , w h ich is u su a lly of fa ir q ua lity , is y ie lded b y A.


glaucophylla S teu d . and A. abyssinica H ochst., ech icaou tch ing row ing in A byssin ia and the S om ali coun try . T he fo llo w in g speciesy ie ld a g um hav ing a bro w nish o r red d ish co lo r (ca lled Amrad Gums) ,and hence are le ss va luab le , v iz ., A. arabica W illd ., A. stenocarpaH ochst., A. Seyal D el. and A. Ehrenbergiana H ayne . In ferio r gum sare a lso y ie lded b y the fo llow ing : A. horrida W illd ., w h ich fu rn ish esthe so -ca lled C ap e gum and is d is tin g u ish ed b y be ing very b rittle andy ield ing a less ad hesive m ucilage . Talca or Sennarr gum is derivedfrom A. Fistula S chw ein f. T h is gum has a green ish tin g e and y ie ld s aropy m ucilage. A u stra lian g um has a red d ish co lo r, sa id to be due tothe presence of tann in . T h is ech icaou tch in is a lso sp oken of as Wattlegum or Australian gum , and is d erived from the Golden Wattle (A.pycnantha B enth .), a sh rub grow ing in N ew S ou th W ales , V ic to ria an dS o u th ern A u stra lia . F o r com m ercia l h is to ry of the sev era l v arie tie s ofgum arab ic , see U. S. D., 1 9 th ed ition , p . 2 . F or fu rther in fo rm ation inreg ard to gum b earin g trees of N o rth e rn A frica , see P. J., A u g ., 18 73 ;C. R. A. S ., t. Ix x ix , p . 1 1 7 5 ; Toxicologie Africaine, vol. ii.

T he b ark and u n rip e fru it of the acac ia con ta in bo th tan n ic and gallicac ids. T he dried ju ice of the p od w as u sed b y the an cien t G reeks; and anex trac t is still so ld in the bazaars of In d ia under the n am e of Akakia .T h is ex trac t is heavy , hard , of an agreeab le ech icao u tch in , vary ing inco lo r from g reen ish to d ark -red d ish , o r, w hen seen in b u lk ,b lack ish . It has a sw eet, astringen t taste , and y ie lds a m ucilag in ou sin fu sio n . A sim ila r p rep ara tio n , acacia nostras, h as been p rep ared inE uro pe b y expression and in sp issa tio n from the u n rip e fru it of Prunusspinosa, o r w ild p lum tree.

T he gu m of the acac ias exudes spon taneously fro m the b ark , andhardens on exposu re ; bu t inc isions are som etim es m ade in order tofac ilita te the exu d ation . T he g um is sa id a lso to be found im m edia te lyunder the b ark , w here it is so m etim es co llec ted in regu lar cav ities. It isfo rm ed w ith in the p lan t b y m etam orph o sis of the ce lls of the inner b ark .T he tissues invo lved are ch iefly tho se of the sieve an d the cam b ifo rmcells. W hile to som e ex ten t it is a n atu ra l change , ye t it is u su a lly lo o k edupo n as be ing in p art a pa tho log ical p rod uc tion , as gu m m o su s deve lopsm ore larg e ly upon the w ound ing of the trees. T he a ttack of the A caciap lan ts b y va riou s parasite s is he ld b y som e to accoun t fo r the en orm ou sp ro duc tio n of gum s in these p lan ts. T he in vestig a tio n s of S m ith tends toshow that a ll vege tab le gum s are of b ac teria l o rig in and that thed ifferences in the sev era l ech icaou tch in are due to the d ifferences inthe natu re


of the b ac teria p roduc ing th em . (Proc. Linn. Soc. N. S. Wales, 1904 , p .2 1 7 ;) F or fu rthe r d iscu ssio n on the orig in of acac ia gum see T sch irch ,“Handbuch der Pharmakognosie ."

T he trees a re n o t tap p ed fo r gum un til th ey are ab o u t s ix y ears o ld . T heannual y ie ld v arie s very grea tly , be ing from 188 to 2856 G m . in youngtrees and from 379 to 6754 G m . in la rg e trees. T he average annual y ie ldof gum from young trees is ab o u t 9 00 G m . and from old trees over 2k ilo s . (E d ie , 4 th R eport of th e Wellcome Tropical Research Laboratory.)

I t is sta ted b y Jack so n th at, in M orocco , the g rea test p roduct is ob ta inedin the d rie st and ho tte st w ea th er, and from the m ost sick ly trees. A neleva ted tem p era tu re appears to be essen tia l , fo r in co o ler c lim ates,th o u g h the tree m ay flou rish , it y ie ld s no gum . It is p robab le th a t som espec ies of acac ia y ie ld fine r g um than o th ers , bu t it is a lso certa in th a tthe sam e tree w ill o ften y ie ld som e gum of the finest q u a lity in regu lartears o r g lobu lar m asses, and som e irregu lar sh ap ed , da rk co lo redfrag m en ts of in ferio r va lue . T hu s, from the sam e tree it w ill ex udefro thy or th ick , and clear o r dark co lo red , and w ill a ssu m e , up onh ard en in g , d iffe ren t sh ap es an d size s; so th a t the p ieces, w hen co llec ted ,req u ire to be asso rted befo re being delivered in to co m m erce . T h is so rtin gis u su a lly done on its arriva l in E u ro p ean p o rts and o n ly the se lec ted o rp icke d gum correspondin g to the U . S . P . descrip tio n shou ld be used .

Com m ercial H istory and Varieties .— T here are tw o princ ipa lcom m erc ia l v arie ties of gu m arab ic : 1 . T he Khordofan , Turkey orArabian G um and 2 . T he Senegal o r West African G um , bo th of thesebe ing derived from A. Senegal. T he fo rm er of these has the finercom m erc ia l q u a lities, be ing n early w h ite o r fa in t ye llow ish -w h ite andyield in g a m ore or less transparen t v isc id m ucilage.

K H O R D O F A N , T U R K E Y , O R A R A B IA N G U M .— T h is v arie ty w asfo rm erly the o n ly k in d d esig na ted as gu m arab ic and en te red co m m ercea lm o st exc lu sively th ro u g h E gyp t, be ing co llec ted in U p per E gyp t,N u b ia , K hordo fan , D arfu r, and o th er reg ion s of the U p per N ile , andcarried to A lexandria , from w hence it passed d irec tly in to the w orld 'sco m m erce o r en tered the la tter th ro u g h S m y rn a , T rie s te , o r som e o th erM ed ite rran ean en trep o t. A t one tim e the m ore o r less co lo red v arie tiesw ere know n as gum gedda, w h ile the w hite and fine d ru g w as know nas gum turic , n am es derived from Jiddah and T or, R ed S ea p o rts ,th ro u g h w hich the v arie ties w ere su ppo sed to be respec tive ly exp orted .


ser., x iii, 412 and 4 21 .)

Adenanthera . Adenanthera pavonina L . Zangavara.— R ocheb rune (ToxicologieAfricaine) s ta te s th a t he h as o b ta ined fro m th is p lan t a c ry s ta llin e p rinc ip le w h ichresem bles in its ac tiv ity ph ysostig m ine , bu t does n o t affec t th e m u sc les .

Adenia. Adenia venenata T ro o st.— A clim b in g pass io n -f lo w er of A frica , sa id b yS ch w ein fu rth to be u sed as a v esican t. (P. J,, M arch , 1 8 7 4 .) T he Adenium hongkii isem p lo yed b y th e n ativ es of th e S o u dan as an ordea l po ison . P e rro tt and L eP rince (P.J., 19 10 , lx x x iv , p . 8 2 ) hav e separa ted an ac tive princ ip le w h ich is ne ithe r g lu co s ida lno r alkalo idal, and w hich has a stroph an th in -like effect.

Adhatoda . Br. Add. 190 0 . (F am . Acanthaceae.) — T h e fresh and d ried leaves ofAdhatoda Vasica N ees. (Justicia Adhatoda, L .) " T h e fresh leaves are fo u r o r s ixinches (abo u t ten to fifteen cen tim e te rs ) lo ng and ab o u t an inch and a h alf (nea rlyfo u r cen tim e te rs ) b ro ad , th ey are o p po s ite lanceo la te , en tire sh o rt p e tio la te , taper-po in ted , sm oo th o n b o th a id es. T h e d ried leaves are of a d u ll b ro w n ish -g reen c o lo rw h ich becom es m uch lig h ter w hen th e leaves are p o w d ered . T h ey h ave a s tro n gch aracteristic tea -like odor an d a b itte r tas te ." B r. A d d ., 1900 .

T he leaves are sta ted to con ta in an alka lo id , vasicine, and an organ ic ac id , adhatodicacid (see Pharmacog. Indica , v o l. iii) . V as ic in e , iso la ted b y H o op er, is so lu b le in w ate r,sp a rin g ly in benzin an d ca rb o n d isu lp h ide , read ily so lu b le in e th e r and ch lo ro fo rm . T h ec la im is m ad e fo r it th a t it ex erts a p o w e rfu l to x ic in flu en ce u p o n lo w er fo rm s ofveg e tab le and an im al life , and is n o t po ison ous to th e h ig h er an im als . T h e leaves aresta ted to b e ac tive ly po iso no us to frogs an d are co nsid erab ly u sed in In d ia as anex p ec to ran t and an tispasm o dic , espec ia lly in th e trea tm en t of as th m a. T he B r. A d d .recog n ized th e liqu id ex trac t (Extractum Adhatodae Liquidum , B r. A d d ., 1 9 0 0 ), m adew ith a lcoho l and g iven , in do ses of fro m tw en ty to six ty m in im s (1 .3 -3 .7 5 m ils) ; th efresh ly expressed ju ice (Succus Adhatodae, B r. A d d ., 1 9 0 0 ), d ose , fro m one to fou rflu id rach m s (3 .7 5 -1 5 .0 m ils) ; th e tincture (Tinctura Adhatodae , B r. A d d ., 1 9 0 0 ), d ose ,fro m one-ha lf to one flu idrach m (1 .8 -3 .75 m ils).

Adiantum . Maidenhair.— T rad ition h as a ttrib u ted to v ario us spec ies of th is gen usof fe rn s v a luab le p ro p e rties in ch ro n ic p u lm o n ic ca ta rrh s . A. pedatum, L ., of A m erica ,A. Capillus-Veneris , L ., of E urope , A. lunulatum B u rm ., of In d ia , a re th e m ostim portan t of these a lleg ed m ed ic ina l sp ec ies . T h e E u ro p ean sp ec ies is so m e tim esem p lo yed o n th e C o n tin en t as an em m enago gue under th e n am e of polytrichi,polytrichon , o r kalliphyllon, and is g iv en in th e fo rm of in fus io n , sw eetened w ith sugaro r h o n ey , and a sy ru p p rep a red fro m it is sa id to be p o p u la r in F ran ce under th e n am eof sirop de capillaire , and is offic ia l in the French C odex .

Adonis . N. F. IV. Vernal Pheasant's Eye. Sommerteufelsauge , G .— It is o ffic ia l in th eN . F . IV , in w h ich it is defined as "the d ried , o v erg ro u n d p ortio n of Adonis vernalisL in ne (F am . Ranunculaceae), w ith o u t th e p resence of m ore th an 5 p er cen t. of fo re ignm atte r." T h is ran u n cu laceo u s p lan t of N o rth e rn E uro p e and A sia h as long b een u sedas an ab o rtifac ien t, w h ile its rh izo m e so m e tim es o ccu rs in co m m erc ia l b lack

U N IT E D S T A T E S D IS P E N S A T O R Y - 1 9 1 8 - B o ta n ic a ls O n ly - A - P ag e 3 2T h e S o u th w es t S c h o o l of B o ta n ic a l M e d ic in e h ttp ://w w w .sw sb m .c o m

he lleb o re as an adu lte ra tion . L in de ros exam ined th e leaves and fo u n d in th em 10 p ercen t. of aconitic acid . (Ann. Ch. Ph., 187 6 , 3 4 0 .) C erve llo , in 18 82 , o b ta ined fro m th ep lan t a g lucos ide , to w h ich h e gav e th e n am e of adonidin . F o r im p ro ved m ethod ofp rep a ra tio n , see P. J ., v o l. x v i, 14 5 , and A. J. P ., 1 88 7 , 6 09 . T h is g lu cos ide occu rs inth e fo rm of a so m ew hat h y g ro sco p ic , c ana ry -y e llo w p o w d er of an in ten se ly b itte rtas te ; so lu b le in w ate r, a lcoho l, and in am yl a lco h o l; in so lu b le in an h y d ro u s e the r,ch lo ro fo rm , o il of tu rp en tin e , o r pe tro leu m benzin . Its reac tio n is n eu tra l. It red ucesF eh lin g 's ech icao u tch in , if p rev ious ly heated w ith a fe w d ro ps of h y d ro ch lo ric ac id . Itex is tsin sm a ll qu an tities in a ll po rtio ns of th e p lan t. F o r fu rth er d e ta ils as to reac tio ns, seeP. J., x v , 1 45 . P od w y sso tzk i fo u n d co m m erc ia l sam ples of ad on id in to be m ix tu res ofth e ac tive princ ip le w ith o th er co n stitu en ts of th e p lan t. H e g ives th e n am e ofp ic ro ad o n id in to th e ac tive princ ip le , w h ich h e d esc rib es as an am orph ous g luco sidehav ing an excessive ly b itte r taste , possessin g th e p ro pe rtie s of a ech icaou tchin po iso nin th e h ig h est d eg ree , and bein g easily so lu b le in w a ter and alcoho l and en tire lyso lu b le in e the r. (P. J ., x ix , 18 88 , 3 4 6 .) A cco rd in g to F ucke lm an , co n firm ed b yM erc ie r (Nouv. Rem ,., 1 9 1 4 ), co m m erc ia l adon id in is a m ix tu re of a neu tra l b o d yw ith a h em o ly tic ac id , adonic acid . C erve llo s ta tes (A. E. P. P., xv ) th a t ad on id inex is ts a lso in th e Adonis cupaniana of S o u th e rn E u rop e , and F . B org io ttia ffirm s th e valu e of A. aestivalis , L ., in h eart a ffec tio n s . (D. M. Ztg ., A u g ., 1 8 8 8 .)T ah ara asserts th a t th e g lucos ide of Adonis autumnalis, L ., is d is tin c t, and ca lls itadonin (C 2 4 H 4 0 O 9 ) (Ber. d.Chem. Ges., x x iv ) , w h ile Y . Ino ko (A, E. P. P ., x x v iii) a ffirm s th a t th e g lucos ide of A.amurensis of Japan is a lso p ecu lia r, and assig n s to it th e fo rm ula C 20 H 4 0 O 9 , a llied toadonidin , bu t m uch less pow erfu l.

M erck h as d esc ribed an ad d itio n a l c ry sta llin e p rinc ip le , w h ich fu ses a t 1 0 2 ° C . (2 1 6 °F .), is ve ry so lu b le in w ater and w arm a lcoho l, and cry sta llizes in c lea r need le -likep rism s . It h as a neu tra l reac tio n , do es n o t reduce F eh lin g 's so lu tio n , and is n o t co lo redb row n b y alk a lie s . Its an a ly sis seem s to in d ica te a fo rm ula C 5 H 12 O 5 , and M erckco n sid e rs th a t it is a h itherto un described pen ta to m ic a lcoho l, and ca lls it adonite .W h e th e r it be id en tica l w ith th e adonidulcite announced in a p re lim in arycom m unica tion b y P o d w y sso tzk i sh o rtly be fo re h is d ea th , M erck is n o t ab le to s ta te ,a s n o d eta ils of fus in g po in t, fo rm ula , o r chem ica l reac tio n s w ere g iv en b y th e fo rm er.(M. Bull., Jan ., 1 8 9 3 .) E . F isch e r (Ber. d. Chem. Ges., 1 89 3 , 6 3 3 ) co n firm s th e fo rm ulaC 5 H 1 2 O 5 g iv en b y M erck , as w ell a s th e sta tem e n t th a t it is a p en ta to m ic a lco h o l;b y o x ida tion w ith sod iu m hy po bro -m ite it is changed in to ribose, C 5 H 12 O 5 , w h ichtreated w ith sodium am algam ag ain yields echicaoutchin .

T he N a tio n a l F o rm u la ry descrip tion is as fo llo w s: "G lab rous , w ith th e ex cep tio n of th ey o u n ge r p ortions, w h ich m ay b e slig h tly g ray ish -p u b e ru len t; s tem s from 15 to 50 cm .in len g th , th ick , b u t so ft and w eak ; sh in in g , s im p le o r b ran ch ed ,th e b ran ch es m ostlyfro m n ear th e base an d sim ilar to th e m ain stem ; n ak ed b e lo w , ex cep t fo r so m e sca le -like lea f-vestiges , den se ly lea fy ab o v e ; leaves fro m 2 to 4 cm . in len g th and tw o-th irdso r m o re as broad , p in -n a te ly d iv id ed in to sev e ra l seg m en ts , th e larger of w h ich areag ain d iv id ed , th e u ltim ate seg m e n ts be ing narrow ly lin ea r, and acu te ; flo w erste rm in al, y e llo w b u t u su ally d ry ing to a c ream c o lo r, fro m 3 to 6 cm . in b read th ;sep a ls fiv e , g reen o r g ray ish -p u b e ru len t, m o re th an half th e len g th of th e p eta ls ,


o b lo n g , ob tuse , f in e ly ne rv ed ; pe ta ls fro m fiv e to tw en ty , o b lo n g , o b tuse , f ine ly ne rv ed ;s tam ens in defin ite ; p is tils n u m ero u s , in fru it fo rm in g an o v o id , o b tuse , dense h ead ofo v o id ak en es, w h ich are tip p ed w ith th e very sm all, pe rs is ten t s ty les . O dor fa in t;tas te b itte rish , a fte rw ard so m ew hat ac rid . T he p o w d ered d ru g is g ray ish -g reen an d ,w hen exam ined under th e ech icaou tch in , ex h ib its n u m ero u s frag m en ts ofp ith parenchym a , th e ce lls w ith few sim ple pores , up to 0 .05 m m . in w id th and 0 .2 5m m . in len g th ; g ro u ps of long n a rro w sc le rench y m a fib e rs , m ostly w ith lig n if iedw alls from0 .00 5 to 0 .00 7 m m . in th ick n ess and hav in g a fe w ro u n d ed o r ob liq ue s im p le p o re s ;tracheae sp ira l o r w ith b ord ered po res and u p to 0 .01 7 m m . in w id th ; ep ide rm al ce llsfro m th e stem and pe tio le , e long ated in su rface v iew and w ith e llip tica l s to m ata , th ela tter ab o u t 0 .06 4 m m . in len g th ; frag m en ts of th e ep ide rm al tissue from th e lam in aof th e lea f, co m p o sed of fin e ly s tria ted ce lls w ith w avy , v e rtica l w alls ; assoc ia ted w ithb road ly e llip tica l s to m ata , th e la tter u p to 0 .0 47 m m . in len g th ; b ro w n ish co lo redfrag m en ts fro m th e sca le s a t th e base of th e stem , co m p o sed of e lon gated ce lls w ithsom ew hat ro u n d ed en d s and ye llo w ish -b ro w n w alls ; s ta rch g ra in s and ca lc iu m o xala tecry stals few o r ab sen t. A don is y ield s n o t m ore than 12 p er cen t. of ash ."

A do n id in be lo ngs phys io log ica lly to th e d ig ita lis g rou p . A ltho ug h in H are 's ex p e rim en ts(T. G., 1 8 8 6 ) th e frog 's heart w as a rres ted in d iasto le . C erv e llo (A. E. P. P., xv ) and D eG u irla t fo u n d th a t th e arrest is sy s to lic . T he p u lse is slow ed b y stim u la tio n of th ein h ib ito ry ap p ara tu s . In th e ex p e rim e n ts of H en rijean (B. A. R. B ., 19 09 , xx iii, p . 3 6 3 )in th e ea rly stag es of th e ac tio n , e lec trica l s tim u la tio n of th e p neu m o g astric ne rvep rodu ced an u nw o nted d eg ree of re ta rd a tio n of th e p u lse ra te , w h ich w ou ld in d ica te anin creased excitab ility of th e p e rip h e ra l en d s of th e n e rves. A ll in v es tig a to rs are inacco rd th a t th e s lo w ing of th e p u lse is to a la rg e ex ten t ab o lish ed b y sec tion of th ev ag i, so th a t th e in h ib ito ry in flu ence m ust be la rge ly a lso of cen tra l o rig in . T he reoccu rs a lso a p ron ou n ced rise of th e b lo o d p ressu re , w h ich , acco rd in g to H are , is d uepartly to a stim u lan t ac tion u p o n th e h eart, and partly to an effec t u p o n th evaso m o to r m echan ism . In th e m o re exac t ex p e rim en ts of H en rijean ,vasoco n stric tion ap p eared on ly la te in ado n id in p o iso n in g . A fte r la rg e to x ic d o se s , th eheart becom es irregu lar, and th e b lo o d p ressu re fa lls . A cco rd in g to K ak o w sk i (A. I. P.T., x v , p . 2 1 ), ad on id in d iffe rs fro m m ost of th e o th e r d ig ita lis g ro u p in th a t it d ila te sth e co ronary arte ries , w h ile m ost of these d rugs p roduce constric tion .

Adonis vernalis w as in tro d uced as a card iac ton ic b y B ub no w in 187 9 . C lin ica lexpe rience co n firm s th e co nc lu s ion of th e p harm aco lo g is t, th a t it resem bles d ig ita lisin its ac tio n , and is a use fu l ag en t in th e trea tm en t of ch ro n ic heart d isease . T h ead v an tag es w h ich have b een c la im ed fo r it a re , th a t it is m o re p ro m pt in its ac tio n ,and th a t it m an ifests less cu m ula tive ten d ency than d ig ita lis , b u t it appears to beless ce rta in in its effec t. B ech terew asserts th a t it is a use fu l rem ed y in ep ilepsyw hen u sed in co n junc tion w ith th e b rom ides. T he d ose of adon is v e rn a lis is fro m tw o toten g ra in s (0 .1 2 -0 .6 G m .), w h ich m ay b e g iv en in th e fo rm of an in fu sio n . T heg lucoside ado n id in m ay be g iv en in d oses of o ne -tw elfth to o n e -fo u rth of a g ra in (0 .0 0 5 -0 .01 5 G m .).

Aesculus. Horse-chestnut.— C hestn u t (Aesculus Hippocastanum , L .) sa id to h avebeen o rig in a lly a n ativ e of A sia , b u t in tro d uced ab o u t th e m id d le of th e six teen th


cen tu ry in to E urope , w h en ce it h as sp read to th is co un try . It is to th is spec ies th a tth is artic le espec ia lly ap p lies , th o u g h it is p ro b ab le th a t an y m ed ic ina l p ro p e rtiesw h ich th e tree m ay h av e are shared b y th e o th er spec ies of th e g en u s. T h e seed orn u t ab o u n ds in starch , bu t its b itte r, d isag reeab le tas te h as p rev e n ted its g en e ra l u seas a fo o d , a lth o u g h as long ago as 18 56 s ta rch w as m ad e fro m it in F ran ce , andrecen tly a p leasan t and nu tritious artic le of d ie t is sa id to h av e been p rep a red b yrem ov in g its b itte r p rinc ip le b y m ean s of a lcoho l. F or an aly sis of th e o il it co n ta ins ,see S tillesen , Proc. A. Ph. A ., 1 90 9 , lv ii, p . 2 01 . In th e leav es R o ch lede r fo u n dg u erc itrin , and a b itte r p rinc ip le , esculin (ae scu lin ) ; and in th e capsu les of th e fru it apecu lia r ac id , capsulaesic acid (J. P. C., M ay , 1 8 5 9 ; A u g ., 1 8 6 0 ). (F o r R o ch led er 'sm etho d of ex trac tin g escu lin , see U. S. D., 1 8 th ed itio n ; fo r a seco nd p ro cess , see A. J.P., x liv , 4 0 0 .) E scu lin is in sh in in g , w hite , p rism atic c ry sta ls , in o d o ro u s , b itte r, bu tslig h tly so lu b le in c o ld w ater, m ore so lu b le in bo ilin g w ate r, an d ve ry read ily so inbo iling a lcoho l and in a lk a lin e so lu tions . Its so lu tio n , w h ich is flu o re scen t, isp rec ip ita ted b y lead su b -ace ta te , and its fo rm ula , acco rd in g to S ch iff, is C 1 5H 1 6O 9 +1 1/2H 2O . W hen trea ted w ith d ilu te su lp h u ric ac id , it is co n v e rted in to g rap e sugar anda su b stan ce ca lled esculetin, C 9H 6O 4 , w hich is now know n to be a echicaoutchin ,

T an n in is fo u n d in a ll p a rts of th e tree , in c lu d in g th e leaves as w ell a s th e b ark andfru it. A cco rd in g to R o ch led er , w hen p u re , it is w h ite and so lu b le in w ate r, a lcoho l, andeth e r; becom es red b y th e absorp tio n of o x y g en ; co lo rs fe rric sa lts g reen , b u t v io le t o nth e ad d itio n of a little a lk a li; fluo rescen t w h en it is in a lk a lin e so lu tio n ; in co n cen tra tedso lu tion is p rec ip ita ted , a t leas t p a rtia lly , b y su lp h u ric , h y d ro ch lo ric , andm etaph osp horic ac ids , bu t n o t b y ace tic ac id , and fo rm s a lso , w ith p o ta ss iu m andsod ium su lp h ites and am m o niu m su lp h id e , p rec ip ita tes w h ich are read ily d isso lved b yd ilu te acetic acid . (J. P. C., Jan ., 1 86 8 , 7 2 .)

T he p o w d ered k ern e l of th e n u t is a sternu ta to ry . T h e ex trac t of th e w o od h as b eenu aed in dye in g silk b lack . T h e fixed o il, ex trac ted fro m th e k ern e ls b y e th er, h as b eenem p lo yed in F ran ce as a to p ica l rem ed y in rheumatism ; and th e b ark as anan tipe rio d ic in d o ses of h a lf an ou nce (1 6 G m .) in th e tw en ty -fo u r h o u rs , g iv en in th efo rm of decoc tion . T he flo w ers are sta ted to co n ta in q u erc itrin . In th e U n ited S ta tes adecoc tion of th e leaves is p op u larly em p lo y ed fo r whooping cough, and to th e seedsth em se lves, w hen "carried in th e p o ck e t of th e p atien t," is a ttrib u ted th e m arve llo usp ro p e rty of curin g hemorrhoids, rheumatism , e tc . E scu lin h as a lso b een ad m in is te redin malarial disorders , in fifteen -g ra in (1 G m .) d oses rep ea ted o n ce d u rin g th ein te rm issio n s . (Ann. Ther., 18 59 , 1 8 6 0 .) T he g lucos id e escu lin h as th e p ro pe rty , likeo th er flu o rescen t su b stan ces, of absorb ing u ltra v io le t ray s w h ich are th en g rad u a llyg iv en o ff. B ecause of these p ro p e rties , it is u sed on th e o ne h an d , as a pro tec tiveag ain s t th e effec ts of su n lig h t and on th e o th e r as a m ean s of co n tinu ing th e e ffec t ofhe lio th erap y . T h u s F reund lias fou n d it u sefu l n o t on ly ag a .in a t sunbu rn , bu t as ap ro p h y lac tic ag ain s t sno iv b lin d ness (Zeit. f. Neuere Physikal. Med., 1 90 8 , ii) , andG rah am (L. L., 19 05 , ii, p . 1 7 6 9 ) reco m m end s it in th e F in sen lig h t trea tm en t of lupusvulgaris and sim ilar cond itions. F or th is pu rpose h e in jec ted fiv e m in im s (0 .3 m il) of a


2 or 3 p e r cen t. so lu tion im m edia te ly b en eath th e sk in in th e reg io n to be trea ted b yth e lig h t. U n d e r th e n am e of zeozon and ultra-zeozon th e re are up o n th e m ark e tpastes w hose exac t co m p ositions are n o t s ta ted bu t w h ich are c la im ed to co n ta inoxy-derivatives of escu lin .

T h e- fru it of th e Aesculus pavia L ., o r Red Buckeye of th e S o u th ern U n ited S ta tes , issa id to be an ac tive co n v u lsan t. E . C . B atche lo r (A. J. P., x lv , 1 4 4 ) fo u nd in th eco ty ledo ns of th e seeds ab o u t 2 1/2 p er cen t. of a pecu lia r g lu cos id e . Aesculus glabraW illd., the Ohio Buckeye, is asserted to be usefu l in portal congestion. (N . P ., ii, 21.)

Aethusa. Fool's Parsley. Aethusa Cynapium , L . (F am . Umbelliferae.)— A fe tid h erbnatu ra lized fro m E u ro pe and gro w ing in w aste p laces o r cu ltiv a ted g ro un d s in th eno rth ern U n ited S ta tes and C an ad a . In 185 9 , W alz s ta ted th a t th e fru it of th eAethusa Cynapium co n ta ins a vo la tile b ase sim ilar to co n iin e . T h is s ta tem en t h asbeen co n firm ed b y P o w er and T u tin (J. Am. C. S., 19 05 , x x v ii) w h o reco v e red , besid esva rio us inert m a tte rs , ab o u t o ne fo rty -th o u san d th of 1 p er cen t. of th e v o la tilea lka lo id . T h is p lan t h as b een va rio usly a ttribu ted w ith p o ison ous p ro p e rties , bu tH arley (P. J., 1 88 0 , x i, p . 4 3 ) den ies an y n ox io us q u a lity , an d , in th e ex p e rim en ts ofP o w er an d T u tin , th e ex trac t fro m fiv e h u n d red g ram m es of th e d ry h erb caused in asm all dog , vom iting an d salivation , bu t th e an im al en tirely recovered .

A G A R . U . S . AG A R [Agar-agar]

"T h e d ried m ueilag inous su b stan ce ex trac ted from Gracilaria(Sphaerococcus) lichenoides G rev ille and o th er m arin e a lgae g ro w in g -a long the eastern coast of A sia , p articu la rly sev era l spec ies of Gelidium ,o r Gloiopeltis (C la ss Rhodophyceae)." U . S .

Q u ite a n u m b er of the a lgae be lo n g ing to the Rhodophyceae , g row ingon the coast of S o u th ern and E aste rn A sia , co n ta in la rg e qu an titie s ofm ucilage w h ich is ex trac ted and so ld under the n am e of ag ar-ag ar. T hem ost im portan t species are th ose recogn ized b y the U . S . P harm acop oeia .T he a lgae are co llec ted , sp read o u t up on the beach un til th ey a reb leached and then dried . T hey a re then b o iled w ith w ater and them ucilag in ou s so lu tion stra in ed th ro u g h a c lo th . T he filtra te is a llow ed toharden and th orough ly dry in the su n . T he a lgae a re u su a lly co llec tedd u rin g the su m m er and fa ll, b leached and dried , bu t the p rocess of them an u fac tu re of ag ar-ag 'a r does n o t take p lace un til co ld w ea th er andu su ally ex ten d s from N ovem ber to F eb ru ary .

T h e fo llo w in g v arie tie s of ag a r a re k no w n :

1 .— Ceylon Agar-agar, co n sistin g ch ie fly of Gracilaria lichenoides, A g .,


the a lg a u sed b y the Hirundo esculenta in the fo rm ation of its ed ib lenest.

2 .— Macassar Agar-agar, co m in g from the stra its be tw een B orneo andC elebes , con sistin g of im p u re Eucheuma spinosum , A g ., in cru sted w ithsalt.

3 .— Japanese Agar-agar, know n as Japanese isinglass , de rived fromseve ra l a lgae , especia lly Sphaerococcus compressus, A g ., Gloiopeltistenax , J . A g ., Gelidium corneum , L am . and G. cartilagineum G aill. Itoccu rs in E u ro p ean co m m erce e ith er in transp aren t p ieces, tw o fee t lo n gand as th ick as a straw , p rep a red in S ingapore b y p u tting the a lg asn am ed in h o t w a ter, o r, m ore freq u en tly , in ye llow ish -w h ite m asses, afo o t lo n g and u p w ard of an inch in w id th . It is the la tter k in d of ag ar-ag ar th a t is su itab le fo r the cu ltu re of b ac teria , and is em p loyed inm edicine . (P. J ., 1885 , 1 8 8 .)

M o rin has in v estig a ted the gelose of P ayen , con ta ined in the ag a r-ag ar.W hen a so lu tion of g e lo se is coo led , even that of 1 in 500 parts of w ater ,a co lo rless, transp aren t, and stiff je lly is ob ta ined , w h ich , w hen heatedw ith m odera te ly stro n g n itric ac id , y ie ld s m u cic and o x alic ac id s. Itd isso lves on h ea tin g w ith ac id u la ted w ater w ith o u t y ie ld ing a je lly oncoo ling .

G elo se leaves 3 .88 p er cen t. of ash , and w hen air-d ried con ta in s 22 .85p er cen t. of m o istu re . W hen d isso lved there a lso separa te s o u t afloccu len t m ass am o u n tin g to 1 .9 p er cen t. A lcoh o l p rec ip ita tes g e lo se ,bu t it can no t be ob ta ined p u re in th is m an n er, as the p rec ip ita tecon ta in s som e ash . (C. E. A. S., N o . 9 0 , 9 2 1 -9 26 .)

U n d er the n am e of gelosine a m ucilag ino us su b stance , ex trac ted from aJap an ese a lg a , has en tered co m m erce in the fo rm of dry , w h itish leaves.G elo sine is so lu b le in a lco h o l and w ate r, and is sa id w hen w et tog rad u a lly co n trac t and expe l w ater and the m ed ic ina l su b stan ces w h ichit m ay con ta in . It has been p ro po sed as a p h arm aceu tica l basis fo rvario us p repara tions fo r lo cal u se . (S ee B. M. J., v o l. ii, 1 88 6 .) G lycerinsupposito ries hav e been m ade w ith ag ar-ag ar as a veh ic le , bu t th eycon ta in o n ly 70 p er cen t. of g lycerin as com pared to 90 p er cen t. in theofficia l suppositorie s m ade w ith sodiu m oleate .

P rope rties.— A gar-agar occu rs "m ostly in b un d les fro m 4 to 6 dm . in


len g th , con sisting of th in , tran slu cen t, m em bran o us, ag g lu tin a ted p iecesfrom 4 to 8 m m . in w id th ; ex te rn a lly ye llow ish -w h ite o r b ro w nish -w h ite ;to ug h w hen d am p , b rittle w hen dry ; o d o r s ligh t; tas te m ucilag inou s. Afrag m en t m ou n ted in w ater and exam ined under the m icro sco p eg rad u a lly b eco m es m ore transparen t, show ing a g ranu lar struc tu re anda few d ia tom s, n o tab ly the fru stu le s of Arachnoidiscus EhrenbergiiB aillon , w h ich a re d isk -shap ed and from 0 .1 to 0 .2 m m . in d iam eter, anda lso frag m en ts of the sp icu la s of sponges; upo n the ad d itio n of iod inesom e of the g ran u les o r h y p h a l portions a re co lo red b lu ish -b lack .Inso lub le in co ld w ater , bu t s lo w ly so lub le in h o t w ater . A so lu tion m adeb y bo iling 0 .1 G m . of A gar in 100 m ils of ech icao u tch in , up on co o lingy ie ld s no p rec ip ita te u pon the ad d itio n of tan n ic ac id T .S . (ge la tin ),and does n o t p ro duce a b lue co lo r upo n the ad d itio n of iod ine T .S .(sta rch ). B o il 1 p artof A gar fo r ab o u t ten m in u tes w ith 1 00 parts of w ater , and rep lace thew ater lost b y evapora tion ; it y ie ld s a stiff je lly up on co o ling . T he p ow deris pa le b uff; w lien m ou n ted in w ater and exam ined under them icro sco p e it show s transparen t, m ore o r less g ran u lar , stria ted ang u larfrag m en ts , occasiona lly con ta in ing fru stu le s of d ia tom s; w ith iod ine T .S .,frag m en ts fo r the m ost p art are co lo red b rig h t red , certa in m ore lessdefin ite areas being sta ined b lu ish -b lack . A gar y ie ld s n o t m ore than 5per cen t. of ash ." U. S.

T o d e tec t ag ar in jam s, je llies, e tc ., in w h ich it is o ften use d as anad u lte ran t, it is u su a lly considered necessary to ash the sam ple andexam ine the acid inso lu b le ash fo r p resence of the ch arac te ris ticd ia to m s. A lbe rt S chneider [P ac . P h a rm ., 1912 , p . 35 ) sta tes tha t theash in g is u n n ecessary and often destru c tiv e of the d ia tom s and th atth ey m ay be co llec ted b y d isso lv ing 1 0 G m . of the sam p le in 200 m ils ofd istilled w ater and ceu trifug ing fo r th irty m in u tes , a fte r w h ich thesed im en t m ay be place d on a m icro scop ic slid e an d exam ined .

Uses .— U n der the n am e of ag ar-ag ar a je lly -like su bstan ce has beenu sed as a cu ltu re m ed ium by bac te rio log ists fo r m any y ea rs. (S ee Diag-nostical Reagents, P art III.) A lthough agar co n ta in s six ty p er cen t. ofca rb o h y d ra te s, acco rd ing to S a ik i (J. B . C ., 19 06 ), the hum an d igestivetrac t is ab le to u tilize b u t a very sm a ll percen tage of the fo od va lue . Itstherapeu tic im p ortance depends u p on the ab ility of the dry ag ar toabso rb and re ta in ech icao u tch in . B eing ind igestib le , it p assesth ro u g h the in testina l trac t, sw elling u p som ew hat, ow in g to theabso rp tio n of w ater from the stom ach , and g ives bu lk to thein testin a l co n ten ts. In o th e r w ords, it ac ts m echan ica lly in anana log ou s m ann er to the ce llu lo se of


vege tab le foods, and aid s in m ain ta in in g the reg u la rity of the bo w elm ovem en ts. It h as been w ide ly u sed in the trea tm en t of ch ron icconstipa tion . O f itse lf, w hen there is m ore o r less a to ny of the in testina lm u sc les, it does n o t o rig in a te p e ris ta ltic m ovem en ts, and th e re fo re isfrequen tly com bined w ith sm all do ses of easca ra , o r one of the o th ervege tab le ca th artic s. It is b est ad m in iste red cu t u p in sm a ll p ieces, andea ten like a cereal w ith the ad d itio n , if desirab le , of cream and su g ar.O rd in arily , from tw o to fou r d rach m s (7 .7 -1 5 .5 G m .) of the dry ag ar m aybe ad m in iste red o n ce a day .

Agaric. Agaricus Albus . White Agaric. Larch Agaric. Touchwood. Spunk. Tinder.Funpurgatif, F r. Larchenschwamm , G .— It is defined in th e N atio n a l F o rm u la ry IV as"the d ried fru it b o d y of th e fu n g us Polyporus officinalis F riea (F ain . Polyporaceae)[g row ing on o ne o r m o re spec ies of Pinus L in ne , Larix A danson , an d Picea L in k (F am .Pinaceae)], dep riv ed of its o u te r rin d , and w ith o u t th e presence of m o re than 10 p ercen t. of fo re ig n m atte r." T h e term A g aric is m o re p ro p e rly app lied , h o w ev er, to th efu n g i of th e gen us Agaricus, bu t m ost m ed ica l w rite rs and th e N . F . lim it it to th efu n gu s fro m Polyporus officinalis F ries (Boletus laricis Jacq u in ; B. purgans P erso o n ),w h ich is fo u n d u po n th e o ld tru n ks of th e E u ro p ean larch and u p o n Larix sibiricaL edeb ou r, of A sia . T h e sam e spec ies is fo u n d on va rio us co n ife rous trees in so m e ofth e w estern U n ited S ta tes and B ritish C o lum bia . It is of va rio u s sizes , fro m th a t ofth e fis t to th a t of a ch ild 's h ead , o r even la rg er, h ard and spo ng y , ex te rn a lly b ro w n isho r red d ish ; bu t, a s fo u n d in com m erce , it is d ep riv ed of its ex te rio r coa t, and co nsis ts ofa lig h t, w h ite , sp on gy , som ew hat fa rinaceou s, friab le m ass, w h ich , th o u g h capab le ofbe in g ru b bed in to p o w d er u p o n a s iev e , is n o t easily p u lve rized in th e o rd in a ry m ode ,a s it f la tten s under th e p es tle . T ha t w h ic h is m ost esteem ed is sa id to b e b ro u g h tfro m S iberia ; bu t it is p ro bab ly p ro duced w herev er th e E u ro p e an larch g ro w s. It isdesc ribed in th e N . F . a s in " lig h t, fib ro us, som ew hat sp on gy p ieces of irregu la r sh ape;g ray ish -w hite to p a le b ro w n ex te rna lly ; ye llo w ish and resin o u s in tern a lly ; frac tu retoug h , f ib ro us ; friab le bu t d iff icu lt to po w d er. T he p o w d ered d ru g , exam ined under th em icroscope , sh o w s n u m ero u s n o n -sep ta te , n a rro w , m y ce lia l tlireads and m an ycu b ica l c ry sta ls of ca lc iu m o x ala te fro m 0 .01 to 0 .02 m m . in d iam eter. It y ie ld s tobo iling ech icaou tch in n o t less th an 5 0 p er cen t. of a re sin o u s ex trac t. A g aric y ie ld sn o t m ore th an 2 p er cen t. of a w hite ash , rich in ph osphates ." N. F. W m . M .M cP heeters (St. L.M. S. J ., x , 4 2 1 ) fo u n d a spec im en b ro u g h t fro m th e R o c k y M o u nta ins dec ided lycathartic in dosea of tw en ty -fou r g ra ins (1 .6 G m .).

A garic h as a sw ee tish , very b itte r tas te . It o w es its m ed ic ina l v irtu es to Agaric acid(N . N . R ., 1 9 1 6 ), w h ich is a lso ca lled laricic and agaricinic acid. T h is is a trib asicac id , C 19H 36O H (C O O H )3 + 1 1/2H 2O , occu rring as an o d orle ss , tas te less , m icro -c ry sta llin e p o w d er, m eltin g a t 1 4 1 .5 ° C . (2 8 6 .5 ° F .) . A cco rd in g to J. S ch m iede r, ag aricco n ta ins a sm a ll am o u n t of so ft res in , C 1 5H 2 0O 4 , ex trac ted w ith p e tro leu m benzin ,and fro m 4 to 6 per cen t. of a fatty bod y , w h ich is m ade up of(1 ) agaricol, C 1 0H 1 6O , fusin g a t 2 2 3 ° C . (4 33 .4 ° F .);(2 ) phytosterin , C 2 6H 4 4O ;


(3 ) so lid hydrocarbons , C 2 3H 4 6 and C 2 9H 5 4;(4 ) ce ty l a lcoho l, C16H 33 .O H ;(5 ) a liquid arom atic alcohol, C 9H 18O ;(6 ) a fa tty ac id , C 14H 2 4O 2; and(7 ) ric ino le ic ac id , C 1 8H 3 4O 3 . (S ch m id t, Lehrbuch der Pharm . C hem ., ii, 3 te A u f.,1 5 2 8 .) J . D . E ied e l h as p ro duced tw o p h en e tid id es of aga ric ac id , fo r w h ich an tip y re ticand an h id ro tic p ro p e r ties are c la im ed . (P h . Z tg ., x lv ii.) S od iu m , L ith iu m and B ism u thagaricinates have been prep ared and introduced in to m ed icine.

A cco rd in g to H o ffm e iste r (A. E. P. P ., 18 89 , x x v , p . 1 8 9 ), in a m o d era te do se , ag aricac id h as no effec t u p o n th e system , excep t to p a ra ly ze th e n e rv es of th e sw eatg lan ds. W hen g iv en in very la rg e d oses , it p roduced p rim ary excita tion of th e m ed u lla ,fo llo w e d b y p ara ly sis , inc reasin g a t firs t th e b lo o d p ressu re and th e resp ira to ry ra te ,w h ich w as fo llo w e d b y d im in ish in g ac tiv ity in bo th . T h e larg e d o ses a lso ac ted as anirritan t to th e sto m ach and in testine , causing vo m iting and p u rg in g . T h e dep ressan tac tion sh ow n on th e sw eat g lan d s w as n o t shared b y th e o th e r g lan d s of th e b o d y .M cC artney (J. P. Ex. T ., 19 17 , x , 8 3 ) o ffe rs th e rem ark ab le theo ry th a t itsan tih y dro lic ac tio n is du e to sp asm of th e m u scu lar lay e r of th e sk in . T he m ostim portan t u se of ag a ric is in th e trea tm en t of th e colliquative sweats of w as tin gcond itions , such as phthisis . I ts v a lue in these co nd itions h as b een ab u n d an tlyco n firm ed b y c lin ica l expe rience . A side fro m th e so lanaceo us d ru g s , it is p ro bab ly th em ost re liab le rem ed y th a t w e p ossess fo r th is p urpose . R osen b au m h as fo u nd th efluid extract of agaric (Med.Klin ., 1 9 0 6 ) of serv ice in v a rio us ca ta rrha l co nd itions ofth e a lim en tary trac t, even in intestinal tuberculosis.

U n d e r th e n am e of agaricin are m ark eted p repara tions co n ta in ing th e ac tive agaricacid, w ith larger o r sm alle r am o u n t of ech icao u tch in . T he dose of th e p u reprinc ip le is fro m one-six th to one-ha lf of a g rain (0 .01 -0 .0 3 G m .).

T h oe rne r o b ta ined fro m Agaricus atramentosus c ry sta llin e , da rk -b row n sca les , w h ichh e be liev ed to be dioxykinon. (Ber. d. Chem. Ges., 18 78 , 5 3 3 .) A cco rd in g to T . L .P h ipso n , Agaricus ruber co n ta ins a rose -red co lo ring m atter, ruberin, w h ich ap pearsb rig h t-b lue b y tran sm itted ligh t; be ing so lu b le in w ate r, it is w ashed o u t of th e h ead ofth e fu n g us b y a heav y fa ll of ra in . E th er ex trac ts fro m th e fu n g us a y e llo w ish -w h itea lka lo id , ag ary th rin e , w h ich h as a b itte r , a fte rw ard s b u rn in g taste , so m ew hat likeaco n itine ; its ch lo rid e is so lu b le , bu t th e su lphate inso lu b le in w ate r, th e la tterd isso lv in g in a lco h o l; it d isso lv es in n itric ac id w ith red c o lo r, and is co lo red red b ych lo rin a ted lim e and afte rw ard s b leach ed . O n ag ita ting th e so lu tion of th e a lka lo idw ith e ther, it is ox id ized b y th e a ir to a red co lo ring m atter, w ich is p ro bab ly th e causeof th e red c o lo r of th e su rface of th e fu ng us. (Chem. News , 1 8 82 , 1 9 9 .) A n aga ricg ro w in g on th e Larix leptolepis , and used in Japan as a sac red m ed ic ine under th en am e of Toboshi or Eburiko , h as b een fo u n d b y Y . Ino ko to co n ta in aga ric ac id . (Sei-I-Kwai, A p ril, 1 8 91 .)

Funguschirurgorum . Boletus chirurgorum , Wundschwamm , G .— Surgeon's agaric isth e p ro duct of Polyporus fomentarius (L .) F ries , w h ich is fo u n d u p o n th e o ak andb eech trees of E uro pe . It is sh ap ed som ew h at like th e h orse 's fo o t, w ith a d iam eter of


fro m six to ten in ches. It is so ft like ve lv e t w hen yo un g , bu t afte rw ard s beco m es h ardand ligneous. It u su a lly rests im m edia te ly u p o n th e b ark of th e tree , w ith o u t an ysu p p o rtin g foo ts ta lk . O n th e u p p er su rface it is sm o o th , b u t m ark ed w ith c ircu la rrid ges of d iffe ren t co lo rs , m o re o r le ss b ro w n o r b lack ish ; on th e under su rface , it isw h itish o r ye llo w ish , and fu ll of sm a ll p o re s ; in terna lly it is fib rous, tou gh , and of ataw n y -b ro w n c o lo r. I t is co m p o sed of sho rt tub u lar fib e rs co m pac tly arranged inlay e rs , on e of w h ich is ad d ed eve ry y ea r. T h e b est is th a t w h ich g ro w s o n th e oak , andth e seaso n fo r co llec ting th e fu n g us is A ug ust o r S ep tem b er. It h as ne ith er tas te n o rodo r. A m o n g its co n stitu en ts , acco rd in g to B ou illon -L ag ran ge , are ex trac tive , res in invery sm a ll p ro p o rtio n , n itro gen o us m atter a lso in sm a ll quan tity , p o ta ss iu m ch lo rid e ,and ca lc ium su lph ate , and in its ash es are fo u n d iro n , and ca lc ium and m ag nes iu mp h o sp h a te . It is p rep ared fo r u se b y rem o v in g th e ex te rio r rind or b ark , cu ttin g th einner p art in to th in s lic es , and b ea tin g th ese w ith a h am m er u n til th ey b eco m e so ft,p liab le , and easily to rn b y th e finge rs . In th is s ta te it w as fo rm erly m uch u sed b ysu rgeo ns fo r arres tin g h em orrhag e , be in g ap p lied w ith p ressu re . P. ignarius (L .) F riesand P. marginatua Fries y ield sim ilar products.

W hen p rep a red p o ly p o ru s (so -ca lled aga ric ) is s teeped in a so lu tion of n itre , andafte rw ard s d ried , it co n stitu tes sp u nk , p u n k , o r tinder, th e am ad o u of th e F ren ch ,w h ich occ u rs in fla t p ieces , of a cons is ten ce som ew hat like th a t of ve ry so ft, ro ttenbucksk in lea the r, of a b ro w n ish -ye llo w c o lo r, capab le of abso rb in g liq u ids, andin flam m able b y th e slig h test spark . It is sa id to be p rep ared a lso fro m v ario us o th erspec ies of Polyporus, a s P. ungulatus , P. ribis, e tc .

Agave. Agave americana , L . American Agave . American Aloe . Maguey. (F am .Amaryllidaceae.) — A n ev erg reen su ccu len t p lan t, in d ig en o us to F lo rida , M e xic o , ando th er p a rts of tro p ica l A m erica , and large ly cu ltiv a ted , ch ie fly fo r hed g es , in th e so u thof E uro pe , espec ia lly in S p a in . A ltho ug h th e Agave americana is th e b est k no w n fo rm ,b o tan is ts h ave d esc ribed fif ty spec ies of th e gen us, w h ich are in d ig en ou s to S o u thA m erica and th e so u th e rn p ortio ns of N o rth A m erica , and m an y of w h ich co n trib u teto th e eco n o m ic p ro d u cts p rod uced in th a t coun try fro m th e agave p lan t. T h e n u m b erof these pro d u cts is very g rea t. Sisal grass or sisal hemp and Tampico hemp , a lsokno w n as Pita hemp or Pita fiber, a re th e m ost im portan t of th e va rio us fib e rso b ta ined fro m th e ag ave leaves , th o u g h a n u m b er of o th er fo rm s are lo ca lly kno w n inM e x ic o . F ro m a n u m b er of spec ies of Agave, a re p rod uced in M e x ico , la rg e qu an titiesof ferm ented liquors, know n as pulque, and distilled liquors know n as mescal o r tequila.A ll of th e p u lq u e agav es hav e th ick leaves. W hen th ey are ab o u t to b lo o m th e cen tra lb u d is cu t o u t, leav in g a la rg e cav ity in to w h ich th e sap (aguamiel or honey water}ex u d es , rap id ly . A t firs t c lear g reen , y e llo w ish o r w h itish , th is sap so o n b yferm en ta tio n becom es m ilky and acq u ire s a c id er-like tas te o r , if th e p ro cess isa llo w ed to go on , is rap id ly con v e rted in to v in ega r. Pulque is sa id to co n ta in ab o u t 7p er cen t. of a lcoho l, and is ve ry la rge ly u sed as a bev e rag e b y th e M ex icans , b u t itsodo r and taste are d isag reeab le to unaccustom ed pala tes . T h e ju ice h as in it ano p tica lly inac tive red ucing su g ar, agavose , C 12H 22O 1 1 . T h e leaves and ro o ts andstock s of th e agave co n ta in sapo n in and are used in M e x ic o in th e p lace of soap . T hefresh ju ice is sa id to be lax a tiv e , ech icao u tch in , and em m enagog ue , and in do sesof tw o flu ido unces (6 0 m ils) usefu l in scu rv y . T h e leaves are sa id to be used ascoun te r-


In tim a te ly m ix 1 G m . of A loes w ith 10 m ils of h o t w ater and d ilu te 1 m ilof th is m ix tu re w ith 100 m ils of w ate r; a g reen flu o re scence is p roducedupo n the ad d itio n of an aqueous so lu tion of sod ium b o ra te (1 in 2 0).D ilu te 1 m il of the orig ina l aqueous m ix tu re of A loes w ith 100 m ils ofw ater , an d sh ak e it w ith 10 m ils of benzene; upon separa ting thebenzene so lu tion and add ing to it 5 m ils of am m o nia w ater , aperm anen t deep rose co lo r is p rodu ced in the low er laye r. A loes y ie ld sn o t m ore than 4 p er cen t. of ash ." U. S.

T he 1914 B ritish P harm acopoeia g ives the fo llo w in g descrip tion : “ Inha rd m asses , vary ing in co lo r from yellow ish -b row n to dark orchoco la te -b row n . F rac tu red su rface du ll, w axy and un ifo rm (C uracaoand Z anz ibar a loes), o r u neven and som ew hat po rou s (S oco trine a loes).S m all sp lin te rs exam ined under the m icro sco p e ex h ib it m in u te cry sta lsem bedded in a transparen t m ass . C h arac te ristic ech icao u tch in ; ta sten au seo u s and b itte r. T he so lu tion ob ta ined b y d isso lv ing 0 .1 g ram m eof A loes in10 m illilitre s of bo iling water and add ing 0 .5 g ram m e of purified boraxacqu ire s a green fluo re scence . Nitric acid dro pped on a little c ru sh edA loes acqu ire s a redd ish -b ro w n co lo r (S oco trine and Z anzibar a loes), o ra crim son co lo r (C uracao a loes). A lm ost en tire ly so lu b le in alco h o l (6 0p er cen t.). L o ss on dry ing a t 10 0 ° C . (212° F .) n o t m ore th an 10 p er cen t.A sh n o t m ore th an 5 p er cen t." Br.

Chem ical Properties .— S ev era l d is tin g u ish ed chem ists havein v estiga ted the natu re an d com position of a loes. B raco nn o t fou nd ab itte r p rinc ip le , w h ich h e n am ed resino-amer (resinous b itte r) , andano ther su b stan ce in sm alle r p rop o rtion , w h ich h e d esig na ted b y then am e of flea-colored principle. T hese resu lts w ere e ssen tia lly co n firm edb y T rom m sdo rff, B ou illon -L a -g rang e , and V og el. R o b iquet ob ta ined aproduct from aloes w h ich h e ca lled aloetin . (F o r d e ta ils , reader isreferred to 14 th ed ., U . S . D ispensatory .)

A L O IN S .— T h e b itte r su b stan ces no ticed above , v iz ., the resin o -am er ofB raco nn o t, and the aloetin of R ob iquet, p robab ly con ta in the ac tivep rinc ip le of a loes, bu t com bined w ith im p u rities w h ich render itin suscep tib le of crysta lliza tion . It has bee n assu m e d tha t there ex ists no tone com pound , bu t a se t of th ree close ly re la ted ech icaou tch in , tow h ich the g en era l n am e of a lo ins is n o w g iven . T h e first of th ese ,foun d exc lu sive ly in B arbados, a loes, and d iscovered by T . and H .S m ith , is ca lled barbaloin; the second , d iscovered b y F liick iger inN ata l a loes, is ca lled nataloin ; the th ird , found b y H isted andF luck iger in S oco trine


aloes , is calle d socaloin .

T he th ree a lo ins, barbaloin , nataloin , and socaloin , a re easilyd is tin g u ish ed b y the fo llo w in g reac tion , first no ticed b y H isted . A dro p ofn itric ac id on a porce la in slab g ives, w ith a few p artic les of barba lo in o rn a ta lo in , a v iv id crim son (rap id ly fad ing in the case of barba lo in , b u tperm anen t w ith n a ta lo in u n less h ea t be app lied ), b u t p roduces littleeffec t w ith soca lo in . T o d istin g u ish b arba lo in from n a ta lo in , te s t each b yadd ing a m in u te qu an tity to a d ro p or tw o of su lp h u ric ac id , thena llow ing the vapor from a rod to uched w ith n itr ic ac id to p ass over thesu rface . B arba lo in (and so calo in ) w ill undergo no chan ge , b u t n a ta lo inw ill a ssu m e a fine b lue . (Pharmacographia, 2d ed ., p . 6 88 .) E . v o nS om m aru ga and E gger consider tha t the th ree a lo ins fo rm ah o m o lo go us series po ssessin g the fo rm ulas: barba lo in , C 17H 20O 7;n a ta lo in , C 16H 18O 7; soca lo in , C 15H 16O 7 , and that th ey are a ll derivedfrom anthracene , C 14H 10 . T ilden su bequen tly assigned a d iffe ren tcom position to the a lo ins: barba lo in and soca lo in , each C 16H 18O 7; fo rn a ta lo in , the fo rm ula C 25H 28O 11 . H e fu rther sta tes tha t barba lo in andsoca lo in d iffe r in phy sica l and chem ic a l p ro pe rtie s on accoun t of thev aria tio n in the m olecu le s of w ate r w h ich a re assoc ia ted w ith th em .L eger assig n s to n a ta lo in the fo rm ula C 23H 26O 10 . T he B ritishP harm acopoeia (1 8 9 8) assig n s to barba lo in the fo rm ulaC 16H 16O 7 ,3 H 2O . T w o bases o n ly are recogn ized n ow , barbaloin (o rsim p ly a lo in ) and isobarbaloin . A ccord in g to L eger (P. J., 1902 , 21)Cape aloes con ta ins from 5 to 6 p e r cen t. of a lo in (b arba lo in ) w ith o u tan y ad m ix tu re of the iso m eric isob arba lo in . T he B arbadoes a loes ofE n g lish co m m erce never gave m ore th an 5 p er cen t. of barba lo in w ithbu t m in u te traces of isobarba lo in , w h ich , ho w ever, is a lw ays m et w ith inthe so -ca lled B arbados a loes of F ren ch co m m erce . Curacao aloes is richin a lo in , con ta in ing 10 p er cen t., of w h ich ha lf is ech icao u tch in andtheo th er ha lf isoba rb a lo in . Jafferabad aloes is very rich in a lo in , y ie ld ing20 p er cen t., ch ie fly in the fo rm of isobarba lo in . Socotrine aloes does n o tcon ta in m ore th an 4 p er cen t. of a lo in , a lm ost w h o lly b arba lo in w ith avery little iso barba lo in . S ince barba lo in is foun d in a lm ost a ll v arie ties ,the sign ificance of the prefix “b arb " is m islead ing . T he o n ly a loes inw h ic h it doe s no t o ccu r is tha t of N a tal.

H ugo B o rn trag er asserted th at one p art of a loes in 5000 can be de tec tedin the fo llo w in g m an n er. A little of the su spec ted liqu id is sh aken w ith


ab o u t tw ice its b u lk of benz in , w h ich is a llow ed to separa te , decan ted ,and shaken w ith a few drop s of stro n g er w ater of am m onia . O nsep a ra tio n the am m o nia w ill be of a c lea r red co lo r. W ith so lid s atin c tu re shou ld first be m ade. A ccord in g to R . H . G roves (P. J ., 3d ser.,s i, 1 0 45 ), th is te s t w ill neve r succeed w ith a le ss co ncen tra tio n th an 1p art in 250 , and w ith som e aloes 1 in 100 , and is d ue to the tan n in -lik esu b stan ce of a loes; he a lso sta tes th a t ex trem e care is n ecessa ry to havethe ech icaou tch in so lu tion perfec tly c lear. (P. J., 1885 , p . 633 . F orH ag er 's q uan tita tive m ethod fo r de te rm in in g the percen tage of a lo inin a loes, see A. J. P., 1885 , p . 237 .

R . A . C ripp s and T . S . D ym ond have g iven the testing of a loes a leng thyin vestiga tio n , and th ey recom m end the fo llo w ing m ethod . P lace 1 g ra inof the su b stan ce in a g lass m ortar s tan d in g on w h ite p ap er, n ow ad d 16dro ps of stro n g su lp h u ric ac id and tritu ra te un til d isso lved , then ad d 4dro ps of n itr ic ac id , sp . g r. 1 .42 , an d then 1 ounce of d istilled w ater . Ifa loes be p resen t, a co lo r vary ing from deep orange to crim son w ill bep roduced , acco rd ing to the k in d of a loes tha t has been used ; the co lo r isdeepened b y the ad d itio n of .am m onia . T he tab le belo w is taken fromthe p ap er of B ainbridge and M o rro w . (P. J., Jan ., 1 8 9 0 .) U n d er theh ead in g of K ew S pecim ens are g iven the resu lts ob ta ined w ith ju ice ofa lo es p lan ts g row n in K ew G arden s.


T sch irch , of B erne , has p u b lished (B. P. G .) 1898 , v iii, H eft 6 ) anim portan t com m unica tion , in w h ich h e sh ow ed th at emodin , C 15H 10O 5 ,o r trioxymethylanthraquinone , is the p u rg a tiv e princ ip le o tf the a lo ins.H e succeeded in o b ta in ing em od in in orange -red cry sta ls w h ich m elt a t2 1 6° C . (4 2 0 .8° F .). E m od in w as foun d in the a lo ins ob ta ined from C ape ,B arbadoes, and S oco trine A lo es ; it is ex trac ted by trea tingech icao u tch in w ith e th er, w h ich d isso lves o u t the em od in . T sch irchfoun d that if a liqu id ex trac t of aloes be dep rived of its resin andalo in , an ad d itio n a l q uan tity of em od in co u ld be ob ta in ed b y bo ilingthe liqu id ex trac t w ith d ilu ted su lp h u ric ac id , thus po in ting to thefac t tha t em od in m ay be produced th ro u g h h ydro lysis. H e a lsosho w ed th at em od in co u ld be o b ta ined from p u rg a tiv e d ru g s of thesam e class as a loes: rhubarb , ru m es, fran g u la , cas-cara , sen n a ,rham nu s ca tharticu s, m orin da b ark , an d parm elia .

A loes y ie ld s its active m atter to co ld w ater , and w hen good is a lm ostw h o lly d isso lved b y boiling w ater; bu t the ine rt po rtion , o r apo them e ofB erze liu s, is depo sited as the so lu tio n coo ls . It is a lso so lub le in a lco h o l,rec tified o r d ilu ted . L o n g bo iling im p airs its p u rg a tiv e p ro pe rtie s b yo x id iz in g the a lo in and ren d erin g it in so lub le . T he a lk a lie s , the irca rb o n a te s, and soap a lte r in som e m easu re its chem ica l na tu re , andrender it of easie r so lu tion . It is in flam m able , sw elling u p andd ec rep ita tin g w hen it b u rn s , and g iv ing ou t a th ick sm oke w h ich hasthe o d o r of the d ru g .

T ho se su b stan ces o n ly are incom p atib le w ith a loes w h ich a lte r o rp rec ip ita te the so lub le m atte r, as th e inso lub le portion is w ith o u t ac tionupo n the system . A m o n g these is th e in fusion of ga lls , w h ich w e havefoun d , p robab ly th ro u g h its tan n ic ac id , to affo rd a co p io us p rec ip ita tew ith an aqueous so lu tion of a loes. It is sa id tha t su ch a m ix tu re w illkeep a lo n g tim e, even fo r a period of seve ra l m o n th s , w ith o u t m old inesso r pu tre scence , tho u g h it b eco m es rop y .

A m ethod fo r the de tec tion of a loes in m ix tu res con ta in ing o th erca thartic d ru g s, such as rhubarb , caseara , e tc ., has b een described b yM o ssley (Chem. and Drug., 1913 , 9 1 5 ). T he m ethod depends upon thep rec ip ita tio n of the oxy m eth y l an th raq u in o n es, w h ich u su a lly in te rfe rein such iden tifica tion tests , and the su b seq u en t de tec tion of a loes by thead d itio n of b rom ine T .S ., w h ich p rec ip ita tes a lo in , and the greenfluo re s cence p rodu ced w ith a loes b y borax .


Uses .— A lo es w as know n to the an cien ts, be ing cu ltiv a ted in the islan dof S ocotra as far back as the tim e of A lexande r the G rea t, and ism en tioned in the w orks of D io sco rid es and of C elsus. Its ca thartic ac tionis d ue to a stim u la tio n of p erista ls is , espec ia lly in the larger b o w el,p robably the resu lt of a lo cal irrita n t effec t u po n the m ucous m em brane ,a lth o u g h there is som e ev idence th at it exerc ises a sp ecific stim u lan teffec t u pon un striped m usc le s. A s its ac tion is la rge ly lim ited to the co lo nit is n o t to be recom m ended in tho se cond itions in w h ich it is desirab le toc lean o u t the w h o le a lim en tary can a l, an d as its effec t is la rge ly theresu lt of lo cal irrita tion it shou ld be avo ided in in flam m ato ry cond itionsof the in testines. In ch ron ic constipa tion , how ever, espec ia lly w hend ep en de n t u po n an aton ic co nd ition of the low er b o w el, it is one of them ost usefu l lax a tiv es th a t w a po ssess . M any be lieve tha t it po ssesse s ad irec ts ton ic ac tion , n o t o n ly ev acu a ting the b o w el of its co n ten ts b u tencourag in g a resto ra tio n tow ard n o rm a l cond itions. T he presence ofb ile in the b o w el seem s in som e w ay to be essen tia l fo r the b est e ffec ts ofth is d ru g , and in tho se cases in w h ich th is secre tion is lack ing it is w ellto ex h ib it som e p repara tion of b ile in con junction w ith the a loes. S oapa lso appears to en h ance the ca th artic ac tion of th is d ru g . It w asfo rm erly a lm ost u n iv ersa lly be lieved that a loes po ssessed em m enagoguep ro p ertie s and it w as acco rd ing ly la rge ly u sed in the trea tm en t ofvario us fo rm s of amenorrhea. I t is , how eve r, ex trem ely dou b tfu lw h e th er it exerc ises an y ac tion upo n the p elv ic ech icaou tch in w h ichis n o tattributable to its cathartic effects.

C ru de a loes is ra re ly u sed in hum an m edic ine , bu t m ay be g iven indoses of fro m tw o to ten gra in s (0 .13 -0 .65 G m .).

Off. Prep .— E xtrac tum C olocyn th id is C om -po situm , U . S . () .); P ilu laeA loes, U . S . (Br.) ; P ilu la s R hei C om po site s , U. S. (Br.) ; T in c tu ra A loes, U.S.; T in c tu ra B enzo in i C om posita , U. S. (Br.)', D eco ctu m A loesC om positum , Br.; E x trac tu m A loes, Br.; P ilu la A lo es e t A safe tidae , Br.;P ilu la A loes e t F erri, Br.; P ilu la A loes e t M yrrhae , Br.; P ilu laC o locy n th id is C om posita , Br. (N. F.); E x trac tu m A loes, N. F .; P ilu lae adP ran d iu m , N. F.; P ilu lae A loes e t A safoe tidae , N. F.; P ilu lae A lo es e tF erri, N. F .; P ilu lae A loes e t M astiches, N. F .; P ilu le s A loes e t M yrrhae ,N. F .; P ilu lae A loes e t P odophy lli C om positae , N. F .; P ilu lae A loes,H y d rarg y ri e t S cam m onii C om positas, N. F.; P ilu lae A ntiperio d icas(fro m E x trac t), N. F .; P ilu lae C o locy n th id is e t H yoscyam i, N. F .; P ilu laeF erri, Q u in inae , A loes e t N ucis V o m icae , N. F .; P ilu lae L axa tiv ae P o stP artum , N. F.; P ulv is A loes e t C anellae , N. F .; T in c tu ra A loes e t


M yrrhae , N. F .; T in c tu ra A ntiperiod ica (fro m E x trac t), N. F.; T in c tu raZ edoariae A m ara , N. F.

ALSTONIA . Br. ALSTONIA

"A lsto n ia is the d ried b ark of Alstonia scholaris, E . B r., and a lso ofAlstonia constricta , F . M uell." Br.

Dita Bark; Australian Fever Bark; Bitter Bark.

U n d er A lston ia th e B ritish P harm acopoeia recogn ize s the dried barks ofAlstonia scholaris (L .) R . B r. (Echites scholaris L .), of In d ia and theP h ilip p ine Islan d s, and Alstonia constricta F . M ue ll., of A u stra lia , tw oapocynaceo u s trees w hose barks are q u ite d issim ila r in ap p ea ran ce ,an d , as far as o ur p resen t know ledge g o es, con ta in d iffe ren t a lka lo ids.T hese bark s are re spec tively describe d as fo llo w s:

“B ark of A lston ia scho laris u su a lly in irreg u lar frag m en ts, th ree totw elve m illim etre s th ick ; tex tu re so m ew hat spongy , frac tu re sho rt andcoarse ; ex tern a l lay er uneven ly rough and fissu red , b row nish -g rey w ithoccasiona l b lack ish spo ts; in terna l laye r b rig h t b u ff. T ran sv erse sec tionsho w s n u m ero u s sm a ll m ed u lla ry rays in inner lay er. A lm ost odo rless;ta ste ech icao u tch in . B ark of A lston ia co n stric ta u su a lly in cu rved p ieceso r qu ills ab o u t six ty m illim etre s w ide , and tw elve m illim e tre s th ick .P erid erm from tw o and a half to six m illim e tre s th ick , ru styb row n , s trong ly ru go se , w ith la rg e deep ly fis-su red

re ticu la tio n s. B ark in terna lly c innam on -b row n,w ith stro n g , coarse lo n g itu d in a l striae . T ran sv erse sec tion sho w sdark -b row n perid erm covering the inner o range -brow n tissu es, inw h ich n u m ero u s sm a ll sh in in g p a rtic les can be seen w ith a len s.F rac tu re sho rt and granu lar in o u ter laye rs, fib rous in in n er.S ligh t a rom atic odor; taste very b itte r.” Br.

F rom the bark of Alstonia scholaris M . G ru p pe ex trac ted anuncry sta llizab le , h y g rosco p ic , b itte r p rinc ip le , ditaine . (J. P. C ., 4 e ser.,x v iii, 2 2 5 ; x ix , 84 ; P. J., A u g ., 18 75 .) H arnaek (Ber. d. Chem. Ges.,1 8 78 ) first ob ta ined d ita in e in p u re crysta llized fo rm , and gave it thefo rm ula C 20H 30N 2O 4 . O . H esse (P. J., O c t. 23 , 1 8 8 0 ) find s in d ita thefo llo w in g p rinc ip le s: th ree a lka lo ids: ditamine , O 16H 9O 2N , the re la tiv eam o u n t of w h ich h e estim ates a t 0 .04 p er cen t.; echitamine , C 22H 28O 4N 2+ H 20 (iden tica l, acco rd in g to H esse , w ith H arn ack 's d ita ine); and


echitenine , C 20H 27O 4N . O f th ese , the second is the stro n g est base , andresem bles am m on ia in its chem ica l ch arac te rs; H esse con siders it w ithone m olecu le of w ater to fo rm the h ydrox ide of a stro n g basic rad ica l,echitammonium , C 22H 29O 4N 2 . T he so lu tions of echitammoniumhydroxide are so strong ly basic tha t th ey p rec ip ita te the hydrox ides ofcopper, iron , a lu m in u m , and lead , an d d eco m p ose sod ium and p o tass iu mch lo rides, lib era tin g the co rrespond ing ech icaou tch in . H essecon siders ech itam m onium the m ost strong ly basic of a ll the a lka lo ids.H esse a lso ob ta ined b y ex trac tio n w ith pe tro leum benzinechicaoutchin , echiretin , echicerin , echitin , and echitein, of w h ich theth ree las t m en tion ed are crysta lline .

F rom Alstonia constricta , F . V . M iille r and A . R um m el ob ta inedalstonine. O berlin and S ch lagdenhauffen foun d in 1879 ano thera lka lo id , a lston ic ine . H esse su b seq u en tly ana lyzed the bark and fo unda ls to n in e , the chlorogenine of a fo rm er investiga tion , w h ich has thecom position C 21H 20O 4N 2 , prophyrine , C 21H 25O 2N 3 , and alstonidine .T he a lka lo id s and the ir sa lts in ac id u la ted so lu tions sh ow dec ided b luefluo rescence .

Uses .— T h is d ru g has been u sed fo r m an y y ears in A u stra lia and theP h ilip p ine Islan d s in the trea tm en t of m alaria l and o th e r fevers, as w ellas a sim p le b itte r. T he a lka lo id d ita in e has been sc ien tifica lly stu d ied b yH arn ach (A. E. P. P ., 1877 , x v ii, p . 1 26 ), w h o finds th a t it has apara lyz in g effect upo n the end ing s of the m oto r nerv e sim ila r to th a tp roduced by cu rara . In la rg e dose it a lso para ly zes the card io -inh ib ito ryn erv es and low ers b lood p ressu re . T h ere is n o th in g in th is s tu d y , w h ichis, as far as w e know , the o n ly sc ien tific in v estig a tio n of the d ru g w hichhas been m ade , to exp la in an y ac tion in ech icaou tch in . N ev erth e le sssom e ofthe c lin ica l rep o rts, espec ia lly from the ec lec tic physic ians, have beenex trem ely lau d ato ry , v au n tin g it even as a sub stitu te fo r q u in ine .

Dose, tw o to fou r g ra in s (0 .1 3 -0 .25 G m .).Off. Prep.— Infusum A lston ia ;, Br.; T in ctu ra A lston iffi, Br.

ALTH AEA . U . S . ALTH AE A [M arshm allo w root]

" T he roo t of Althaea officinalis L in n e (F am . Malvaceae) dep rived of theb row n , co rk y lay er and sm all ro o ts, and carefu lly d ried . P reserv eA lth aea in tigh tly -c lo sed co n ta in e rs, add ing a few dro ps of ch lo ro fo rm or


the dispensatory of the united states of america twentieth

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