Abies Abies

    Ab'ies Abies (excel'sa), Pix Burgundica, Burgundy Pitch. --The prepared resinous exudation, U.S.P. 1820-1890; S. Europe (Burgundy province, France).  Lofty tree, 24-45 M. (80-150 degrees) high; leaves short; 4-cornered, green; flowers staminate and pistilate; fruit purple, cylindrical; scales oval.  The oleoresin (Jura turpentine) is obtained from incisions made through the bark, after which it is melted in water and strained, yet gradually conforming to the container; shining, conchoidal fracture, opaque or translucent, brittle, softened by heat; aromatic, terebinthinate, sweetish, not bitter; contains volatile oil 5 p.c., water 5-10 p.c.  (absorbed during treatment), remainder is resin (chiefly abietic acid).  Stimulant, counter-irritant, in plasters, as a base and for support; rheumatism, joint affection, chest troubles, pleurisy, bronchitis, catarrh, asthma, hepatitis, phthises, pneumonia.
 

Abies Balsamea

    A. Balsam'ea, Terebinthina Canadensis, Canada Turpentine. -- The liquid oleoresin (balsam of fir), U.S.P. 1820-1900;  Canada, United States, chiefly Laurentine Mountains, Quebec.  Beautiful ornamental tree (American Silver Fir), 9-15 M. (30-50 degrees) high pyramidal shape; bark smooth, reddish-gray when young, filled with blisters (reservoirs) containing the oleoresin;  leaves 2 cm (1') long, linear, silvery beneath; flowers staminate - catkins, pistillate - cones 5 - 10 cm (2 - 4' long), 2.5 cm (1') broad; pollen bright yellow; seed with wing.  Oleoresin (Canada turpentine), viscid, yellowish, transparent, odor agreeable; taste terebinthinate, bitter, acrid, soluble in ether, chloroform, benzene; collected by puncturing vesicles with the sharp-pointed nozzle of the Abalsam-collector's can; contains volatile oil 24 p.c., acid resin 63 p.c., indifferent resin 12 p.c., acids (4) - canadinic, canadolic, a- and b-canadinolic.  Properties and uses, similar to oil of turpentine, except this dries into an adhesive, transparent varnish, thus becoming valuable in microscopic technique.  Dose, gr. 15-60 (1-4 Gm.)  A. Fraseri - Resembles the preceding, but cones only 5 Cm. (2') long, sharp-pointed scales projecting and recurved; New England, North Carolina, in mountains; used for collecting balsam of fir.
 

Abies Picea

    A. Picea, (pectina'ta), Strassburg Turpentine (Terebinthina Argentoratensis).  -- Vosges.  Obtained like Canada balsam, chiefly differing in odor (lemon); taste bitter, not acrid; completely soluble in absolute alcohol.  A. Menziesii, Oregon Balsam of Fir, resembles Canada balsam when fresh, but becomes gradually granular and opaque.
 

Acacia Catechu

    Acacia Catechu, Catechu; Catechu Nigrum (Br.)  -- An extract prepared from the heart-wood, U.S.P. 1820-1890; India, Hindustan. Plant crooked, shrubby tree, 4.5-12 M. (15-40 degrees) high, 15-45 Cm. (6-18') thick, bark brown, wood whitish and reddish, leaves paripinnate, prinnae in 10-20 pairs, with a pair of hooked, brown prickles at each base, leaflets 20-30 pairs in each in each pinna, flowers yellow, fruit, pod (loment), brown, flat, 5-12.5 Cm. (2-5') long, seed 3-10 brown, shining; extract (catechu) in irregular masses, dark brown, brittle, porous, fracture conchoidal, little glossy, inodorous, taste sweetish, astringent.  It is prepared by removing bark and sapwood, and boiling in water, for about 12 hours, the reddish-black heart-wood, cut in chips, straining, evaporating, stirring frequently and vigorously to improve the product - over-boiling being injurious, as it converts catechin into catechu-tannic acid; when of syrupy consistency it is cooled somewhat with cow-dung ashes; by morning it is hard, brittle, when it is broken up into suitable pieces for market; contains catechu-tannic acid 35 p.c., catechin 13-34 p.c., quercetin, gum, extractive.  There are several varieties: 1, Plano-convex (Cake); 2, Pegu; 3, Quadrangular (Cake), Bengal; 4, Ball, Bombay.  Adulterations: Largely with leaves, mats, cloths, sticks, sand, dried blood, ashes, clay, starch, ferrous carbonate, sometimes to 65 p.c.; artificial variety made from roasted mahogany, walnut, etc.  Astringent, tonic, similar to tannic acid - much more harsh than gambir, owing to which it is used chiefly for tanning, arts, etc.; diarrhea, leucorrhea, gonorrhea, chronic sore throat, relaxed uvula, spongy gums (mouth wash), hemorrhages, bronchitis.  Dose, gr. 5-30 (.3-2 Gm); compound tincture, 10 p.c. (Diluted alcohol) dose, 3 ss-2 (2-8 cc.); fluidextract; infusion.  A. Arabica (vera) and A.Decurrens, bark (Acacia Cortex - Br.) Rusty brown blackish, striated, spines and fruit long; contains tannin, mucilage: Decoctum, 6 p.c.; A. Gummif'era, A. Ehrenbergia'na, A. Adanso'nii, A. Tor'tilis, A. Fis'tula, and several others give valuable gums.  A. Su'ma differs from A. Catechu only in its white bark, more leaflets, shorter corolla, and stronger spines; S. India, E. Africa (forests), S. America once furnished most of the commercial catechu, and still some; the bark used in tanning.  A. Arabica, Babul Bark, India; furnishes good extract; the fruit contains tannin 22 p.c.
 

    Acacia Senegal, Willdenow, or some other species. The dried, gummy exudation from the stems and branches, yielding not more than 1 p.c. of water-insoluble residue, nor 15 p.c. of moisture.
    Habitat.  E. And W. Africa, Senegal, Kordofan, Egypt, Abyssinia, India, Nubia, Upper Nile.
    Syn.  Acac., Gum Arabic, Gum Senegal, Egyption Thorn, Indian Gum Tree, Babla(c) h Pods, Acacia bambolah, Gummi Africanum or Mimosae; Br. Acacia Gummi, Gum Acacia; Fr. Gomme  arabique du Sen'egal; Ger. Gummi arabicum, Arabisches Gummi.
    A-ca'cia.  L. Fr. Gr.dxaxla, a thorny Egyption tree, fr. dxh, a point - i.e., tree studded with thorns.
    Sen'e-gal.  L belonging to Senegal, a country and river in W. Africa - i.e., the plant's original and present habitat.
    Ar'abic -- misnomer, as Arabia produces little and exports none.
    PLANT. -- Shrubby tree, 6 M. (20 degrees) high, stem tortuo   with terete branches, nodes with 3 short, black-tipped spines subtending the leaves; bark smooth, grayish-brown; leaves alternate, bipinnate, paripinnate, 2.5-4 Cm. (1-1 3/5' ) long; pinnae 3-5 pairs; leaflets sessile, 10-20 pairs, grayish-green, 4 Mm. (l/6') long; flowers yellow, spikes; fruit (pod), loment, compressed, smooth, pale, 7.5-10 Cm (3-4') long, 18 Mm. (3/4') broad, 2 -6-seeded. Gum (acacia), in spheroidal tears, angular fragments up to 32 Mm.  (1 2/5') in diameter, yellowish-white, light-amber, translucent, brittle; fracture glassy, sometimes iridescent; almost odorless; taste mucilaginous; insoluble in alcohol, slowly and almost completely soluble in water (2), forming mucilaginous liquid of slight, characteristic odor and acid reaction. Powder, whitish - in angular microscopic fragments with but slight traces of starch or vegetable tissue. Tests:  1.  Aqueous solution (1 in 10) 10 cc., + basic lead acetate T.S. (.2) - gelatinous precipitate.  2.  With iodine T.S. - not blue (abs. of starch), nor red (abs. of dextrin).  3.  Aqueous solution (2 p.c.) 10 cc. + ferric chloride T.S. .1 cc. - no blackish coloration or blackish precipitate (abs. of tannin-bearing gums).  Dose, ad libitum.
    ADULTERATIONS. -- Gum: Inferior, dark colored, opaque and insoluble gums, bdellium, rock salt, ligneous and earthy substances, sand, dirt, dextrin in lumps; Powder: Flour, rice flour, starch, dextrin - all recognized by solubility, viscosity, the microscope, and iodine test.  The gum from quince seed, flaxseed, Irish moss, etc., often used as a substitute.
    Commercial. -- Plants grow associated with little other vegetation in sandy soil, deserts, forming entire forests .  Gum, a degenerative product, the result of "gummosis" -- transformation of cell contents (cellulose) in the cambium, cortex, and adjacent parenchyma, a process favored in dry hot seasons and unhealthy trees -- exudes as a thick juice through fissures caused by dry winds after the rainy season, or artificial incisions, and sooner or later, whereby depends color, hardens on the bark similar to our cherry, apple, or plum gum.  It is collected Oct.-Dec., some in March, by the Moors and negroes, who in caravans enter the acacia forests and gather it in leather sacks, detaching adherent lumps with wooden axes and picking up fallen pieces from the ground.  It enters market in bags, boxes, casks, skins, mostly from Egypt, via Cairo, Alexandria, Trieste, where it is received as unassorted acacia, "acacia in sorts" -- the aggregated product of various species, assorted into "first picked," "second picked," etc., down to sorts (unworthy of assorting) -- there being recognized at Trieste thirty-two grades.  Acacia is known by the natives as Verek (Senegal) or Hashabi (E. Africa), the best being white, opaque, and chiefly from A. Senegal (Ve'rek) and contribute the several varieties: l, Turkey (Arabian, Egyptian), which includes (a) Kordofan (A. Senegal, A. Verek), from west of White Nile, once constituting the bulk of the superior gum, (b) Sennaar (A. Fis'tula, A. Stenocar'pa) from east of White Nile, inferior, mucilage sours quickly, (c) Suakin (Talca -- A. Stenocarpa, A. Se'yal), from near Red Sea, mixture of white and brown pieces, very brittle, usually semi-pulverulent, only soluble with alkali; 2, Senegal (A. Senegal), from north of Senegal River, W. Africa, being controlled by France and shipped to Bordeaux; larger than Turkey gum, some nodules the size of a pigeon egg, less brittle, more yellow or reddish, with fewer cracks and more conchoidal fracture, not amber-yellow when heated with potassium hydroxide, as are Turkey gum and dextrin solutions; 3, Barbary (Morocco, Mogador -- A. Nilot'ica, A. Arabica), collected July-August, consisting of two kinds that enter Mogador, one from Morocco (resembling Turkey), the other from Timbuctoo (resembling Senegal), both in more or less brownish roundish tears, brittle, soluble in water; 4, India (Persian -- A. Arabica +), from Somali districts, E. Africa, conveyed by Arab vessels to Bombay; resembles somewhat Turkey and Senegal gums, however, much mixed and often containing Bassora gum or allied substances (insoluble, swelling and softening with water into viscid mass), also resinous products resembling turpentines; deprived of these the variety is well suited for general use.
    Gums are produced also by other Acacia species in Morocco, Cape Colony, Australia (Wattle gum), Brazil (Para, Angico gum), etc.; Mesquite gum (Proso'pis juliflo'ra), Texas, California, New Mexico, Chile, resembles acacia, but is yellow, brown and not precipitated by lead subacetate, feris chloride, borax; also considerable gum from plants of different genera and family, darker color but resembling the official.
    Powdered acacia occurs in two forms: 1, Granulated (sanded), produced by heating the gum until deprived of 2 p.c. of moisture; 2, Finely powdered (dusted), produced by heating the gum until deprived of 10 p.c. of moisture -- a process rendering it more lumpy and less soluble in water.
    CONSTITUENTS. -- Arabic acid, C₁₂ H₂₂ O₁₁, combined with Ca, Mg, K -- arabates; sugar (trace), moisture 14 p.c., ash 3-4 p.c.
    Arabic Acid (gummic acid, arabin). -- A glucoside obtained by adding alcohol to acidified (HCI) mucilage.  After drying, it swells with water, but dissolves only upon the addition of an alkali, boiled with acids yields arabinose (arabin sugar, pectinose, pectin sugar), C₅ H₁₀ O₅, in prismatic crystals, sweet, but not directly fermentable, and possibly also galactose, granular and less sweet.
    PREPARATIONS. -- 1.  Mucilago Acaciae.  Mucilage of Acacia.  (Syn., Mucil. Acac., Mucilage of Gum arabic; Fr. Mucilage de Gomme; Ger. Mucilago Gummi arabici, Gummischleim.)
    Manufacture: 35 p.c.  Wash acacia 35 Gm. In a tared bottle (flask) with sufficient cold water, discard washings, drain, add warm distilled water, in which sodium benzoate .1 Gm. has been dissolved, q.s. 100 cc.; after corking, lay bottle on its side, rotating it occasionally, and when acacia dissolved, strain mucilage.  Must be made frequently and not dispensed if sour or moldy.  When cold or hot water employed alone acetic acid is formed from the acid calcium arabate, which may be neutralized by lime water (35 p.c.), or retarded by sodium benzoate (1/1000 p.c.), alcohol (6 p.c.), glycerin (10 p.c.), acetanilid (.4 p.c.), or chloroform (.5 p.c.).  Dose, ad libitum.
    2.  Emulsum Olei Morrhuae, 12.5 p.c.  3. Emulsum Olei Terebinthinae, 5 p.c.  4. Pilulae Phosphori, 2 gr. (.03 Gm.).  5. Pulvis Cretae Compositus, 20 p.c. 6. Emulsum Olei Morrhuae cum Hypophosphitibus, N.F., 12.5 p.c. 7. Emulsum Olei Ricini, N.F., 9 p.c.  8. Emulsum Petrolati, N.F., 12.5 p.c.   9. Mistura Copaibae, N.F., 3.5 p.c.  10. Mistura Copaibae et Opii, N.F., 6.;5 p.c.  11. Pilulae Ferri Iodidi, N.F., 1/6 gr. (.01 Gm.).  12. Trochisci Eucalypti Gummi, N.F., 2 gr. (.13 Gm.).
    Unofficial Preps: Syrop, 10 p.c., + sucrose 80, distilled water q.s. 10-, Emulsions, Pills, Troches, etc.
    PROPERTIES.--Demulcent, emollient, protective, nitritive.  Forms often the food of Hottentots and camels.  By its viscidity, sheaths inflamed surfaces; as a diluent, lessens acrimony of irritating medicines.
    USES.--Coughs, laryngitis, gastritis, typhoid fever, dysentery, diarrhea.  Fine powder locally stops slight hemorrhage; thick mucilage protects burns, ulcers, etc.  In pharmacy used to suspend insoluble substances in water -- emulsifying oleoresins, fixed and volatile oils, for adhering pills, troches, etc.; in arts for giving luster to fabrics, silks, thickening colors, mordants, suspending iron tannate in ink, etc.  The bark of tree for dyeing, tanning, as it contains tannic and gallic acids.
 

Achillea

    Achille'a Millefo'lium, Yarrow, Milfoil. -- The leaves and flowering tops, U.S.P. 1860-1870; N. America.  Perennial herb, .3-.6 M. (1-2 degrees) high, hairy; leaves lanceolate, glandular beneath, 5-25 Cm. (2-10') long, twice pinnatifid, segments toothed; flowers Aug., corymbs, receptacle flat, chaffy, ray-florets white, pistillate; disk white, perfect; fruit achenes, chamomile odor, taste bitter, aromatic; contains volatile oil, achilleine, resin, tannin.  Stimulant, tonic, emmenagogue; amenorrhea, menorrhagia, piles, leucorrhea, colic, relaxed throat, sore nipples, intermittents; infusion, expressed juice.  Dose 3ss-1 (2-4 Gm.); oil, mv-15 (.3-1cc.).
 

    Aconitum Napellus, Linne.  The dried tuberous root with not more than 5 p.c. of stems, nor 2 p.c. of other foreign organic matter.
    Habitat.  Europe, Asia, N. America, Himalaya, Alps, Pyrenees Mountains, 3,300-4,800  M. (11,000-16,000') elevation; cultivated in England, C. Europe.
    Syn.  Aconit., Aconite Root, Monkshood, Wolfsbane, Cuckoo's or Friar's Cap, Friar's Cowl, Wolfroot, Styrian Monkshood, Mousebane, Face-in-hood, Jackob's-chariot, Blue-rocket; Br. Aconiti Radix; Fr. Aconit Napel, Coqueluchon; Ger. Tubers Acniti, Eisenhutknollen, Sturmhut.
    Ac-o-ni'tum.  L.fr. Gr. cv,  on, + rock -- i.e., it grows upon steep rocks in mountains; or fr. Fr. Acone, a town in Bithynia, where it grows plentifully.
    Na-pel'lus.  L.a  little turnip; fr. Napus, a turnip -- i.e., medieval name from shape of roots, once used generically.
    PLANT.--Perennial herb; stem .6-1.5 M (2-4degrees) high, round, smooth, leafy; leaves 5-10 Cm. (2-4') broad, palmately 3-7 divided, dark green above, lighter below, smooth, shining, petiolate, divisions wedge-shaped with 2-3 lobes extending midway; flowers Jul (third year), large beautiful, violet-blue, on stem's summit, racemes, sepals petaloid, nectariferous; fruit, 3-5 pod-like capsules.  Root, produced at the end of a short rhizome, conical, fusiform, 4-10 Cm. 1-3/5-4') long, 1-3.5 Cm. (2/5 - 1 2/5') thick at crown; grayish-brown, smooth or longitudinally wrinkled, upper end with a bud, remains of bud-scales or a stem-scar, other portions with many root-scars or short rootlets; fracture short, horny, mealy; internally bark brownish, 1-2 Mm (1/25 - 1/12') thick, cambium zone 5-8-angled with a small fibro-vascular bundle in each angle; pith whitish, 2-7 Mm (1/12-1/4') broad; odor very slight; taste sweetish, acrid, soon developing tingling sensation, numbness.  Powder  grayish-brown --  numerous, spherical (plano-convex) starch grains, .003-.02 Mm (l/8326 -1/1250') broad, tracheae, stone cells tabular, irregular, fragments of cork (few) and parenchyma (many), stem bast-fibers (few, long).   Solvent: alcohol.  Dose, gr. 1-2 (.06-.13 Gm).
    ADULTERATIONS. -- Allied aconite roots (A. Variegatum - much smaller, A. Fischeri - light gray, plump, smooth), defective roots, small horse-radish roots (collected only when leaves absent, as by these they may easily be distinguished), yellowish externally, taste exceedingly pungent, irritating; roots of European Masterwort (Imperato'ria (Peuced'anum)(Ostru'thium), which closely resemble aconite root, but are aromatic, pungent, with oil-cells arranged in several circles, easily visible in cross-sections.

    [ILLUSTRATION] (Aconitum Napellus; a, transverse section of tuber; b, fruit carpels; c, flowering branch; d, flower deprived of calyx, showing the only 2 peculiarly shaped petals, the 6 others almost aborted; e, tuber.)

    Commercial. -- Plant grows wild, but under cultivation becomes slightly stronger, owing to which the Br. P. recognizes alone its root collected in autumn; all parts are very poisonous, a fact even known to the ancients, and was not introduced into medicine until 1762 (Baron Storck, Vienna); it is grown in gardens for ornamental flowers and when these have expanded, thereby insuring identity, the root should be collected.  Imported mostly from Germany (England, France, Swwitzerland, India) in packages, bales, etc.
    CONSTITUENTS. -- Four alkaloids (one crystalline, three amorphous) .24-.62-1.15 p.c.: Aconitine (Crystalline), Picraconitine (benzaconine, isaconitine), C₂₅ H₃₉ O₁₁ N, Aconine, Pseudaconitine (napelline), C₂₃ H₄₅ O₁₂ N, aconitic acid, H₃ C₆ O₆ H₃, starch, resin, fat, sugar, mannite.
    Aconitina, Aconitine, C₃₄ H₄₇ O₁₁ N, U.S.P. -- (Syn., Aconitin, Napaconitine, Aconitia; Fr. Aconitine; Ger. Aconitin.)  Exists in combination with aconitic acid, and is obtained by exhausting root with cold rectified fusel oil, shaking resulting tincture with diluted (1 p.c.) sulphuric acid, adding chloroform to remove resin, rendering alkaline with sodium carbonate, shaking out with ether.  It is in colorless or white crystals, odorless, permanent, producing tingling and numbing sensation to tongue, lips -- taste cautiously even when diluted; soluble in alcohol (28), ether (65), benzene (7), slightly in water, almost insoluble in petroleum benzin; solutions alkaline; melts at 195 degrees C (383 degrees F.); forms salts, as hydrochloride, nitrate, sulphate, etc.; commercial aconitine occurs in amorphous and crystalline forms, but the latter should alone be used, as the former contains derivatives lessening its activity 10-15 p.c. Tests: 1. Dissolve .001 Gm. With 2-3 drops of nitric or sulphuric acid on white porcelain surface -- colorless solution; with 2 drops of sulphuric acid containing .005 Gm. Of ammonium vanadate in each cc. -- orange solution.  2.  Dilute solutions, + mercuric potassium iodide T.S., or +tannic acid T.S., or +gold chloride T.S. -- precipitate; concentrated solutions, + platinic chloride T.S. or + mercuric chloride T.S., or + trinitrophenol (picric acid) T.S. -- precipitate; incinerate -- ash negligible.  3.  Evaporate a solution of 0.1 Gm. with 5 drops of fuming nitric acid, cool, resulting yellow residue, + alcoholic potassium hydroxide T.S. -- not violet (abs. Of pseudaconitine, atropine).  Should be kept dark in well-closed containers.  Dose (crystals), gr. 1/640 1/200 (.0001-.00035 Gm.; (amorphous), gr. 1/34- 1/20 (.001-.003 Gm.).
    Aconine, C₂₆H₄₁O₁₁. -- This appears antagonistic to aconitine in cardiac effect; picraconitine is considered inert; aconitic acid is abundant, but is chiefly in combination with calcium, and is almost inert.
    PREPARATIONS. -- 1.  Tinctura Aconiti.  Tincture of Aconite.  (Syn., Tr. Aconit.: Fr. Teinture de Racine D=Aconit; Ger. Akonittinktur, Eisenhuttinktur.)
    Manufacture: 10 p.c.  Similar to Tinctura Veratri Viridis, page 104; use menstruum: 70 p.c. alcohol, and adjust to assay (biological).  Dose mss-10 (.03-.6cc.).
    Preps: 1.  Dentilinimentum Aconiti Compositum, N.F., 80 p.c.  2. Dentilinimentum Aconiti et Iodi Compositum, N.F., 85 p.c.  2.  Fluidextractum Aconiti, N.F. (75 p.c. alcohol).  Dose, mss-2 (.03-.13 cc.): Prep.: 1 Linimentum Aconiti et Chloroformi, N.F., fldext. 4.5 p.c., alcohol 8, chloroform 12.5, soap liniment .6.
    Unoff.  Preps.: Abstract (alcohol), gr l/4-1 (.016-.06 Gm.).  Extract (alcohol), gr. 1/6 - 1/3 (.01-.02 Gm.).  Fleming's Tincture Aconite Root, 70 p.c. (alcohol), mss-4 (.03-.26 cc.)  Linimentum Aconiti (Br.), 50 Gm + camphor 3 Gm., alcohol q.s. 100 cc.  Oleate of Aconitine, 2 p.c. Tincture Aconite Leaves, 8 p.c. (Diluted alcohol), mj-6 (.06-.4 cc).  Unguentum Aconitinae (Br.), 2 p.c. Glycerite.  Plaster.  Pseudaconitine (A. Ferox), gr. 1/250 - 1/100 (.00026-.00065 Gm.)
    PROPERTIES. -- Sedative (heart and nerve), anodyne, diaphoretic, antipyretic, myotic, poisonous.  Produces tingling and numbness of the lips, mouth, and fingers; increases the secretion of the kidneys, salivary glands, and skin; circulation (heart action, pulse) becomes weak and slow, due to direct depression of heart-muscle, and stimulation of vagus (pneumogastric) nerve; respiration (breathing) shallow and slow; arterial pressure is decreased; temperature is lowered, all causing a tendency to fainting when in the erect position, and giving rise to its popular name "therapeutic lancet:" it increases urinary flow; effect lasts about 3 hours -- paralyzes first the sensory and then the motor nerves.
    USES. -- It should never be given in asthenic or debilitated conditions, or when the heart action is weak, or in gastric catarrh, but may be employed in all asthenic or inflammatory fevers of the young and vigorous; croup, laryngitis, pharyngitis, tonsillitis, acute meningitis, peritonitis, pleuritis, rheumatism; measles, scarlet fever, erysipelas, first stage of pneumonia, pericarditis and pleurisy, nervous heart palpitation, cardiac hypertrophy, epistaxis, vomiting of pregnancy.  Locally on non-abraded surfaces; neuralgia, rheumatism, sciatica, herpes zoster, chilblains, pruritus, odontalgia, periodontitis, inflames pulps.
    Poisoning: Have anxious countenance, pallid clammy skin covered with cold sweat; pulse and respiration slow, weak, and irregular; muscular weakness, loss of sight and hearing, pupils either normal, contracted or dilated, general anesthesia, collapse, death from syncope, or respiratory paralysis, sometimes preceded by convulsions; conscious until near the end, when carbon dioxide narcosis sets in.  Evacuate stomach reclining, direct recumbent position, feet elevated, warmth to extremities, give diffusible cardiac stimulants (brandy, whisky, alcohol, ether, ammonia) by the stomach, rectum, or skin, then digitalis, tannin; artificial heat and respiration (rhythmically raising and lowering arms from straight at sides to up over head and back again 20 times per minute), amyl nitrite, atropine, and strychnine (hypodermically) to stimulate heart and respiration.
    Incompatibles: Ammonia, alcohol, alkalies, atropine, digitalis, ether, morphine, heat, turpentine.
    Synergists: Veratrum viride, pulsatilla, staphisagria, cold, fatigue.  Leaves U.S.P. 1820-1870.  These are considered 5-20 times weaker than the root, yet many specimens yield considerable alkaloids; their uncertainty and deception have led to disuse; but if collected when flowers are two-thirds in bloom they are reliable; it is then that all nutrient constituents are in demand for the perfection of reproductive organs, thus leaving behind in leaves a goodly quantity of the (waste products) alkaloids.  Dose, gr. 1-4 (.06-.26 Gm.).
    Allied Plants:
    1.  Aconitum neomonta'num. -- Leaves, U.S.P. 1820-1830, and A. Panicula=tum, leaves, U.S.P. 1840, possess very little acridity, but even now their roots are collected and mixed with the official.
    2.  A. Cam'marum (variega'tum). --Europe; root globular, ovate, 12 Mm. (1/2') long, pith rays 5, short, rounded; and A. Storckia'num, Europe; root conical, slender, pith roundish pentagonal, similar in effect, smaller than, but often found mixed with the official.
    3.  A. Fer'ox. -- India aconite (native Bikh or Bish) is the strongest species, with root 5-10 Cm. (2-4') long, 2.5 Cm. (1') thick, conical and brown; yields pseudaconitine (peraconitine), similar to and as active as aconitine; A. Uncina'tum and A. Lu'ridum roots are collected with this, as they all have constituents similar to the official, but here pseudaconitine predominates.
    4.  A Fisch'eri and A. Japon'icum, Japanese and Chinese Aconite. -- Roots napiform, long, pith circular, 5-7-rayed; yields japaconitine, identical with aconitine; allied to former is A. Columbia'num; Rocky Mountains; poisonous.  A. Heterophyl'lum, India-- fusiform, conical, bitter, not acrid or poisonous, A. Antho'ra, Europe -- fusiform, long, pith thin, rays short and long, and A. Lycoc'tonum, Europe, N. Asia -- rhizome oblique, several-headed, bitter.
 

Acorus calamus

    Ac'orus Cal'amus, Calamus Root, Sweet Flag. -- Araceae.  The unpeeled, dried rhizome, U.S.P. 1820-1900; N. America, Europe, Asia, swamps.  Perennial herb; leaves, like those of Iris versicolor, 1-1.3 M. (3-4degrees)  long, 2-4 Cm.  (4/5 - 1- 3/6') wide, equitant, sharp-pointed, sharp-edged; flowers on scape, spadix (spike) 5-10 Cm. (2-4' long, 1 Cm. (2/5') thick, minute, greenish-yellow.  Rhizome, .6-1 M. (2-3 degrees) long, 1-2 Cm. (2/5 - 4/5') thick, entire or longitudinally split pieces, cylindraceous, yellowish-brown, wrinkled, annulate (remnants of leaf-sheaths), leaf-scars above, pitted root-scars beneath, fracture short, sharp, corky, spongy, whitish, showing oil cells; odor aromatic; taste pungent, bitter; solvents: alcohol, hot water partially; contains (most in cortex) volatile oil 1.5-3.5 p.c., acorin .2 p.c., choline (calamine), resin.  Stimulant, carminative, tonic bitter, aromatic; dyspepsia, colic, flatulency, coughs, flavoring.  Dose, gr. 15-60 (1 - 4 Gm.); fluid-extract (75 p.c. alcohol), mxv-60 (1 - 4 cc.; tincture 20 p.c., 3j - 2 (4-8 cc.); infusion.
 

Adonis

    Ado'nis verna'lis, Adonis, Pheasant's Eye, False Hellebore, N.F. -- The dried overground portion with not more than 5 p.c. of foreign organic matter; N. Europe, Asia, cultivated for ornament.  Plant 15-50 Cm. (6-20') high, leaves light green, pinnatifid; flowers yellow, stem glabrous, grooved, soft, weak, fruit, head of ovoid achenes; odor faint; taste bitterish, acrid.  Powder, grayish-green -- pith parenchyma, tracheae, elliptical stomata, few or no starch grains and calcium oxalate crystals; contains aconitic acid, adonidin (adonin -- consisting largely of aconitic acid) and picroadonidin which is a powerful heart, poison, bitter, amorphous, soluble in water, alcohol, ether.  Cardiac stimulant, diuretic, resembles digitalis, being more prompt and non-cumulative, but inferior to it -- increases heart-force and arterial pressure; cardiac failure and dropsy, dyspnea, epilepsy.  Dose, gr. 1-2 (.06-.13 Gm.); 1.  Fluidextractum Adonidis (75 p.c., alcohol); Adonidin, gr. 1/16-2/3 (.004-.02 Gm.).
 

Aegle

    Ae'gle Mar'melos, Beloe Fructus, Bael Fruit (Br.), Bengal Quince. -- The gresh half-ripe fruit; Malabar, Coromandel, cultivated in India.  Fruit round, size of a large orange, cherry-red color, aromatic, sweetish, acidulous, mucilaginous, astringent when unripe, laxative when ripe, seed woolly, pulp firm, brittle, 12-celled, covered with hard, gourd-like nearly smooth rind, 3 Mm. (1/8') thick.  The dried, half-ripe fruit is used, being adulterated sometimes with fruit of Garcin'ia Mangosta'na, Mangosteen; contains gum, pectin, sugar, tannin bitter principle, volatile oil.  It is mildly astringent.  Dose, gr. 15-30 (1-2 Gm.), in diarrhea, dysentery.
 

Aethusa

    Aethu'sa Cyna'pium, Fool's Parsley, Small Hemlock. -- Leaves non-poisonous, and sometimes carelessly mixed with those of conium -- the plants, however, being distinguished easily as Aethusa Cynapium has leaves of different shape, darker color, leek-like odor; occasionally have mixed also the pubescent ciliate leaflets of several species of Chaerophyl'lum.
 

    Gelidium corneum (Hudson) lamouroux, and other species, also closely related agae.  The dried extracted mucilaginous substance, with not more than 1 p.c. foreign organic matter, yielding not than 1 p.c. acid-insolluble ash and 16 p.c. moisture.
    Habitat.  Japan, China, Malaysia, Ceylon; Atlantic Ocean, United States.
    Syn.  Agar-agar, Jelly Plant, Corsican (Worm) Moss, Crow-silk, Japanese (Chinese, Bengal, Ceylon) Isinglass, Vegetable Gelatin, Gelosine; Fr Mousse de Chine; Ger. Wurmmoss, Wurmtang.
    Ge-lid'i-um.  L. See etymology, above of Gelidiaceae.
    Cor'ne-um.  L. Fr. Corneus, hard, horny -- i.e., the tough fronds.
    A'gar-A'gar -- i.e., fr. Malay agar-agar, Eastern name of Ceylon Moss or Bengal Isinglass.
    PLANT. -- Very similar to Chondrus crispus and Gigartina mamillosa, Irish Moss, but in reproduction the carpogonium gives rise to one or more elongated branched ooblastima filaments which fuse with one or more auxiliary cells, the sporangia being produced from the ooblastima filaments -- not directly from the auxiliary cell (cells).  AGAR occurs usually in bundles, 30-60 Cm. (1-2 degrees) long, consisting of thin, translucent, membranous, agglutinated pieces, 4-10 Mm. (1/6 - 2/5') broad, yellowish-brownish-white, tough (damp), brittle (dry), insoluble in water, slowly soluble in hot water; solution in hot water (1 in 100 -- stiff jelly upon cooling; odor slight; taste mucilaginous.  Powder, pale buff -- in chloral hydrate T.S., fragments transparent, granular, striated, angular, occasionally frustules of diatoms.  Tests: 1. -- With iodine T.S., some fragments -- bluish-black, with some areas -- bright red.  2.--Aqueous-solution (1 in 100), made by boiling, upon cooling, + tannic acid T.S. -- no pricipitate (abs. Of gelatin), + iodine T.S. -- not blue (abs. Of starach).  Impurities: Shells, incrusting Bryozoa, spicules, sand, gelatin, starch.  Solvent: hot water.  Dose, 3j-2 (4-8 Gm.).
    Commercial. -- Seaweeds, collected by hand and rakes, May-August, are spread upon beach to dry and bleach in the sun, then pounded by hand or passed through a concrete mortar-and-pestle battery (to remove adhering shells, frustules, spicules, sand, etc.), then alternately washed and sun-dried for several days until thoroughly bleached and cleansed -- a process sometimes hastened by bleaching chemicals.  It is now boiled, 3-5 hours, with water (1 in 50) in an iron kettle (to extract the gelose in soluble form), filtered through (1) coarse cloths and (2) squeezed through linen bags in a press (to separate from insoluble matter), and the filtered jelly poured into wooden trays 2 degrees long, 1degree wide, 3' deep, to cool and solidify into hard jelly (Japanese "tokoroten"), which is cut by sharp knives into blocks, 1 degree long, 2' square, and pressed through coarse wire grating that divides them into bundles of slender straws.  In this condition, the "tokoroten" is subjected to low temperature, -- 5- --15 degrees C. (23-5 degrees F.), until sticks are frozen solid (to allow water to crystallize out), and then melted (to permit substances soluble in cold water to drain off in solution), thereby leaving pure gelose.  Repeated freezing, thawing, and drying in the sun (open air) yields a pure agar insoluble in cold water.  Sticks, before thoroughly dry, may be put through a forcing machine that flattens each fine strip into a transparent sheet, which, after drying in the sun, are tied into bundles, 2 - 3 pounds; it is also prepared in sheets 8-12' long, 1-1 1/2' wide, and in rectangular blocks, 8' long, 1' square.  Our importation, 1920, was 240 tons, valued at $500,000, which suggests our using G. Cartilagin'eum and G. Aman'sii, California coast, that yield a dry gelatin 28-30 p.c. of which a 2 p.c. solution makes a hard, elastic jelly, the equal of agar, that remains hard at 58 degrees C. (137 degrees F.) and does not begin to liquefy until 76 degrees C. (170 degrees F.).
    CONSTITUENTS. -- Gelose (gel'(atin) + ose), amorphous gelatin-like carbohydrate 60-70 p.c., moisture 23 p.c., mineral salts, ash 4 p.c., gelose heated with strong nitric acid yields mucic and oxalic acids; dissolved in acidulated water with heat -- does not gelatinize on cooling.
    PROPERTIES AND USES. -- Demulcent, nutrient, aperient, emulsifier.  In the United States chiefly in hospitals and bacteriological laboratories as a base for culture media, being superior to any substitute as it remains solid (other jellies useless -- melting under requisite conditions), with a smooth, firm surface at the higher temperature required for cultivating certain species of bacteria.  In chronic constipation (instead of mineral oil), the action depends on its property of absorbing and holding water, along with it becoming a lubricant and mild mechanical stimulant, unaffected by digestive enzymes of intestinal bacteria; action not violent, as ordinary cathartics, and leaves no harmful after-effects, being best when stools unduly dry.  In Japan and China long esteemed as a food in making jellies and candy; thickening soups, ice cream, fruits, meats, fish, etc.  It is a valuable dressing for wounds, and its emulsion for photographic plates is superior to that of ordinary gelatin.  May be taken in granular powder, or emulsionized with mineral or other oils, or mixed with cereal, bread, biscuit, chocolate agar, etc.  It is a poor substitute for sodium stearate in suppositories, as it absorbs only 70 p.c. of glycerin, and melts at higher than body temperature.  Native "Kanten" and "Funori," from related algae, are used to impart gloss to textiles, silk, stiffening linen (starch), decorating china, plastering walls, sizing, glue, etc.  Dose, 3j-4 (4-15 Gm.).
 

Agarcius

    Polyp'orus (Bole'tus) officina'lis, Agaricus; Agaric, White (Larch) Agaric, N.F. -- Polyporaceae.  The dried fruit body, deprived of outer rind, with 5 p.c. foreign organic matter, yielding to boiling alcohol 50 p.c. non-volatile resinous extract; C. and S. Europe -- growing on Pinus, Larix, Picea species.  In light, fibrous, spongy, irregular pieces, grayish, brownish; internally yellowish resinous; fracture tough; friable, difficult to powder; odor faint; taste sweetish, acrid, bitter. Powder, yellowish-brown -- numerous narrow mycelial threads, few calcium oxalate crystals; solvent: diluted alcohol; contains agaracin.  Antihydrotic; sweating from coal-tar products and salicylates -- acts upon nerve filaments in the sweat glands.  Dose, gr. 5-10 (.3-.6 Gm.); 1.  Pilulae Antiperiodicae,1/8 gr.; 2.  Tinctura Antiperiodica, 1/5 p.c., +; Agaracin, gr 1-2 (.06-.12 Gm.).
 

Agropyron

    Agropy'ron re'pens, Triticum, Couch Grass, Dog Grass, N.F. -- The dried rhizome and roots with not more than 2 p.x. of foreign organic matter, yielding not more than 3 p.c. of acid-insoluble ash; Europe, N. America.  Perennial weedy grass (farmer=s pest); culm .6-1.2 M. (2-4 degrees) high; spikes resemble wheat, spikelets 3-8-flowered, 2-ranked glumes shortened or acute.  Rhizome, usually in pieces 4-12 Mm. (1/6-1/2') long, 1-2.5 Mm. (1/25 - 1/10') thick, yellowish furrowed, smooth, lustrous, nodes, leaf- and root-scars; fracture tough, fibrous, hollow pith; roots filiform, brownish root hairs; odor slight, aromatic; taste sweetish.  POWDER, light yellowish -- trachese, pores, sclerenchymatous fibers, epidermal cells separated by a narrow cell, parenchyma; solvent: water; contains triticin 8 p.c., fruit sugar 2.5-3.5 p.c. inosite, glucose, mucilage, malates, ash 2-3 p.c.  Diuretic, aperient, demulcent, vulnerary; cystitis, irritable bladder, dysuria, gravel, fevers, jaundice, bronchitis, gout.  Dose, 3ss-3 (2-12 Gm.); 1.  Fluidextractum Tritici (water -- when finished add on-fifth vol. Of alcohol as preservative); 2.  Elixir Sabal et Santali Compositum, 26 p.c., + triticum 26.  Decoction (Br.) 5 p.c.; Infusion, 5 p.c.
 

Aletris Farinosa

    Al'etris farino'sa, Aletris, Star Grass, Unicorn Root, N.F. -- The dried rhizome and roots with not more than 5 p.c. of foreign organic matter, yielding not more than 10p.c. of acid-insoluble ash; United States -- southern pine-barrens.  Perennial, .6-1 M. (2-3 degrees) high; leaves radical, star-shaped, 7.5-10 Cm. (3-4') long, 2.5 Cm. (1') broad; flowers white, as though dusted with meal (indumentum - farinosa).  Rhizome, 2-4 Cm. (4/5 - 1 3/5') long, 5-10 Mm. (1/5- 2/5') thick, grayish-brown, circular stem-scars above, numerous tough, Wiry, flexuous roots on sides and beneath; fracture short; internally light brown, cortex 1 - 2 Mm (1/25 - 1/12') thick, twisted fibro-vascular bundles; odor slight, acetous; taste sweetish, bitter.  Powder: Yellowish- brown - tracheae, lignified cells, parenchyma with starch grains, numerous calcium oxalate raphides, glandular hairs; contains starch, bitter principle.  Uterine tonic, diuretic, emetic,  purgative; chronic rheumatism, dropsy, colic.  Dose: gr. 5 - 15 (.3 - 1 Gm.); 1. Fluidextractum Aletridis (diluted alcohol).  Preps: 1. Elixir Aletridis Compositum, fldexts. - aletris, mitchella, helonias, caulophyllum, aa, 6.55 p.c.. + fldext, vibumum opulus 3.27p.c..; 2. Elixir Viburni Opuli Compositum, 7.5 p.c.. Decoction; tincture.
 

Allium Sativum

    Al'lium sati'vum, Allium, Garlic, N.F. -- The fresh bulb; C. Asia, S. Europe.  Bulbous plant .6 M. (2 degrees) high; leaves long, flat, grass-like; flowers small, white umbels.  Bulb, subglobular, 4-6 Cm. (1 3/5-2 2/5') broad, compound, with 8-15 bulbels surrounded by whitish membranaceous scales and attached to a flattened circular base having numerous yellowish-white roots; bulbels ovoid, 3-4 sided, apex acute; each bulbel covered by whitish membranaceous scale-like leaves and pinkish layer of epidennis cohering but easily separable from solid portion; odor when bruised powerfully alliaceous; taste intensely pungent, volatile oil .25 p.c., mucilage 35 p.c., albumin, sugar, starch, water 60 p.c.  Stimulant, carminative, condiment, diuretic, expectorant, rubefacient; bronchitis, indigestion, infantile catarrh; poultice in catarrhal pneumonia, abscesses, earache, convulsions of children, insect and serpent wounds.  Dose: 3ss-1 (2-4 Gm.); 1. Syrupus Allii, 20 p.c. -- garlic 20 Gm., sucrose 80, diluted acetic acid, q.s. 100 cc. (50 cc. +), Dose: 3j-4 (4-15 cc.): volitile oil, mj-5 (.06-.3acc).  A. Ce'pa Onion and A. Por'rum, leek are used like garlic.
 

    Aloe Perryi, Baker, vera, (Linne'), ferox, Miller.   The inspissated juice of the leaves, yielding not more than 4 p.c. ash, 10 p.c. moisture, and 50 p.c. water-soluble extractive.
    Habitat.  1.  E. Africa, Island of Socotra; cultivated.  2.  W. Indies (N.E. Africa, India); cultivated in Curacao, Aruba, Bonaire, Italy, Sicily, Malta, naturalized in Barbados Island, etc. 3.  Cape of Good Hope (S. Africa).
    Syn.  1.  Aloe Socotrina, Socotrine (sucus citrinus), - Bombay, - Mocha, - Turkey, - Zanzibar-Aloe; Fr. Aloes'" Ger. Aloe', Socotra Aloe, Socotrinische Aloe.  2.  Aloe Barbadensis, Barbados, - Curacao, - Ease Indian, - India, - Bitter, - Hepatic, - Horse-Aloe; Fr. Aloees hepatique des Barbades, ou de la Jamaique; Ger. Barbados Aloe.  3.  Aloe Capensis, Aloe lucida, Shining (Glassy) Aloe; Fr. Aloes du Cap; Ger. Kapaloe.
    Al'o-e.  L. Fr. Ar. Alloeh, Gr. Native names for the aloe.
    Per'ry-i.  L. After Wykeham Perry, who studied the plant natively.
    Ve'ra.  L. Verus, true -- i.e., the original and true primitive kind.
    Fer'ox.  L. Fr Ferox or ferus, fierce, coarse, wild -- i.e., large plant with leaves prickly on surface as well as margins.
    PLANTS.  Perennials; stems 1.5 M. (5 degrees) high, woody, rough from leaf-remnants; leaves glaucous-green, often with darker spots, thick, succulent, bayonet-shaped, margin with reddish spines or serratures; flowers racemose or spicate, tubular, yellowish, orange-red; stamens 6, unequal, 3 longer than corolla.  INSPISSATED JUICE: (Aloe -- A. Perryi): Socotrine, yellowish, - blackish-brown, opaque, smooth glistening masses, fracture somewhat conchoidal; odor characteristic; (A. Vera): Curacao, orange, blackish-brown, opaque, smooth glistening masses, fracture somewhat conchoidal; odor characteristic; (A. Vera): Curacao, orange, blackish-brown, opaque masses; fracture uneven, waxy, somewhat resinous; odor characteristic, disagreeable; (A. Ferox): Cape, reddish-brown masses, usually with yellowish powder, or in thin, transparent fragments, reddish-brown; fracture smooth and glassy; odor characteristic, sour, disagreeable.  With nitric acid, Socotrine aloe -- yellowish reddish-brown solution; curacao -- deep red; Cape -- reddish-brown to purplish-brown, finally green; taste of each variety very bitter, nauseous.  POWDER: Yellowish-brown, dark reddish-brown; mounted in a bland expressed oil, appears yellowish to reddish-brown angular or irregular fragments, color depending somewhat on thickness of fragments. Tests: l.  Shake 1 Gm. + cold water 25 cc.  Occasionally during 2 hours, place on filter, dry over sulphuric acid, wash with cold water q.s. 100 cc.; residue not over 50 p.c.; color of filtrate light yellowish-brown (socotrine), reddish-brown (curacao), yellowish (cape) darkens upon standing.  2. 5 cc. above filtrate, + water 45 cc. + 20 cc.  sodium borate solution (1 in 20) -- green fluorescence, upon standing brownish liquid.  3.  10 cc. above filtrate, + water 90 cc., shake + benzene 10 cc., separate benzene layer + ammonia T.S. 5 cc. alcohol, heat gently, cool, -- nearly clear solution (abs. of gum, inorganic impurities).  Solvents:  alcohol; boiling water; cold water (4); insoluble in ether, chloroform.  Dose: ½ - 10 (.03-.6 Gm.).
    ADULTERATIONS. - Aloe: Chiefly dried juice of inferior allied species, small amount of leaves, wood sticks, stones, leather, monkey and goat skins, implements, knives, nails, iron, resin, pitch, ochre, burned bones, gum, extract of glycyrrhiza, etc. -- 5 - 27 p.c. increasing ash to 26.5 p.c.  Aloin: Resinous and other matter, recognized by imperfect solubility in water.
    Commercial: Plants resemble to some extent.  Aga've america'na, American Aloe or century plant, and were known to dioscorides and Celsus.  The large, thick leaves have a central insipid, thick, mucilaginous juice as well as a peripheral bitter, watery, colorless juice (aloetic) in distinct, elongated, thin-walled ducts, which varies in activity with age of leaf and season of year.  This superficial juice -- possibly a plant protection -- is collected when not too scanty or watery, March - April, just after the rainy season, by cutting off the leaves near their base, during sunshine, and standing them up for half an hour in skins depressed in the ground, or in a series of 5 V-shaped wooden troughs (1.2 M. 4 degrees long -- .3 - .5 M.; 12 - 18" deep), each with an opening in the lower inclined end to run off juice as it exudes by gravity alone (any pressure serving to expel also the undesirable central juice, possessing emmenagogue properties and suitable for poultices) into iron or copper vessels for evaporation, which continues 5 hours, occasionally ladling out the impurities.  The colorless juice on exposure soon becomes yellowish-brown, but may be kept in barrels for months, as it does not spoil, and, according to demand, reduced slowly by sun (socotrine) or rapidly by fire (curacao, cape), thus imparting a heavier odor without injuring medicinal properties.  In Curacao immediate evaporation, below the boiling-point, yields a variety called "Capey," from its luster and yellowish powder, but if evaporation is deferred a year the surface is dull, odor suggestive of fermentation; Powder: brownish, and less soluble in water (4 -13 p.c.).  When of proper consistency the evaporated product -- commercial aloe -- is poured into tin-lined boxes, kegs, casks, tubs, monkey or goat skins and sent via Zanzibar to Bombay (socotrine), or into gourds (2 - 15 - 50 pounds: 1 - 7 - 23 kg.), boxes (60-100 pounds; 27-46 Kg.), small calabashes and shipped from Curacao, Bonnaire, Jamaica, Barbados (Curacao), or into boxes, bases, skins, and shipped from Algoa Bay, Capt Town, Mossel Bay (cape).  There are three varieties: 1.  Socotrine (A. Perryi), most expensive highly esteemed and flavored -- the best.  2.  Curacao (Barbados) -- A. Vera (vulgaris), mostly used, and commands a higher price upon keeping.  3.  Cape (A. Ferox), production equals all other varieties combined.  Not used much in this country, but largely in Germany, S. Europe.
    CONSTITUENTS: -- Aloin (chiefly -- barb-aloin), Resin 30-50 p.c.; Emodin (Cape and Barbados) .15 - 2 p.c., volatile oil (to which disagreeable odor is due), .0015 p.c., moisture 5 - 10 p.c.: ash 1 - 4 p.c.
    Aloinum.  Aloin, U.S.P. A pentoside or mixture of pentosides from aloe, varying in chemical composition, physical and chemical properties according to source.  Obtained chiefly by dissolving Caracao aloe (1) in boiling acidulated, HCL or H₂ S0₄, water (10), letting stand 24 hours for resin to deposit, decanting, evaporating to 2 parts, setting aside 2 weeks to crystallize - yield 20-25 p.c. It is a microcrystallline powder, minute crystals, lemon-yellow, darker on exposure, odorless, slight odor of aloe, intensely bitter taste; varies in solubility with its slight odor of aloe; intensely bitter taste; varies in solubility with its composition -- soluble in water, alcohol, acetone, ammonia water, solutions of alkali hydroxides, slightly in ether.  Tests: 1. Aqueous solution -- yellow, brown on standing, neutral, faintly acid. 2. Dissolves in alkaline hydroxide solutions -- red, yellow becoming red, green fluorescence. 3. Decomposes when added to alkaline solutions, more slowly in acid solutions; alcoholic solution + a drop of ferric chloride T.S. -- brownish-green; incinerate - ash.5 p.c.; insoluble residue in water dried -- 1.5 p. c. 4. Shake 1 Gm. + benzene 10 cc. -- filtrate imparts faint pink color to equal volumn of 5 p.c. ammonia water(lim. of emodin).  Curacao-aloin, C₁₇ H₂₀ 0₇, identical with barb-aloin, ugand-aloin, cap-aloin, when boiled with nitric acid -- chrysammic acid, crimson color; soc- aloin, C₁₅ H₁₆0₇, with nitric acid -- no color change; nat-aloin dissolved in sulphuric acid in proximity to glass rod dipped into nitric acid -- solution green, blue, violet, orange-red -- but no effect on the two preceding.  Twice as active as aloe and usually produces no griping.  Should be kept dark, in well-closed containers.  Dose: gr. 1/2 - 2 (.03-.13 Gm.).
    Resin: Obtained by allowing a dilute aloetic infusion to cool, when it precipitates, filtering, drying.  Like aloin, varies according to source, the several kinds being esters of various acids (cinnamic, paracumaric, etc.) With aloresino-tannol; soluble in hot water (thus differing from other resins), alcohol, ether, alkaline solutions, brownish-black by feffic salts; equally active as the drug, due possibly to accidental presence of aloin.
    Emodin (Aloe-emodin).  -- Believed to be in Cape and Barbados, but not in Natal or Socotrine, and is obtained by dissolving it in ether from aloin, of which, as well as of aloe, it is the purgative principle.  In aloin, just as in anthraglucosennin, rhein, frangulin, and purshianin, the alkaline secretions of the upper intestine must produce decomposition, whereby the emodin
thus set free may produce peristalsis, hence the cathartic action of the drug.
    PREPARATIONS: I. ALOE: 1. Piluloe Aloes.  Pills of Aloe. (Syn., Pil.  Aloes; Br.Pilula Aloes, Aloes Pill; Fr.  Pilules d'Aloes et de savon; Ger.  Aloepillen.)
    Manufacture: Mix aloe 13 Gm., soap 13, water q.s. 100 pills.  Dose: 1 - 4 pills.
    2. Extractum colocynthidis Compositum, 50 p.c. 3. Tinctura Benzoini Composita, 2 p.c. 4. Piluloe Aloes et Asafoetidoe, N.F., aa, 1 1/2gr. (.09 Gm.). 5. Piluloe Aloes et Ferri, N.F. aa, 1 gr. (. 06 Gm.). 6. Piluloe Aloes et Mastiches, N.V., 2 gr. (. 13 Gm.). 7. Piluloe Aloes et Myrrhoe, N.F., 2 gr. (. 13 Gm.). 8. Piluloe Aloes et Podophylli Compositoe, N.F., 1 gr. (. 13 Gm.). 9. Piluloe Aloes Hydrargyri et Podophylli, N.F., 2 gr. (. 13 Gm.). 10.  Piluloe Ferri, Quininoe, Aloes et Nucis Vomicoe, N.F., 1 gr. (. 06 Gm.). 11. Piluloe Rhei Compositoe, N.F., 1 1/2gr. (.09 Gm.).  12.  Piluloe Antiperiodicoe, N.F., 2 gr. (. 13 Gm.). Dose: each, 1 - 2 pills. 13.  Pulvis Aloes et Canelloe, Hiera Picra, N.F., 80 p.c. + canella 20.  Dose: gr. 15 - 30 (1 - 2 Gm.). 14.  Tinctura Aloes, N.F., 10 p.c. Dose:3ss-1 (2 - 4 cc.). 15.  Tinctura Aloes et Myrrhoe, N.F., aa 10 p.c.  Dose: 3ss-1 (2 - 4 cc.). 16.  Tinctura Antiperiodica, N.F., 3.5 p.c. H. Aloin: 1. Piluloe Aloini Compositoe, N.F., Y2gr. (.032 Gm.). 2. Piluloe Aloini, Strychninoe et Belladonnoe, N.F., 115 gr. .013 Gm.). 3. Piluloe Aloini, Strychninoe et Belladon-noe Compositoe, N.F., 115 gr. (. 013 Gm.). 4. Piluloe Laxativoe Compositoe, N.F., 115 gr. (.013 Gm.). Dose: each, 1 - 2 pills.
    Unoff.  Preps: Compound Decoction (Br. -- 1 p.c. of extract).  Extract, gr. 1/2 - 5 (.03 -.3 Gm.). Wine.
    PROPERTIES: Cathartic, drastic, emmenagogue, vermifuge, stomachic.  The action is especially on the colon and lower half of the large intestine, and thus causes irritation to uterus and inflamed hemorrhoids; stimulates the functions of the liver, intestinal secretions generally; increases the flow of bile, and acts in about 15 hours.  Abnormal doses do not produce proportionately excessive results, but invariably cause torinina, tenesmus with heat and rectal irritation -- the latter (stomach and rectum) being remedied largely by combining with soap or an alkaline carbonate.
    USES: Costiveness (dependent upon weakness of muscular layer of the large intestine), atonic dyspepsia, jaundice, non-active hemorrhoids, amenorrhea, ascarides; for the two last may give by enema.
    Poisoning: Have irritation of intestinal canal, causing pain, vomiting, and purging, cold sweats, prostration, sometimes convulsions, collapse.  Empty stomach, give demulcents, opium, stimulants, artificial heat to body and extremities, hot fomentations to abdomen.
    Allied Products:
    1. Hepatic Aloe: This name was applied formerly to a variety of Socotrine aloe from E.Indies, but now the term is given in this country to Barbados - in fact, to any opaque liver-colored aloe.
    2. Natal Aloe: This has a greenish-slate hue, crystalline, fracture less shining than but odor of Cape aloe: it is of little value, and is shipped from Port Natal.
    3. Moka Aloe: This has brownish-black color, irregular fracture, disagreeable odor, and is from the interior of Arabia.
    4. Caballine or Horse Aloe: This is inferior, impure, having a dark color, fetid odor being from irregular sources.
    5. Jafferabad Aloe: This has black-pitch color and luster, glassy, porous fracture, and is less agreeable than Socotrine aloe.
 

Alpinia

    Alpin'ia officina'rum, Galanga, Galangel, N.F.: The dried rhizome with not more than 2 p.c. of foreign organic matter, yielding not more than 3 p.c. of acid-insoluble ash.  China cultivated.  Perennial flag-like herb; flowers terminal racemes, white, red-veined.  Rhizome, irregularly branched, 2- 1 0 Cm. (4/5 - 4' ) long, 1-2 Cm. (2/5 - 4/5') thick, branches with annuli of
lighter-colored leaf bases, 3-10 Mn. (1/8 - 2/5') apart, rusty brown, internally orange-brown, cut end of branches circular and expanded; fracture fibrous; odor aromatic, agreeable; taste hot, spicy, ginger-like.  Powder, reddish-brown -- numerous starch grains, oil cells and reddish resin cells, tracheae with thickenings, pores, thick-walled fibers, no lignified tissue; contains volitale oil .5 p. c., resin, gum bassorin, fat, galangol, galangin, kaempferid, alpinin, starch 23 p.c.  Stimulant, aromatic, carminative, improve digestion, relieve flatulence.  Dose, gr. 5-20 (.3-1.3 Gm.); 1. Tinctura Aromatica, 2 p.c.
 

    Althaea officinalis, Linne'.  The dried root deprived of the brown, corky layer and small roots.
    Habitat.  Europe, Western and Northern Asia; naturalized in salt marshes, New England, New York, Australia; cultivated in Europe.
    Syn.  Marsh Mallow Root, Marsh Mallow, White Mallow, Mortification Root, Sweetweed, Wymote, Fr. Racine de Guimauve, Guimauve; Ger. Radix Althaeae, Eibischwursel, Eibisch.
    Al-thea'a.  L. fr. Gr. to heal, cure -- i.e., its medicinal qualities (Dioscorides).
    Of-fi-ci-na-'lis.  L. see (Smilax) officinalis.
    PLANT. Perennial herb .6-1.3 M. (2-4') high, having several woolly stems; flowers large, 2.5-5 Cm. (1-2') in diameter, purple.  ROOT, slenderly tapering, 15-30 Cm. (6-12') long, 1-2 Cm. (2/5-4/5') thick; usually cut into small pieces, 5 Mn. (1/5') thick, whitish, longitudinally furrowed, frequently spirally twisted and covered with somewhat loosened bast-fibers (hairy); facture fibrous (bark), short granular (wood); internally yellowish-white; bark 1-2 Mm. (1/25-1/12') thick, porous (due to mucilage cells) and separated from slightly radiating wood by grayish cambium zone; odor slight; taste sweetish, mucilaginous.  POWDER, whitish -- many starch grains up to .03 Mm. 91/833') in diameter, usually with long central cleft; groups of fibers with thick, more or less lignified walls; tracheae, scalariform thickenings or bordered pores, few calcium oxalate crystals in rosette aggregates.  Tests: 1. Macerate 1 Gm for 30 minutes in water 10 cc., stirring occasionally, filter through purified cotton -- pale yellow, neutral mucilage, + a few drops of sodium hydroxide, T. S. -- turns deep yellow; mucilage does not have a sour or ammoniacal odor.  Leaves (Althaeae Folia, Marsh Mallow Leaves, N. F.).  The dried leaves with not more than 5 p.c. stems and fruits or other organic matter.  Crumpled or matted, gray-green, densely and finely tomentose, petioles 1-6 Cm. (2/5 - 2 2/5') long; blades 3-15 Cm (1 1/5 - 6') long, 3-10 Cm. (1 1/5 - 4') broad, thin, cordate, rounded at base, acute, doubly serrate-dentate, lobed, 2-6 principal veins from midrib in the petiole; odor slight, scarcely characteristic; taste mucilaginous.  Powder, grayish-green -- stellate and glandular hairs, calcium oxalate in rosette aggregates, stomata, mucilage cells, pollen grains.  Solvents: water -- cold, dissolving asparagin, mucilage, sugar; hot, also starch.  Dose 3 ss-1 (2-4 Gm.).
    ADULTERATIONS. -- ROOT: Belladonna root, when young and peeled, resembles althea, but distinguished by absence of hair-like bast-fibers, and by possessing visible yellowish wood bundles.  Old, dark-colored althea roots sometimes are whitened with calcium oxide or sulphate, which subside to the bottom upon soaking in water, thereby readily being detected.  Root sometimes marketed cut in small cubes, rendering admixtures more likely.  Powder: Starchy substances recognized by shape of starch granules.
    Commercial: Plant, during first two years, produces only a tap-root, which soon thereafter becomes tough, woody, inert, and much branched, the branches having little medicinal value.  The unscraped root is yellowish-brown, non-fibrous, and should be collected (late autumn) from cultivated plants, peeled and dried carefully.  Leaves and flowers sometimes used.
    CONSTITUENTS. -- ROOT: Asparagin (althein, amido (-succinamide, -succinic acid, asparamide), 1 - 2 p.c.  Mucilage (bassorin, althea mucilage, upon which value depends), 35 p.c., starch 37 p.c., pectin 11 p.c., betaine, sugar 11 p.c., fat 1.25 p.c., ash 4 - 8 p.c.  Leaves similar but less mucilage.
    Asparagin - C₄ H₈0₃N₂, H₂0: Obtained by putting the thick, viscid, mucilage of althea into a dialyser, with water outside.  Asparagin passes into the water, which, upon evaporation, yields the crystals.  These are colorless, neutral, transparent, lustrous, sp. Gr. 1,520, soluble in water (47), acids alkalies, converted by these latter into ammonia and aspartic acid; therapeutically inactive.  Dose: gr. 5 - 10 (.3 - .6 Gm.).
    PREPARATIONS -- ROOT: 1.  Massa Hydrargyri, 15 p.c.  2.  Piluloe Ferri' Carbonatis, 1/6 gr. (.01 Gm.).  3.  Piluloe Phosphori, 1 gr. (.06 Gm.).  4.  Syrupus Althaeae, N.F., 5 p.c., + alcohol 3, glycerin 10, sucrose 70, water q.s. 100.  Dose: 3j-4 (4 - 15 cc.).  5.  Species Pectorales, Breast Tea, N.F., 40 p.c., + coltsfoot 20, glycyrrhiza 15, anise, mullein flowers, aa 10, orris 5.  Leaves:  1. Species Emollientes, Emollient Cataplasm, N.F., 20 p.c. -- althea leaves, mallow leaves, melilot, matricaria, linseed, aa 20 Gm., hot water q.s. 100.  Poultice.

[ILLUSTRATION] Althaea officinalis: 1. Expanded flower. 2.  Vertical section of flower.  3.    Stamen.  4.  Stamen after discharge of pollen.  5.  Fruit.  6.  Outside calyx as seen from beneath.

    Unoff. Preps: Decoctyion, infusion, each 5 p.c., 3j-4 (30-120 cc.).  Ointment.
    PROPERTIES. -- ROOT AND LEAVES: Demulcent, emollient, protective.
    USES: Inflammations of pulmonary, digestive, and urinary organs, mucous membranes; skin eruptions, herpes, psoriasis, enema (decoction) for vaginal and rectal irritation.  In pharmacy, the powdered root, being very absorbent, is used to harden pills, troches, electuaries, etc.  A. Ro'sea, Hollyhock.  Levant, formerly cultivated in gardens for flowers (petals - Flores Malvae Arboreae), 7.5 - 12.5 Cm. (3 - 5') broad, nearly sessile, composed of tomentose calyx and 5 purple petals.
 

Amanita

    Agar'icus musca'rius (Amani't musca'ria), Fly Fungus (Agaric). -- N. Europe, Russia.  This mushroom grows in the autumn mainly, under pine trees.  Stalk is white, tuberous at base, 7.5 - 1.5 Cm (3 - 6') high, 1.8 Cm. (3/4') thick.  Cup (pileus) 10 - 15 Cm. (4 - 6') broad, orange-red.  Contains chiefly muscarine (muscarina), C5 H15 O3 N, a colorless, odorless, crystalline, deliquescent alkaloid, yielding deliquescent salts (nitrate, sulphate).  All usually occur as brown, syrupy liquids, soluble in water, alcohol.  Resembles Calabar bean in action: antihydrotic, antispasmodic, myotic.  Reduces force and frequency of pulse: contracts muscles of intestines and bladder: increases abdominal secretions: causes dypsnea, paralysis, death.  Given for intestinal torpor, duodenal catarrh, diabetes, antidote to atropine, to replace physostigmine.  Dose: (Muscarine), gr. 1/20 - 1/15 (.002 - .004 Gm.).
 

Amber

    Pini'tes succin'ifer (Pi'cea succinif'era), Succinum (Amber). -- Fossil resin, U.S.P. 1820 - 1850; Baltic Sea, Prussia, coal mines.  There are 50 Pinaceae species that yield this resin.  Such trees have been submerged under seawater, and from time to time yield, by natural exudation, this oleoresin, which is found along shores under and above water in irregular-sized pieces, that of 13 pounds (6 Kg.)  being, so far, the largest.  It is rough, dull, hard, brittle, fracture conchoidal, glossy, transparent, yellowish-red, sp gr. 1.09, aromatic when heated, tasteless.  Melts at 288 degrees C. (550 degrees F.), yielding succinic acid.   If heated higher, get water, volatile acids, empyreumatic oil.  Contains succinic acid, C4 H6 O4, several resins.  Used for preparing succinic acid and (empyreumatic) oil of amber, for fumigation, in the arts.  Oleum Succini, U.S.P. 1820  - 1880. Oleum Succini Rectificatum, U.S.P. 1830 - 1870.   Stimulant, antispasmodic, diuretic, hysteria, whooping-cough, infantile convulsions, intestinal irritation, amenorrhea.  Externally - rheumatism, rubefacient liniments.  Dose: mv-15 (.3 - 1 cc.).
 

    Oleum Amygdalae Amarae. Oil of Bitter Almond, U.S.P.
    Amygdalus communis (var. Amara.), Linne', or other kernels containing amygdalin.  A volatile oil from the dried ripe kernels deprived of  fixed oil obtained by maceration with water and subsequent distillation with steam.
    Habitat: W. Asia, Persia, Syria, Barbary, Morocco. Naturalized in Mediterranean Basic. Cultivated in Europe. Unsuccessfully in United States.
    Syn.: Greek Nuts: Ol. Amygd Amar; Bitter Almond Oil, Oleum Amygdalarum (Amararum) Aethereum; Fr. Amande ame're. Essence d'Amande ame're: Ger. Amygdalae Amarae, Bittere Mandelin; Bittermandelol.
    A'myg'da'lus. L. Fr Gr. To lacerate, i.e., its fissured shell.
    Com mu'nis. L. Common, general, i.e., the ordinary or common species.
    Ama'ra. L. Amarus, bitter, i.e., the fruit.
    PLANT: Small tree, 5 - 6 M. (15 - 20 degrees) high, bark purplish. Leaves bright green. Flowers pale pink or white. Fruit drupe, ovate, 5 Cm. (2') long, 2.5 Cm (1') broad, sarcocarp green, leathery, splitting into two halves when ripe and falling from the stone. This remaining stone is the commercial almond and may be sold as such or may be bleached by sulphur dioxide, thereby also killing any attached insects. By cracking off hard shell, the kernel, or properly, the seed, is left, which, when deprived of papery endocarp by hot water, constitutes the more desirable blanched almond. Seed (almond), 2.5 Cm. (1') long, oblong-lanceolate, flattish; testa cinnamon-brown, thin, finely downy, marked by about 16 lines radiating from broad scar at blunt end; embryo straight, white, oily, with 2 plano-convex cotyledons; taste bitter, oleaginous; triturated with water, yields milk-white emulsion, emitting odor of hydrocyanic acid.
    ADULTERATIONS: Seed: Sweet almonds chiefly (Valencia) and peach seed -- both cheaper; the bitter differs from the sweet in flavor, odor with water, containing amygdalin, being shorter, broader, thinner, less plump and darker, and from peach seed by being much larger. Oil: Alcohol, oil of turpentine, nitrobenzene, impure bensaldehyde from toluene (chlorine), etc.
    Commercial: There are several varieties of these (French, Sicily, Barbary, in the orderof value), being exported chiefly from Mogador, in Morocco.
    CONSTITUENTS: Kernels: Fixed oil 46 p.c., Amygdalin 1 - 3 p.c., Emulsin, mucilage 3 p.c., proteins (myosin, vitellin, conglutin) 24 - 30 p.c., precipitated by acetic acid, sugar 6 p.c., ash 3.5 p.c.--K, Ca, Mg -- phosphates); yield volatile oil 1 p.c.; hydrocyanic acid .25 p.c.
    Amygdalin: C₂₀ H₂₇ O₁₁ N. A crystalline cyanogenetic glucoside obtained from expressed cake (deprived of fixed oil) by boiling in alcohol, distilling to syrup, adding water and yeast, and then allowing fermentation. After this, filter, evaporate to syrup, add alcohol to precipitate amygdalin and gum, from which boiling alcohol takes up the former, depositing it upon cooling.
    Emulsin (synaptase): A ferment (enzyme) coagulated by heat, precipitated by alcohol, but not by acetic acid, and, in the presence of water, acts upon amygdalin, forming glucose, C₆ H₁₂ O₆, hydrocyanic acid, HCN, (1 part being formed from 17 of amygdalin), and benzaldehyde, C₇ H₆O -- oil of bitter almond 1 - 4 p.c.; C₂₀ H₂₇ O₁₁ N + 2H₂0 equals 2(C₆ H₁₂ O₆) + HCN + C₇ H₆O.
    Oleum Amygdalae Amarae: Oil of Bitter Almond. This volatile oil, like volatile oil of mustard, oil of gaultheria, and methyl salicylate, does not preexist in the kernels (seeds), but results from macerating with water for 12 hours the expressed cake of bitter almonds, wherein amygdalin undergoes fermentation, then distilling the oil formed by passing steam through the mixture. Kernels of the peach (P. Persica) and apricot (P. Armeni'aca) yield much of the commercial oil, which may also be prepared synthetically from toluene. (See benzaldehydum, page 278). It is a clear, colorless, yellowish, strongly refractive liquid, characteristic odor and taste of benzaldehyde, soluble in alcohol, ether, slightly in water; forms clear solution in 70 p.c. alcohol (2); sp. Gr. 1,028 - 1.060, optically inactive or dextrorotatory, at first neutral, but becomes acid from the formation of benzoic acid. Yields not less than 85 p.c. of benzaldehyde, C₆ H₅ CHO, and 204 p.c. of hydrocyanic acid, HCN (sometimes as much as 8 - 10 p.c.). When freed from this latter it is less poisonous, but even then has a marked physiological action on the nervous system. Impurities: Nitrobenzene, chlorinated products, heavy metals. The label must indicate definitely its specific source, as this is intended for medicinal use and not for flavoring foods. Should be kept dark, cool, in small well-stoppered, completely filled, amber-colored bottles, and when showing crystals (benzoic acid) must not be dispensed. Dose: ml/4-1 (.016 - .06 cc.).

[ILLUSTRATION] Amygdalus communis: Amygdalus communis: fruit in the act of 1. Flowering twig; 2. Twig with fruit; opening 3. Fruit hull cracked off; 4. Seed deprived of hull; 5. Vertical section of flower; 6. Longitudinal section of seed.

    PREPARATIONS: Oil: 1. Elixir Amygdaloe Compositum, N.C., 1/20 p.c.: Preps: 1. Elixir Bromidorum Trium, N.F., q.s. 2. Emulsa - as flavoring when preferred. 3. Spiritus Amygdaloe Amaroe, N.C., 1 p.c. Dose: mxv-30 (1 - 2 cc.). Preps: 1. Elixir Anisi, N.F., 1.2 p.c. 2. Elixir Terpini Hydratis, N.C., ½ p.c.
    Unoff. Preps: Water (oil 1/10 p.c., 3j-3 (4 - 12 cc.). Syrup (spt. of bitter almond 1, orange flower water 10, syrup q.s. 100), 3ij-4 (8 - 15 cc.).
    PROPERTIES: Demulcent, nutrient, sedative. Often produces urticaria.
    USES: Coughs, pulmonary troubles, flavoring.
    Poisoning: Here have hydrocyanic acid symptoms. Hence, give emetics to induce vomiting, galvanism, brandy, whisky, ammonia to nostrils, etc.
    Allied Products:
    1. Benzaldehydum. Benzaldehyde, C₆ H₅ CHO, U.S.P. -- (Syn., Benzald., Oleum Amygdalarum Aethereum (Articifiale)-sine Acide Prussico, Synthetic Oil of Bitter Almond; Fr. Aldehyde benzoique; Ger. Kunstliches Bittermandelol.) An aldehyde produced synthetically or from oil of bitter almond, containing not less than 85 p.c. of benzaldehyde.
    Manufacture: 1. Shake oil of bitter almond (peach, apricot, etc.) with concentrated solution of acid solium sulphite (3) to form crystalline sodium benzalhydroxysulphonate, wash with cold alcohol, treat with strong sodium carbonate solution, reactify by distillation with steam.   2. Treat boiling toluene, C7 H8, with chlorine, heat resulting benzyl chloride with barium nitrate and water. While passing carbon dioxide through the mixture, the benzyl nitrate formed decomposes into benzaldehyde and oxides of nitrogen. It is a colorless, yellowish, refractive liquid, bitter almond-like odor, burning aromatic taste, soluble in water (350 degrees), miscible with alcohol, ether, fixed or volatile oils; sp.gr. 1.045; differs from oil of bitter almond in having no hydrocyanic acid. Tests: 1. Shake .5cc with distilled water 5 cc., + sodium hydroxide T.S. .5 cc., + ferrous sulphate T.S. .1 cc., warm gently, + excess of hydrochloric acid -- no greenish-blue color or blue precipitate within 15 minutes (abs. of hydrocyanic acid). 2. Dissolve 1 cc. in alcohol (20), + distilled water until turbid, evolve hydrogen 1 hour by adding zinc and diluted sulphuric acid, filter, evaporate to 20 cc.; of this boil 10 cc. + a drop of potassium dichromate T.S. -- not violet (abs. of nitrobenzene). Impurities: Hydrocyanic acid, chlorinated compounds, nitrobenzene. Should be kept dark, in small, well-stoppered bottles. Dose: m1/4 - 1 (.016 - .06 cc.).
    PROPERTIES AND USES: Similar to oil of bitter almond; largely as a flavoring agent, having the advantage of the oil in being devoid of hydrocyanic acid, and not being poisonous except in large quantities.
    2. Nitrobenzene, Nitrobensol, Oil of Mirbane: False artificial oil of bitter almond is obtained by acting on benzene with nitric acid. It is very poisonous, has the true bitter almond oil odor, owing to which substitution has been made with fatal results; should not be taken internally - used for flavoring soaps, making aniline, etc.
 

    Oleum Amygdalae Expressum. Expressed Oil of Almond, U.S.P.
    Amygdalus communis (var. dulcis), Linne'.  A fixed oil obtained from the kernels of several varieties.
    Habitat: W. Asia, Persia, Syria, Barbary, Morocco; naturalized in Mediterranean Basin; cultivated in Europe, S. California.
    Syn.: Jordon Almond, Malaga, Paper-shell, Greek Nuts; Fr. Amande(s) douce(s); Ger. Amygdalae dulces, Susse Mandeln; Ol. Amygd. Exp., Oil of Sweet Almond, Oleum Amygdalae Dulcis; Br. Oleum Amygdalae, Almond Oil; Fr. Huile d'Amande (douce); Ger. Oleum Amygdalorum, Mandelol.
    Dul'cis. L. Sweet - i.e., the fruit without bitterness.
    PLANT: Small tree, 5 - 6 M. (15 - 20 degrees) high, bark purplish; leaves bright green; flowers pale pink or white; fruit drupe, ovate, 5 Cm. (2') long, 2.5 Cm. (1') broad, sarcocarp green, leathery, splitting into two halves when ripe, and falling from the stone. This remaining stone is the commercial almond, and may be sold as such or may be bleached by sulphur dioxide, thereby also killing any attached insects. By cracking off hard shell the kernel, or, properly, the seed, is left, which, when deprived of papery endocarp by hot water, constitutes the more desirable blanched almond. Seed (almond), 17 - 25 Mm. (3/4 - 1') long, 10 - 13 Mm. (2/5 - 1/2') broad, 4 - 7 Mm (l/6 - 1/3') thick, oblong-lanceolate; seed-coat light brown with numerous parallel veins, thin, easily removed by soaking in water; embryo straight, white, 2 plano-convex cotyledons; taste bland, sweet; triturated with water - milk-white, non-acid emulsion having no odor of benzaldehyde, or hydrocyanic acid (abs. of bitter almond). Powder: Creamy-white - numerous small and large oil globules, crystalloids, globoids, fragments of parenchyma of endosperm and seed-coat, aleurone grains, spiral tracheae; no starch grains.

[ILLUSTRATION] Amygdalus communis; a. Seed-kernel; b. Section through seed-coats and portion of cotyledon.

    Commercial. -- Of these there are several varieties (Jordan, Valencia, Sicily, Barbary, in the order of value), imported chiefly from Spain, S. France, via Marseilles or Bordeaux (soft-shelled; var. frag'ilis), and Malaga (Jordan or long) or Valencia (hard-shelled), being larger and longer than the var. Amara, with more convex sides. The Jordan only, owing to easy recognition, are used in the Br. P. To preserve almonds, should keep dry, thereby preventing decomposition of amygdalin and fixed oil; when rancid the embryo has changed into gum bassorin, which renders them unfit for medicinal use.
    CONSTITUENTS: Fixed oil 56 p.c., Emulsin (mucilage 3 p.c., sugar 6 p.c., proteins (myosin, vitellin, and conglutin) 24 - 30 p.c., precipitated by acetic acid, ash 3 - 5 p.c. - K, Ca, Mg - phosphates); the testa of both varieties contain tannin.
    Oleum Amygdalae Expressum. Expressed Oil of Almond. -- This fixed oil is obtained from both varieties of almonds (sweet and bitter) by grinding or bruising in an iron or stone mortar the clean and perfect kernels, enclosing mass in canvas batgs and subjecting them to hydraulic pressure of 350 atmospheres between polished steel plates slightly heated (30 degrees C.; 86 degrees F.); the expressed turbid oil is set aside in a cool place, decanted from sediment and filtered; most of the commercial oil is from the bitter almonds prior to preparing the volatile oil. It is a clear, pale straw-colored, colorless, oily liquid, almost odorless, bland taste; slightly soluble in alcohol, miscible with ether, chloroform, benzene, petroleum benzin; sp. gr. 0.912; contains triolein 75 - 85 p.c., tripalmitin, trilinolein. Tests: 1. Clear at - 10 degrees C.; 14 degrees F., congeals at -20 degrees C.; -4 degrees F. (abs of olive, cottonseed, sesame, lard oils, congealing at -5 degrees C.;22 degrees F., apricot and peach oils remaining fluid at -20 degrees C.; -4 degrees F.). 2. Shake vigorously oil (2), fuming nitric acid (1), distilled water (1) - the mixture is not more than colored (abs. Of peach and apricot oils - red color, sesame and cottonseed oils - brown color). Should be kept cool, in well-closed containers. Dose: 3j-2 (30-60 cc.).
    ADULTERATIONS: Olive, arachis (ground-nut), lard, cottonseed, sesame, poppy, apricot and peach oils; apricot kernels yield 25 - 38 p.c. of oil, which, with peach oil, is substituted often (in part or entire) for the pure article.
    PREPARATIONS: 1. Unguentum Aquae Rosae, 56 p.c. 2. Emulsum Petrolati, N.F., 22.5 p.c. 3. Oleum Phosphoratum, N.F., 90 p.c. 4. Untuentum Veratrinae, N.C. 6 p.c.
    Unoff. Preps: Emulsion (seed 6 p.c., + acacia 1, sucrose 3, water q.s. 100), 3ij-4 (8 - 15 cc.).  Pulvis Amygdalae Compositus (Br.) - seed 60 parts, + sucrose 30, acacia 10.
    PROPERTIES: Demulcent, nutrient, laxative.
    USES: The meal of the expressed cake as a toilet powder, and since it contains no starch it may readily be made into bread, cake, puddings, etc., which is excellent for diabetics.  Seed very popular as a confection.  Expressed oil, employed like olive oil, also for pulmonary trouble.

[ILLUSTRATION] Anac Pyrethrum: A. Expanded flower: Pyrethrum: transverse B.  Involucre seen from below; C,                 section magnified 3 diam.  Dried flower.
 

Anacyclus pyrethrum

    Annacy'clus Pyre'thrum, Pyrethrum, Pellitory (Root): -- The dried root, U.S.P. 1820 - 1910; N. Africa, Algeria - high lands, cultivated in gardens.  Procumbent perennial, resembling chamomile, .3 M. (1 degree) high, with 1 large terminal flower; leaves doubly pinnate, pale green; flowers, April-June, 2.5 - 4 Cm. (1 - 1 3/5') broad, rays white above reddish-purple below, disk yellow; fruit obovate achene.  Root, tapering, in pieces 2.5 - 10 Cm. (1 - 4') long, 5 - 20 Mm. (1/5 - 4/5') thick, dark brown, furrowed, wrinkled; fracture short; bark with 1 - 2 circles of resin ducts, closely adhering to yellowish radiate porous wood in which occur 1 - 3 rows of resin ducts; odor distinct; taste sweetish, pungent, very acrid, tingling, sialagogue effect.  Powder: Brownish - masses of inulin, fragments of woody tissue, stone cells, cork, tracheae, parenchyma; should be kept in tightly closed containers; solvents: Alcohol, boiling water partially; contains pyrethrine (activity), brown acrid resin (containing pellitorin), 2 potassa-soluble acrid fixed oils, inulin 50 p.c., tannin, volatile oil, gum, ash 3 - 5 p.c.  Irritant, rubefacient, sialagogue (prickling sensation to tongue and fauces with heat, pungency), sternutatory - poisonous; masticatory - headache, rheumatism, neuralgia, toothache (tincture or extract as an anesthetic in carious teeth), paralysis of tongue or throat, relaxed uvula, chronic catarrh.  Dose: 3ss-1 (2 - 4 Gm.).  Tincture: 20 p.c., 3ss-2 (2 - 8cc.); Fluidextract, 3ss-1  (2 - 4cc.).  Decoction: Extract (alcohol), Gargle.  A. Officina'rum, German Pellitory - annual variety, cultivated in Saxony, Bohemia, Prussia, near Magdeburg, having root 6 Mm. (1/4') thick; bark with 1 circle of resin-cells, medullary rays without resin-cells.
 

Anamirta

    Anamir'ta Coc'culus, Cocculus (Indicus), Fish (Indian) Berry, N.F.: -- The dried ripe fruit with 2 p.c. foreign organic matter; E. India, Ceylon.  Large woody climber; leaves 10 - 20 Cm. (4 - 8') long, cordate: flowers, small, dioecious.  Fruit (in clusters 2 - 5) drupe, reniform, 8 - 13.5 Mm. (1/3 - 7 1/12') long, 7 - 11 Mm.  (L/4 - 1/2') broad, 7 - 10 Mm (1/4 - 2/5') thick, blackish-brown, wrinkled, hilum and micropyle near ridge on convex side; stalk scar; pericarp tough, 1 Mm. (L/25') thick, 1 urn-shaped seed, taste bitter, seed intensely bitter.  Powder: Brown -- epicarp fragments with alkalies -- reddish-brown, fixed oil globules, aleurone grains, acicular crystals soluble in diluted hydrochloric acid, fibers, tracheae; contains (seed) -- picrotoxin, anamirtin (cocculin, not bitter or poisonous), fat; pricarp, nearly tasteless) -- menispermine, paramenispermine, hypopicrotoxic acid, resin.  Picrotoxin (picrotoxinum), C₃₀ H₃₄O₁₃ -- U.S.P. 1880-1890, not a single body, but composed of picrotoxin 54 p.c., and picrotin 46 p.c.; obtained by evaporating to syrup a tincture made3 with hot alcohol, removing fat, boiling residue with water, filtering, which deposits picrotoxin upon cooling.  It is in colorless, shining prismatic crystals or powder, odorless, very bitter, soluble in alcohol, ether, chloroform; with H₂SO₄ + NaNO₃ + NaOH gives brick-red, fading in few hours.  Cerebrospinal excitant, nervine, antiparasitic, with combined action of belladonna and nox vomica; slows heart and respiration, causes spasms of flexors, death by paralying heart; convulsions resemble epileptic paroxysms (circular spasms) -- those of strychnine being tonic (tetanic), affecting the extensors; paralysis (laryngeal), epilepsy, chorea, eclampsia, chronic spasms of the limbs, vomiting with giddiness, morphine antidote; externally -- parasitic skin diseases, itch, lice, ringworm (avoiding abraded surfaces); powdered berries, mixed with dough, sometimes thrown upon water in order to catch fish; after eating this, fish whirl around, become stupefied, and lie motionless upon the surface so that they may readily be picked up; berries also prevent secondary fermentation of alcoholic liquors, adding strength thereto, but dangerous.  Poisoning: Symptoms and treatment similar to strychnine. Dose: seed, gr. 1 - 3 (.06 - .2 Gm.); 1.  Tinctura Cocculi, 10 p.c. (Diluted alcohol), dose mij-15 (.13 - 1 cc.)  -- externally to destroy parasites; picrotoxin, gr. 1/64 - 1/32 (.001 - .002 Gm.); menispermine, gr. 1 - 2 (.06 - .13 Gm.); decoction, 2.5 p.c.; ointment, 2 p.c.

[ILLUSTRATION] Anamirta Cocculus (paniculata).  Anamirta Cocculus: a, staminate flower; b, longitudinal section of fruit, magnified; c,  fruit and section normal size.
 

Andropogon

    Andropo'gon squarro'sa (murica'tus), Vetiveria (Vetivert). -- E. India.  The fibrous wiry roots from the rhizome; yellowish-brown, waxy, 15 - 20 Cm. (6 - 8 ') long, 1 Mm. (1/25') thick, tough, aromatic, balsamic; contains volatile oil, resin.  Used as tonic, stimulant, in perfumery, sachet powders (violet), etc.
 

Anethum

    Ane'thum (peuced'anum) grave'olens, Anethi Fructus, Dill Fruit (Br.). -- S. Europe, Asia.  Herb .6 M. (2 degrees) high; leaves finely divided, glaucous; flowers yellow; fruit oblong, 4 Mm. (1/6') long, brown, smooth, mericarps 2, flat-faced, each having 5 ribs, 6 vittae, of which 3 are filiform, 2 lateral ones broadly winged, light colored, odor, and taste spicy, caraway-like; contains volatile oil 3 - 4 p.c., fixed oil.  Carminative, stimulant, stomachic, condiment, flavoring; as a substitute for anise and caraway in flatulent colic, hiccough, indigestion.  Dose: gr. 10 - 30 (.6 - 2 Gm.); volatile oil (Oleum Anethi, Br.), mij-5 (.13-.3 cc.); Aqua Anethi (Br.), 10 p.c. 3ss-2 (15-60 cc.).
 

Angelica

    Angel'ica Archangel'ica, European Angelica; 1.  Angelica Radix, Angelica Root, N.F. -- The dried rhizome and roots of this and other species with not more than 5 p.c. of stem-bases or other foreign organic matter, yielding not more than 4 p.c. of acid-insoluble ash; 2.  Angelica Fructus, Angelica Fruit (Seed), N.F. -- The dried ripe fruit of this and other species with not more than 3 p.c. of foreign fruits, seeds or other foreign organic matter; N. Europe, cultivated in Germany.  Stout perennial herb, 1.8-2 M. (5-6 degrees) high, purplish, smooth, hollow, jointed, leaves double pinnate; flowers greenish-white.  Rhizome, short, thick, 5-10 Cm. (2-4') long, sometimes split, frequently crowned with leaf and stem-bases; roots numerous 10-20 Cm (4-8') long, 5-7 Mm. (1/5-1/3') thick at base, tapering to 1 Mm.(1/25'), twisted together, dark brown, deep furrows; fracture short, smooth; odor aromatic, taste sweetish, pungent, aromatic, bitter.  Powder, yellowish-brown -- starch grains, tracheae, brownish oil canals, parenchyma tissue with starch, cork cells, wood-fibers, yellowish oil globules.  Fruit, cremocarps oval, yellowish-brown 4-8 Mm (1/6-1/3') long, 3-6 Mm (1/8-1/4') broad, 1-2 Mm (1/25-1/12') thick, base notched, apex bearing 5 calyx teeth; mericarps joined or separate, each flat on one surface, convex upon the other, with 3 ribs, separated by grooves; odor characteristic, agreeable; taste aromatic, pungent, sweetish.  Powder, light brown -- spongy parenchyma, oil tubes, aleurone grains, calcium oxalate rosettes; solvent; alcohol; contain volatile oil .5 p.c., acrid resin (angelicin), angelic acid, tannin, pectin.  Tonic, stimulant, carminative, diaphoretic, emetic; typhoid condition, bronchitis, intermittents; rheumatism, gout, painful swollen parts, condiment,  Dose, gr. 10-30 (.6-2 Gm.); Root: 1 Fluidextractum Angelicae Radicis (92 p.c. alcohol), dose, Mxv-30 (1-2 cc.); Infusion, Tincture, Fresh juice (poisonous); Fruit: 1. Pilulae Antiperiodicae, ½ gr. (.03 Gm.); 2. Tinctura Antiperiodica, 4/5 p.c.

[ILLUSTRATION] Angelica--flowering stem and cross-sesction of cremarp: a, the seed; f, the 2 ribbed wings (mericarps).
 

    Oleum Anisi.  Oil of Anise, U.S.P.
    Pimpinella Anisum, Linne', or Illicium verum, Hooker filius.  The volatile oil distilled from the dried ripe fruits.
    Habitat.  W. Asia, Egypt, S. E. Europe; cultivated in S. Europe, United States, in gardens.
    Syn.  Anis., Aniseed, Aneys, Aunyle, Common Anise, Sweet Cumin, Semen Anisi; Br.     Anisi Fructus; Fr. Anis, Anis vert, Graines d'Anise; Ger. Anis, Anissame; Ol. Anisi,     Anise Oil; Fr. Essence d'Anis; Ger. Anisol, Anethol.
     Pim-pi'nel'la.  L. Medival name, altered, from bipinnate or bipinnella -- i.e., the pinnate leaves, lit. "The two-winged little plant."
    An'iaum.  L. Fr. Gr. -- Ar, anisum, anise, dill -- i.e., classic name.
    Il-li'ci-um.  L. Illicere, to allure, charm -- i.e., in allusion to its attractive perfume.
    Ve'rum.  L. Verus, true -- i.e., the genuine or real type.
    PLANTS. -- Pimpinella Anisum: Annual herb .3 M. (1 degree) high; dentate, pinnatifid; flowers white, small umbels 8-14-rayed.  Fruit -- Anisum, Anise (Seed), N.F. -- The dried ripe fruit with not more than 3 p.c. of other fruits, seeds or foreign organic matter, yielding not more than 1.5 p.c. of acid-insoluble ash; cremocarp, broadly oval compressed, mericarps usually cohering and attached to slender pedicel 2-12 Mm (l/12-1/2') long, apex with 2 styles, grayish-green, seldom brownish, slightly pubescent; odor and taste agreeable, aromatic -- Russian variety closely resembles conium.  Powder, yellowish-brown -- numerous fragments of pericarp with yellowish oil tubes, tracheae, carpophore fibers, endosperm cells, aleurone grains, calcium oxalate rosette aggregates, non-glandular hairs.  Test: 1.  Heat 1 Gm. with potassium hydroxide T.S., (10) -- no mouse-like odor (abs. of conium).  Illicium verum. - Magnoliaceae: Small tree, 3-6M. (10-20 degrees high, branched; leaves pellucid-punctate; flowers greenish-yellow; Fruit, star-shaped -- 8 stellately arranged boat-shaped carpels, 8 Mm. (1/3') long, brown woody, wrinkled, each carpel containing 1 glossy-brown seed; solvents: alcohol, boiling water.  Dose, gr. 10-30 (.6-2 Gm.)
    CONSTITUENTS. -- Volatile oil (anethol) 1-3 p.c., fixed oil 3-4 p.c., choline, resin, sugar, mucilage, malates, phosphates, ash 7 p.c.
    Oleum Anisi.  Oil of Anise.  Oil of Star Anise, U.S.P. -- This volatile oil is a colorless, pale yellow, strongly refractive liquid, characteristic odor and taste of anise, soluble with not more than slight cloudiness in 3 vols. Of 90 p.c. alcohol; sp. gr. 0.983, increasing with age; contains a liquid body -- terpenes and methyl-chavicol, C₁₀H₁₂O, and a stearoptene, anethol, C₁₀H₁₂O, 80-90 p.c., upon which the value depends, being converted by exposure or oxidation with nitric acid into anisic acid; star anise oil is the same chemically, containing anethol 80-90 p.c., d-pinene, d-phellandrene, and possibly safrol, but congeals at 1 degree C. (34 degrees F.), while anise oil at 10-15 degrees C. (50-59 degrees F.).  Tests: 1.  Levorotatory (abs. oils of fennel, caraway, coriander -- dextrorotatory).  2.  Shake with water in graduated tube -- volume should not diminish; drop into water--no milkiness unless agitated (abs. of alcohol).  3.  Alcoholic solution neutral; with a drop of ferric chloride T.S. -- no blue or brown color (abs. Of phenols).  Impurities: Heavy metals, oil of fennel, phenols.  The label must indicate definitely its specific source, and if solid material has separated, carefully warm the oil until liquefied and thoroughly mix before dispensing.  Should be kept dark, in well-stoppered, amber-colored bottles.  Dose, mij-5 (.l3-.3 cc.).
    Anethol.  Anethol, N.F. -- The methyl ether of para-propenyl phenol C₆H₄C₃H₅OCH₃, obtained from this and other oils (star anise, fennel), by fractionating, chilling, crystallizing; practically identical with the oil.  It is a colorless, faintly yellow, highly refractive liquid at 23 degrees C. (73 degrees F.), sweet taste and aromatic odor of anise, solidifies at 20 degrees C. (68 degrees F.) to white glistening, crystalline mass, remelting at 22 degrees C. (72 degrees F.), soluble in ether, chloroform, alcohol (2), almost insoluble in water; sp. gr. 0.985, boils at 235 degrees C. (455 degrees F.); optically inactive, levorotatory (if from anise), dextrorotatory (if from fennel).  Test: 1.  Shake 10 cc. with 50 cc. saturated aqueous solution of sodium bisulphite in graduated cylinder, let stand 6 hours--no diminution of anethol volume nor crystalline deposit
(abs. of aldehydes).  Should be kept dark, in well-stoppered, amber-colored bottles.  Dose, mij-5 (.13-.3 cc.).
    ADULTERATIONS. -- FRUIT: Earthy fragments, partly exhausted fruits, recognized by shriveled appearance, chiefly, however with conium fruit (which resembles mosly the Russian anise), but odor and taste not aromatic--becoming mouse-like with solution potassium hydroxide even when 1 p.c. present; non-hairy; consisting usually of single smooth mericarps, grooved upon the face, 5-crenate ribs (ridges) with wrinkles between them, no vittae; POWDER: Star-anise recognized by its peculiar sclerotic cells, earthy matter sinking when stirred in strong brine; OIL: Spermaceti 5-35 p.c., wax, petroleum, fixed oils, oils of turpentine and fennel, camphor (to raise congealing-point), alcohol, whereas oils and camphor are mostly soluble; camphors recognized -- by odor; alcohol -- by milkiness to water, star-anise oil is the same chemically, but has a slight distinguishing smell and taste, also lower congealing-point (1 degree C.; 34 degrees F.).
    Commercial. -- Plant was known and cultivated by the Romans, while Theophrastus wrote of its aromatic properties; now grown mostly in Malta, Spain, Italy, S. Russia, Greece, Chile.  There are four varieties: 1, Spanish (Alicante), small, best, preferred; 2, German (French), larger; 3, Italian, exported via Leghorn; 4, Russian, very short, resembling conium most; that cultivated at home supplies largely our market.
    PREPARATIONS. -- Oil: 1. Aqua Anisi.  Anise Water.  (Synb., Aq. Anisi; Fr. Eau d'Anis; Ger. Aniswasser.)
    Manufacture: 1/5 p.c.  A saturated solution; similar to Aquae Aromaticae -- triturate oil .2 cc. With purified talc 1.5 Gm., adding gradually recently boiled distilled water q.s. 100 cc.  Dose, 3ij-8 (8-30 cc.).
    2.  Spiritus Anisi.  Spirit of Anise.  (Syn., Sp. Anisi, Essentia Anisi; Fr. Alcoolat (Esprit) d'Anis; Ger. Anisgeist.)
    Manufacture: 10 p.c.  Mix oil 10 cc. With alcohol q.s. 100 cc.  Dose, 3j-2 (4-8 cc.).
    3. Fluidextraqctum Cascarae Sagradae Aromaticum, 1/4 p.c.  4.  Spiritus Aurantii Compositus, ½ p.c.  5.  Syrupus Sarsaparillae Compositus, 1/50 p.c.  6. Tinctura Opii Camphorata, 2/5 p.c.  7.  Elixir Phosphori, N.D. 1/5 p.c.; 8.  Syrupus Trifolii Compositus, N.F., 1/50 p.c.  9. Tinctura Opii et Gambir Composita, N.F., 1/10 p.c.  FRUIT: 1. Species Laxativae, N.F., 12.5 p.c.  2.  Speciees Pectorales, N.F., 10 p.c.  3.  Tinctura Rhei Dulcis, N.F., 4 p.c.  ANETHOL: 1.  Elixir Anisi, N.F., .35 p.c. 2.  Pulvis Rhei et Magnesiae Anisatus, N.F., 8 p.c.  3. Spiritus Ammoniae Anisatus, N.F., 3 p.c.  4.  Spiritus Cardamomi Compositus, N.F., ½ p.c.
    Unoff. Preps.: FRUIT: Fluidextract, mx-30 (.6-2) cc.).  Infusion, 5 p.c., 3j-8 (4-30 cc.).
    PROPERTIES. -- Aromatic stimulant and carminative, stomachic, once supposed a galactagogue, now doubted, although it does impart peculiar taste to secreting milk.
    USES. -- Flatulent colic, bronchitis, infantile catarrh.  As a corrigent to griping cathartics, but here fennel is preferred; much used for flavoring food, confectionery, and in veterinary practice.
    Allied Plants:
    Pimpinella Saxif'raga and S. Mag'na; dried rhizome and roots; light yellowish-brown, aromatic, sweetish, pungent; composition, properties and uses similar to anise.  Dose, gr. 10-30 (.6-2 Gm.); tincture, 20 p.c. (67 p.c. alcohol).
 

Anthemis

    An'themis no'bilis, Roman Chamomile. -- The dried flower-heads of cultivated plants, U.S.P. 1820-1900; S. And W. Europe.  Perennial herb, 15-30 Cm. (6-12') high, hairy; leaves bipinnatisect, hairy. Flowers, 18 Mm. (3/4') broad, subglobular, consisting of imbricated involucre, many white, 3-toothed ray-florets and a few tubular disk-florets inserted upon chaffy, conical, solid receptacle; odor agreeable; taste aromatic, bitter; solvents: alcohol, hot water; contains volatile oil 1 p.c., anthemic acid (bitter principle), anthemene (anthemidin), resin 5.25 p.c., tannin, fixed oil.  Stimulant (volatile oil), tonic (anthemic acid), carminative, nervine emmenagogue; warm infusion -- emetic; cold infusion -- tonic; large doses emetic, cathartic; intermittents, torpid liver, delirium tremens, dyspepsia (masticatory); externally -- colic, toothache, earache, rheumatism, ulcers, sprains (poultice with vinegar, laudanum); oil--rheumatism, flatulent colic.  Dose, gr. 15-60 (1-4 Gm.); fluidextract, 3ss-1 (2-4 cc.); infusion (best form), 5 p.c., 3j-2 (30-60 cc.); oil, mj-5 (.06-.3 cc.). A. (Maru'ta) Cot'ula, Mayweed; the herb, U.S.P. 1820-1870; N. America.  Annual plant in fields, roadsides, .3-.6 M. (1-2') high, greenish, furrowed, leaves thrice pinnatifid; flowers, June-Sept., receptacle solid, conical, chaffy ray-florets white, disk yellow; contains volatile oil, valeric acid, fat, tannin, anthemidine (?), anthemic acid.  Stimulant, antispasmodic, sudorific, emmenagogue, vesicant for hysteria, colic, dysmenorrhea; in infusion.  Dose, 3ss-2 (2-8 Gm.).

[ILLUSTRATION] Anthemis nobilis: wild.  Anthemis: a. Ray- and disk-floret magnified 4 diam.; b, section through single flower-head, natural size.
 

Apium

    Ap'ium grave'olens, Apii Fructus, Celery Fruit (Seed), N.F.  The dried ripe fruit with not more than 5 p.c. of unsound or foreign fruits or other foreign organic matter, yielding not more than 3 p.c. of acid-insoluble ash; S. Europe, cultivated, Biennial herb; root fusiform, white--when wild, poisonous, under cultivation, harmless.  Fruit, Mericarps 2, united or separate, ovoid, 1-2 Mm (1/25-1/12') long, dark brown; inner surface flat, outer convex, with 5 slender ribs, 2 bring marginal; odor characteristic, agreeable;taste aromatic, warm, pungent.  Powder, brown, oily--peraicarp fragments with yellowish oil tubes, brown secretion cells and few epidermal papillae; tracheae, fibers, aleurone grains, calcium oxalate rosettes; solvent: alcohol; contains volatile oil 2-3 p.c., fixed oil, ash 3-8 p.c. Carminative, stimulant, nervous sedative, flavoring (Infusion, juice); bronchitis, intermittents, contusions, swollen glands.  Dose, gr. 15-30 (1-2 Gm.); 1.  Fluidextractum Apii Fructus (alcohol), dose, mxv-30  (1-2 cc.): Prep.: 1.  Elixir Guaranae et Apii, 15 p.c.
 

Apocynum

    Apo'cynum cannab'inum, Apocynum, Canadian Hemp, Dogbane, N.F. -- The dried rhizome and roots with not more than 5 p.c. of stems or other foreign organic matter; United States, Canada to Florida.  Perennial milky-juiced herb, 1-2 M. (3-6 degrees) high, glabrous, branched; leaves opposite, entire, mucronate; flowers, cymes, greenish-white; fruit acute follicle, 20 Cm.(8') long, 4 Mm. (1/6') thick.  Rhizome, cylindrical, branched, varying length, 3-10 Mm (l/6-2/5') thick, grayish-brown, wrinkled, occasional transverse fissures with vertical sides through bark; fracture short; bark (50-65 p.c. of root) brownish, 1.5-3 Mm (l/18-1/8') thick--containing laticiferous ducts and bitterness; wood radiate with large tracheae; pith small, in rhizome pieces only; almost inodorous; taste starchy, bitter, acrid.  Powder, light brown--numerous starch grains, some altered, swollen and with central cleft, lignified wood-fibers, tracheae, few cork cells with reddish-brown walls, few latex cells, few or no stone cells; solvents: 60 p.c. alcohol, boiling water partially; contains cynotoxin, tannin, resin, starch, ash 5 p.c.  Diuretic, diaphoretic, expectorant, antiperiodic, alterative, cardiac stimulant (similar to digitalis); emetic; cardiac and renal dropsy, intermittents, dyspepsia.  Dose, gr. 2-5 (.13-.3 Gm.); emetic, gr. 15-30 (1-2 Gm.)' 1.  Fluidextractum Apocyni (60 p.c. alcohol), dose mij-5--30 (.13-.3--2 cc.).  Extract (aqueous), Infusion, 5 p.c., Tincture, 10 p.c.  A. Androsaemifo'lium, Spreading Dogbane.--The rhizome (root), U.S.P. 1830-1870; N. America.  Grows associated with the preceding, having stem more spreading, leaves broader, rhizome thinner, tougher, with central pith; bark thinner with layer of stone cells; flowers pinkish; contains (supposedly) about the same as A. Cannabinum, causisng it to be used for similar purposes, but, as a fact, it produces quite different effects.

[ILLUSTRATION]  Apocynum cannabinum: root, transverse section, magnified 25 diam.
 

Aralia nudicaulis

    A. Nudicau'lis, Wild, Virginian, False Sarsaparilla. -- The root (rhizome), U.S.P. 1820-1870; N. America.  Small shrub, stem scarcely above ground, leaf single, petiole .3 M. (1 degree) high; leaflets ovate, serrate, flowers greenish.  Root .3 M. (1 degree long), 5 Mm. (l/5') thick, annulate, brownish-gray, inside whitish, spongy pith, aromatic odor and taste; contains volatile oil, resin, starch.  Stimulant, diaphoretic, alterative -- like sarsaparilla, in infusion, decoction.  Dose, gr. 30-60 (2-4 Gm.)
 

Aralia Racemosa

    Ara'lia racemo'sa, Aralia, American Spikenard, Spignet, N.F. -- Araliaceae.  The dried rhizome and roots with not more than 5 p.c. of stem-bases or other foreign organic matter; United States, Georgia to Canada, west to Rocky Mountains.  Large perennial herb, 1 M. (40') high, branched, leaflets ovate, cordate, serrate; flowers small, greenish-yellow.  Rhizome, 12 Cm. (5') long, 5 Cm. (2') thick, scaly, pale brown, internally whitish, frequently cut longitudinally, nodes approximate, prominent stem-scars, 3 Cm. (1 1/5') broad, fracture fibrous; roots numerous, .5-.7 M. (20-30') long, 5-25 Mm. (1/5-1') thick; odor aromatic, taste mucilaginous, pungent, slightly acrid.  Powder, yellowish--starch grains, calcium oxalate rosettes, tracheae, lignified cells with walls showing simple pores (dist. fr. A. Nudicaulis); solvent: diluted alcohol; contains resin, volatile oil, starch, pectin.  Stimulant, diaphoretic, alterative; syphilis, chronic rheumatism and cutaneous affections; locally to sluggish ulcers.  Dose, gr. 30-60 (2-4 Gm.); 1.  Fluidextractum Araliae, (67 p.c. alcohol), dose, 3ss-1 (2-4 cc.).
 

Aralia spinosa

    Ara'lia spino'sa, Hercules' Club, Prickly Elder. -- The bark, U.S.P. 1820-1870; East and west N. America.  Prickly tree, 3-9 M. (10-30 degrees) high, leaflets crowded at summit; flowers white; bark in quills, curves, gray, prickly, inside yellowish, aromatic, acrid; contains araliin, volatile oil, resin.  Stimulant, diaphoretic, demulcent (emetic, cathartic), alterative; rheumatism, skin eruptions, syphilis, colic, dyspepsia, toothache, vomiting, nervousness; externally antidote to rattlesnake bites; in infusion, decoction, tincture, masticatory.  Dose, gr. 30-60 (2-4 Gm.)
 

Arctium

    Arc'tium Lap'pa, Lappa, Burdock Root, Clotbur, N.F. -- The dried first year root with not more than 5 p.c. of leaf-bases nor 2 p.c. of other foreign organic matter; Europe, N. Asia, naturalized in N. America -- rich waste places.  Coarse biennial weed .6-2 M. (2-6 degrees) high, branched; leaves cordate-oblong, dentate, rough, petiolate; flowers purple, calyx of imbricated scales with hooked extremities for adhering to objects; achenes (burs) 12-25 Mm (l/2-1') broad, globoidal, 3-angled; seed quadrangular; A. Mi'nus, heads small, involucre at first cottony, finally smooth; leaves unequally rounded at base.  Root .25-.8 M. (10-30') long, 5-20 Mm. (1/5-4/5') thick, nearly simple, fusiform, frequently split or broken, grayish-brown, longitudinally wrinkled, crown annulate, sometimes surmounted by woolly tuft of leaf remains; fracture somewhat horny; dark cambium separating thick brownish bark from yellowish, porous radiate wood, centrally hollow or with white pith-like tissue; odor slight pyroligneous on milling; taste mucilaginous, sweetish, slightly bitter.  Powder, light brown--parenchyma cells of cortex, medullary ray cells and wood parenchyma of young roots; few wood-fibers, no starch or calcium oxalate; solvents: diluted alcohol, boiling water partially; contains inulin, bitter extractive, resin, fat 9 p.c., mucilage, sugar, wax, tannin (phlobaphene), lappin, ash 6 p.c.  Diaphoretic diuretic, alterative aperient, depurative, rheumatism, gout, pulmonary catarrh, psoriasis, acne, syphilis, scrofula, urinary deposits, burns, wounds eruptions, swellings.  Dose, 3ss-2 (2-8 Gm.); 1.  Fluidextractum Lappae (diluted alcohol), dose 3ss-1 (2-8 cc.).  Tincture, 10 p.c. (Diluted alcohol, whisky), dose, 3ij-3 (8-12 cc.) After meals.  Fructus Lappae, Semen Bardanae, U.S.P. 1830; the seed about 6 Mm. (1/4') long, obovate-oblong, slightly curved, angular, flattened, roughish, brown-gray, mottled with black; inodorous taste oily, bitter; contains drying oil 15.4 p.c., resins 5.5 p.c., lappin;tincture 25 p.c. (75 p.c. alcohol), 3ss-2 (2-8 cc.); fluidextract, mxv-30 (1-2 cc. -- tonic); 3ss-1 (2-4 cc. --  alterative).  Fructus Silybi (Sil'ybum Maria'num), Mary Thistle; S. Europe; achenes 5 Mm. 1/5') long, not curved, obovate, flttened, smooth, glossy, light brown, with blackish striae, brownish; taste oily, bitter.  Bi'dens bipinna'ta, Spanish Needles, Beggar-lice; stem square, achenes triangular, barbed; stimulant, aromatic (vol. oil), antispasmodic, expectorant, diaphoretic; hay fever, amenorrhea (hot infusion), asthma, bronchitis.  Rudbeck'ia hir'ta, Yellow Daisy, Black-eyed Susan, Nigger-head; stimulating diuretic ("Eclectic's").
 
 

    Arctostaphylos Uva-ursi, (Linne') Sprengel.  The dried leaf with not more than 5 p.c. stems or other foreign organic matter.
    Habitat.  Europe, Asia, N. America, United States, south of New Jersey, westward to California, New Mexico; rocky or sandy soil--pine woods.
    Syn.  Bearberry, Red Bearberry, Upland (Mountain, Wild) Cranberry, Universe Vine, Mountain Box, Bear's Grape (Bilberry, Whortleberry), Barren Myrtle, Kinnikinnick, Fox (Meal) berry; Br. Uvae Ursi Folia; Fr. Busserole, Raisin d'Ours;
Ger. Barentraubenblatter.
    Arc-to-staph'y-los.  L. fr. Gr. ..., a bear, + ...  A bunch of grapes -- i.e., the roughness of the fruit and these berries occurring in clusters llike grapes.
    U'va-ur'si.  L. ..., a grape, + ursus, ursi, a bear, of a bear--bear-berry--i.e., berries are rough or bearish.
    PLANT. -- Low evergreen shrub; stem creeping, young branches rising obliquely upward several inches; flowers May, 3-15 together, pinkish-white, racemes, calyx reddish, corolla urceolate, reddish-white or white with red lips; fruit autumn, 6 Mm. (1/4') broad, fleshy, bright red berry, pericarp thick, 5-seeded, resembles currants in appearance and clusters.  LEAVES (LEAF), obovate, oblong-spatulate, 12-30 Mm. (1/2-l l/5') long, 5-13 Mm. (1/5-1/2') broad, entire, slightly revolute, apex obtuse, rounded, base cuneate, tapering into short, stout petiole; dark green, glaucous, shiny, finely reticulate; under surface yellowish-green slightly pubescent, especially on midrib, coriaceous; fracture short; odor aromatic, tea-like; taste astringent, somewhat bitter.   POWDER, olive-green--irregular fragments, epidermal cells polygonal, elliptical stomata surrounded by 5-18 neighboring cells, mesophyll with chloroplastids, irregular masses of carbohydrates, fibro-vascular bundles, spiral tracheae, sclerenchymatous fibers, crystal-fibers, cells with yellowish-brown content, bluish-black with ferric chloride T.S.  Tests:  1.  Cover over .1 Gm. (Powder) on watch-crystal with another watch-crystal, heat gently--crystalline sublimate (hydroquinone) forms in long rods, feather-like agregates, polarizing light with brilliant colors.  2.  Macerate 1 Gm. With boiling water 10 cc., shake occasionally until cold, filtrate with a few drops of ferrous sulphate T.S.--grayish-purple precipitate; collect in autumn.  Solvents: diluted alcohol; boiling water.  Dose, gr. 15-60 (1-4 Gm.).

[ILLUSTRATION] Arctostaphylos Usa-urvi.

    ADULTERATIONS. -- Vaccin'ium Vit'is-Idae'a, Wineberry, Cowberry, Red Whortleberry -- leaves resemble uva ursi, but blackish, bristly points on under surface, and V. Uligino'sum, Bog Whortleberry, Great Bilberry -- leaves crenate, much thinner, under surface pubescent; Den'drium (Leiophyl'lum) buxifo'lium, Sand Myrtle, N. J., southward; small shrub, leaves oval, shining, margin revolute, reticulate; Bux'us semper'virens, Box, Bush-tree Dudgeon, cultivated in gardens, leaves ovate narrower toward apex than near the base; contain buxine and parabuxine (both giving bitterness), tannin, volatile oil, bitter extractive; Epigar'a re'pens, Trailing Arbutus (Mayflower, Ground Laurel, Gravel Plant), and Chimaphila umbellata, Pipsissewa; leaves resemble and both contain the three active constituents of uva ursi; used in lithic acid gravel.  Dose, gr. 15-60 (1-4 Gm.).
    CONSTITUENTS. -- Arbutin.  C₁₂H₁₆O₇, Ericolin, C₃₄H₅₆O₂₂, Urson, C₁₀H₁₆O, Tannin 6-7 p.c., ericinol, C₁₀H₁₅O, gallic acid, ellagic acid, coloring matter, ash 3 p.c.
    Arbutin. -- A glucoside obtained by precipitating the decoction with lead subacetate, treating filtrate with hydrogen sulphide, and evaporating to crystallize.  It is in needles, bitter, soluble in alcohol or hot water, insoluble in ether, blue with diluted ferric chloride; with sulphuric acid yields glucose, arctuvin (hydroquinone), C₆H₆O₂.  Dose, gr. 3-5 (.2-.3 Gm.).
    Ericolin. -- This is left in the mother-liquor from arbutin; it is a bitter glucoside, yellow, soluble in water, alcohol; yields glucose and ericinol (volatile oil.

[ILLUSTRATION] Arctostaphylos Uva-ursi: Section of leaf epidermis (lower surface) showing large stomata.

    Urson. -- Crystalline principle, resinous, obtained by exhausting with ether, evaporating, recrystallizing from alcohol; occurs in tasteless needles, insoluble in water, sparingly in alcohol ether.
    PREPARATIONS. -- 1.  Fluidextractum Uvae Urssei.  Fluidextract of Uva Ursi.  (Syn., Fldext. Uvae Ursi, Fluid Extract of Uvae Ursi; Fr. Extrait fluide de Busserole; Ger. Barentraubenblatterfluidextrakt.)
    Manufacture: Similar to Fluidextractum Ergotae, page 63; lst menstruum: water 50 cc., alcohol 30, glycerin 10; 2d menstruum: 33 p.c. alcohol; reserve first 80 cc.  Dose, mxv-60 (1-4 cc.).
    Unoff. Preps.: Decoction, dose, 3j-2 (30-60 cc.).  Extractum Uvae Ursi (alcohol 30 p.c.), dose, gr. 5-15 (.3-1 Gm.).  Infusum Uvae Ursi (Br.), 5 p.c., dose, 3ss-2 (15-60 cc.).
    PROPERTIES. -- Astringent, diuretic, nephritic, tonic, disinfectant (due to the hydroquinone formed); large doses vomit, purge oxytocic.
    USES. -- Cystitis, gravel, chronic nephritis, urethritis, incontinence of urine, dysuria, strangury, uterine hemorrhage, gleet, leucorrhea, menorrhagia, urinary calculi, bronchitis, diarrhea, cardiac dropsy.
    Allied Plants:
    1.  Arctostaphylos glau'ca, Manzanita. -- California mountains, small tree; leaves 5 Cm. (2') long; contains arbutin, tannin 10 p.c., ash 6 p.c.  A. Polifo'lia and A. Mucrocif'era, Mexico; both used like uva ursi.
    Ar'eca Cat'echu, Areca Nut. -- East Indies; cultivated.  Large palm tree 15-18 M. (50-60 degrees) high, fruit orange-color, size of hen's egg, contains 1 seed (nut), roundish, conical, 25 Mm. (1') long, 9 Mm. (3/8') thick, brown, with many reddish veins, inside horny, white, odor faint, taste astringent; contains fat 14 p.c., tannin, resin, arecoline, C8H18O2N (poisonous, taenifuge), arecaine, guvacine; astringent, taenifuge.  Dose, 3ij-3 (8-12 Gm.

[ILLUSTRATION] Areca Catechu.
 

Argemone

    Argemo'ne mexica'na, Prickly Poppy. -- Capsules and leaves contain berberine, protopine (macleyine, fumarine), but no morphine; seed have a bland light yellow fixed oil 36 p.c.; substitute for castor oil.  Dose, mxv-45 (1-3 cc.).
 

Arisaema
    Arisae'ma (A'rum) triphyl'lum, Indian Turnip. -- The cormus, U.S.P. 1820-1860; N. America.  Plant acaulescent, leaves 2, 3-divided, 5-17.5 Cm. (2-7') long, 2.5-7.5 Cm. (1-3') wide.  Corm 2.5-5 Cm. (1-2') broad, brownish-gray, inside white, mealy, taste burning, acrid: contains volatile acrid principle, starch, fat, gum, resin, calcium oxalate (gives acridity).  Stimulant, expectorant, diaphoretic; irritant; colic, flatulence, asthma, whooping cough, chronic catarrh, rheumatism, bronchitis, aphthous sores, ringworm; in honey, syrup, ointment.  Dose, gr 5-15 (.3-1 Gm.).
 
 

    Aristolochia Serpentaria, (Linne'), reticulata,Nutall.  The dried rhizome and roots, with not more than 10 p.c. over-ground stems nor 2 p.c. other organic matter, yielding not more than 10 p.c. acid-insoluble ash.
    Habitat.  United States, in hilly woods: 1.  W. Pennsylvania, Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky.  2.  S. W. States, Louisiana to Texas. Kentucky.  2.  S. W. States, Louisiana to Texas.
    Syn.  Serpent., Virginia Snakeroot, Texas Snakeroot, Snakeroot (-weed), Serpentary, Sangrel, Snagrel, Sangree Root, Pelican Flower, Birthwort, Thick Birthwort; Br. Serpentariae, Rhizoma (radix), Serpentary Rhizome; Fr. Couleuvree de Virginie, Serpentaire (Viperine) de Virginie; Ger. Virginische Schlangenwurzel.
    Ar-is-to-lo'chi-a.  L.  See etymology, page 174, of Aristolochiaceae.
    Ser-pen-ta'ri-a.  L. Serpen(t)s, serpent -- i.e., having power of rendering harmless serpent bites.
    Re-tic-u-la'ta.  L. Reticulatus, fr. Rete, a net -- i.e., leaves strongly netted.
    Virginia Snakeroot.  Root from Virginia, once thought a valuable antidote for snake bites.
    PLANTS. -- Perennial herbs; stems sometimes several, slender, erect, zigzag, jointed .3 M. (1 degree) high, purple below; leaves cordate, ovate, 5-7.5 Cm. (2-3') long, pale green, entire; flowers June-July, few, purple, due to the calyx, which is tubular, inflated at both ends and bent like letter S; corolla absent; leaves (A. Serpentaria)--petiolate, pointed, thin, pubescent; leaves (A. Reticulata) -- subsessile, obtuse, thickish, reticulate, hairy.  RHIZOME, oblique, subcylindical, more or less curved, 10-30 Mm. (2/5-1 1/5') long,  1-2 Mm. (1/25-1/12')thick, dark brown, upper portion with short stem-bases, lower and lateral portions with many long, thin, nearly straight, yellowish-brown roots having 4-6-rayed stele (stem 6-10 fibro-vascular bundles); fracture short; internally yellowish-white, wood with broad, eccentric wedges; odor camphoraceous, terebinthinate; taste bitter, aromatic.  POWDER, grayish-brown -- numerous starch grains, .003-.018 Mm (1/8800-1/1885') broad, tracheae, wood-fibers, medullary ray cells, pith cells, occasionally few non-glandular hairs of the stem.  Solvents: alcohol; diluted alcohol; boiling water.  Dose, gr 5-30 (.3-2 Gm.).
    ADULTERATIONS. -- Rhizomes of: 1, Spigelia marylandica -- only slightly aromatic and bitter, no projecting stem-remnants, but indistinct, medullary rays in the wood; 2, Hydrastis canadensis -- yellow interior, odorless, oblique growth; 3, Aristolochia Serpentaria var. hasta'ta, S. Caroline, La. -- Leaves auriculate, stems smaller, more simple and slender; 4, Cypripedium hirsutum (pubescens), and C. Parviflorum -- scars circular, roots coarse; 5, Polemo'nium rep'tans -- resemble serpentaria, but nearly white; 6, Roots of Panax Quinquefolium, Ginseng.
    Commercial. -- Plants grow in rich shady woods from which the rhizomes are taken and dried, sometimes having been washed; enters market in bags, casks, more commonly bales of 100 pounds (45 Kg.), often mixed with leaves, stems and adhering earth.  There are two varieties: 1, Virginia Snakeroot (A. Serpentaria), exterminated practically from many former sections, and now largely from mountainous district, south of Pennsylvania and the Ohio River, being brought eastward chiefly by the routes of Wheeling and Pittsburgh; 2, Texas Snakeroot (Red River -- A. Reticulata), rhizome usually larger, roots fewer, thicker, less interlaced than preceding.
    CONSTITUENTS. -- Volatile oil .5-1 p.c., Aristolochine, Aristolochin (Clematitin, bitter principle), Serpentarin (bitter principle, poisonous), Resin 5 p.c., aristinic acid (resinous), tannin, starch, sugar, mucilage, Albumin, ash 11 p.c.
    Volatile Oil. -- Obtained by distilling with water; contains a terpene (probably pinene), C₁₀H₁₆ also borneol ester, C₁₈H₂₉O, 60 p.c., and a green or bluish-green fraction.
    Aristolochine, C₃₂H₂₂O₁₃N. -- Obtained by precipitating decoction     with lead acetate, exhausting precipitate with hot alcohol, evaporating, dissolving bitter principle (alkaloid) by shaking with water; it is yellow, amorphous or in needles; soluble in water, alcohol, ether, precipitated by tannin.
    PREPARATIONS. -- 1.  Tinctura Cinchonae Composita, 2 p.c.  2. Fluidextractum Serpentariae, N.F. (80 p.c. alcohol).  Dose, mv-30 (.3-2 cc.); 3.  Tinctura Serpentariae, N.F., 20 p.c. (67 p.c. alcohol).  Dose, 3ss-2    (30-60 cc.)
    Unoff. Prep.: Infusion, 5 p.c., dose, 3j-2 (30-60 cc.).
    PROPERTIES. -- Stimulant, tonic, diaphoretic, diuretic, emmenagogue,    aphrodisiac, antiperiodic; like calumba promotes appetite, digestion,    increases bronchial and intestinal secretions, heart action, mental exhilaration.  Large doses are irritant, causing vomiting, vertigo, colic, purging, tenesmus.
    USES. -- As a stimulating expectorant in typhoid pneumonia, exanthematous diseases, intermittents, dyspepsia, diphtheria.  Fluidextract good locally against poison-ivy rash.

[ILLUSTRATION] Serpentaria: rhizome with roots.  Rhizome: transverse section.
 

Armoracia rusticana

    Rori'pa (Cochlea'ria) Armora'cia, Armoraciae Radix, Horseradish Root. (Br. -- U.S.P. 1820-1850). -- The fresh root collected from cultivated plants; E. Europe, naturalized elsewhere.  Plant .6-1 M. (2-3 degrees)     high, in most places; leaves 20-30 Cm. (8012') long, 10-12.5 Cm. (4-5 ') wide, toothed; flowers white; fruit 2-celled pod, each 4-6-seeded; root 30     Cm.(12') long, 12-25 Mm. (1/2-1') thick, conical, yellowish, scaly, warty,     inside white, many stone cells, central pith, pungent odor when bruised; taste sharp, acrid; contains volatile oil .05 p.c. (Isomeric with mustard oil, C₃H₅CNS), resin.  Condiment, rubefacient, stimulant, diuretic; dyspepsia, rheumatism, dropsy, palsy, scurvy, hoarseness, voliting; in infusion, spirit (Spiritus Armoraciae Compositus (Br.), 12.5 p.c.), cataplasm.  Dose, gr. 20-30 (1.3-2 Gm.); spirit, 3j-2 (4-8cc.)
Roripa Armoracia: flower: 8,   Roripa Armoracia: leaves; a, Calyx; p, corolla; a, stamen, g. Fruit     Radical; b, cauline. carpel; n. stigma.
 

Arnica

    Ar'nica monta'na, Arnica (Flowers), Leopards-bane, N.F. -- The dried flower-head with not more than 3 p.c. of foreign organic matter; Europe -- Germany, N. Asia, N. America.  Perennial herb .3M (1 degree) high, hairy, striate; leaves bright green, pubescent -- radical oblong-ovate, entire -- cauline lanceolate; rhizome 5 Cm. (2') long, 2-4 Mm. (1/12-1/6') thick, brown wrinkled under surface with numerous fragile roots; achenes with hairy pappus.  Flower-heads, chiefly tubular, ligulate with involucre and receptable (convex, pitted, short-hairy); ray-flowers yellow, 3-toothed, pistillate; disk-flowers tubular, perfect, reddish-yellow, stamens without tail-like appendage (dist. From Inula Helenium -- with 2 bristles or long tails at the base); achenes fusiform, striate, glandular-pubescent, surmounted by long pappus of barbellate bristles; odor characteristic, agreeable; taste bitter, acrid.  Powder, yellowish-brown -- many pollen grains, 3 kinds of non-glandular hairs, 3 kinds of glandular hairs, pappus with multicellular axis and unicellular branches; solvents: diluted alcohol, hot water; contains arnicin (soluble in alcohol, alkalies) 4 p.c., volatile oil .04-.07 p.c., resin, fat, salt, arnidol (phytosterol), ash 6-9 p.c.  Stimulant, tonic, carminative, diuretic, irritant, sternutatory, vulnerary -- slows the heart, increases aarterial tension; large doses (poisonous) emetic, cathartic, causing abdominal pains, headache, increased pulse and respiration, finally dilated pupils, muscular spasms (rare), cold extremities, infrequent pulse, death -- resembling aconite -- best antidote: atropin; typhoid condition, brain concussion intermittents, diarrhea, gout, nephritis, rheumatism, dropsy, chronic catarrh, nervous affections -- locally: paralysis, sprains, bruises, abrasions.  Dose, gr. 5-20 (.3-1.3 Gm.); 1.  Fluidextractum Arnicae (67 p.c. alcohol), dose, mv-10 (.3-.6 cc.).  2.  Tinctura Arnicae, 20 p.c. (Diluted alcohol), dose mxv-45 (1-3 cc.).  Infusion, 5 p.c., 3ss-1 (15-30 cc.).  Fomentation. Rhizome--Decoction.  Extract--Plaster; Fluidextract, Tincture, all having same strength and doses as those from flower-heads.  A. folio'sa, A. alpi'na, and A. Chamisso'nis, California to Maine, produce closely resembling flower-heads.

[ILLUSTRATION] Arnica montana: 1, rhizome and stem; 2, flowering stem; 3, vertical section of disk-flower; 4, ray-floret.

[ILLUSTRATION] Arnica montana: Ar, rhizome; Arnica: transverse section of rhizome, n-w, roots natural size, and magnified 12 diam.

[ILLUSTRATION]  Maranta starch. Canna starch.
 

Arrowroot

    Maran'ta arundina'cea, Arrow-root. -- The fecula of the rhizome, U.S.P. 1820-1870' W. Indies, Bermudas, Brazil.  Plant slender, 1-2 M. (3-6 degrees) high, leaves 7.5-12.5 Cm. (3-5' ) long, lanceolate, flowers white, rhizome perennial, tuberous, fleshy, scaly, 15-30 Cm. (6-12') long.  Arrow-root in powder or lumps 4 Mm (1/6') thick, white, opaque; under microscope consists of oval granules of fine-lined layers, nucleus at broad end.  The rhizome when 1-2 years old is dug, washed, deprived of scales, ground under water, kneaded, strained, and the fecula allowed to subside; fresh rhizome yields starch 13-20 p.c.; root contains starch 27 p.c., fat .2 p.c.  Used as demulcent, nutritive food for infants, convalescents, bowel or urinary troubles; in 5 p.c. solution with water or milk by boiling and flavoring with vanilla, lemon juice, etc.; also used in puddings.  The jelly is more tenacious than that of all other starches, except Canna.
    Can'na ed'ulis, Canna (Tous-les-mois). -- The fecula of rhizome, U.S.P. 1860-1870; Peru, Brazil.  Perennial herb 2.5 M. (8 degrees) high; stem green; leaves parallel-veined, bluish-green; flowers few, in pairs, red; yellow, purple, bract; fruit round capsule, 12 Mm. (1/2') thick; rhizome creeping, fleshy, thick joints.  Canna starch white powder, satiny; under microscope granules largest of all, potato coming next, 1/12-1/8 Mm. (1/300-1/200') long, flat, ovate, hilum at narrow end, encircled by many unequally distant rings.  Grind rhizome under water, knead, strain, allow to subside.  Used as demulcent, nutritive food for urinary and bowel affections, infants, invalids in convalescence.
 

Artemisia abronatum

    A. Abrot'anum, Southern-wood, Old Man. -- Asia, Europe; hairy, segments of the pinnatifid leaves capillaceous, lemon odor.  A. Vulga'ris, Mugwort, Africa, Europe, spontaneous in United States; stem purple; epilepsy, amenorrhea.  A. gnaphalo'des (A. Ludovicia'na var. gnaphalo'des), Western Mugwort, Mich. To Oregon; febrifuge.  A. Abyssin'ica, Abyssinia; has woolly involucre, whitish florets; aromatic odor.

[ILLUSTRATION] Artimisia absinthium

    Artemisia Absin'thium, Absinthium, Wormwood. -- The dried leaves and flowering tops with not more than 5 p.c. of foreign matter, U.S.P. 1830-1890; Europe, N. Asia, N. Africa.  Perennial herb; stem .6-1 M. (2-3 degrees) high.  Leaves, 2.5-7.5 Cm. (1-3') long, hoary, grayish-green; flowers, in heads, racemose, subglobose, with involucre, receptacle convex, hairy; florets yellow; fruit achene, obovoid without pappus; odor aromatic; taste very bitter.  Powder, brownish, yellowish-green; solvents: diluted alcohol, water partially; contains volatile oil 1 p.c., absinthin, anabsinthin, tannin, resin, absinthic (succinic) acid, salts, ash 7-10 p.c.  Tonic,  stomachic, stimulant, febrifuge, anthelmintic; used for atonic dyspepsia, lumbricoid worms; oil in form of absinthe liqueur (oil + anise + alcohol) as a narcotic, stimulant in cerebral exhaustion, alone locally as an anesthetic for rheumatism, neuralgia.  Dose, gr. 15-60 (1-4 Gm.); infusion, 5 p.c., 3j-2 (30-60 cc.; tincture, 20 p.c. (diluted alcohol), 3j-2 (4-8 cc.)
 
 

    Santoninum.  Santonin, C₁₅H₁₈O₃, U.S.P.
    Artemisia pauciflora, (Ledebour) Weber.  (The inner anhydride (lactone) of santoninic acid, obtained from the dried unexpanded flower-heads (santonica).
    Habitat.  N. Turkestan, Russia, on the vast plains of Kirghis.
    Syn. Levant Wormseed, Aleppo, Alexandria or European Wormseed, tartarian Southern Wood, Semen Santonici -- Cinae -- Sanctum -- Contra; Anhydrous Santoninic Acid; Fr. Semen-contra d'Alep, Barbotine; Santonine, Lactone santonique; Ger. Flores Cinae, Zitwerbluten(samen), Wurmsamen; Santonin.
    Ar-te-mis'i-a.  L. Fr. Gr. ... The goddess; Roman Diana, to whom Artemisia Absinthium was dedicated, owing to its use in hastening puberty.
    Pau-ci-flo'ra.  L. Paucus, few, + florus, flower -- i.e., has few blooms, mostly only buds.
    San-ton'i-ca.  L. Santonicus, pertaining to the Santoni, people of Aquitania (Gr. ...their wormwood), named in commemoration, which name survives to the place Saintes, in France.
    PLANT. -- Small, semi-shrubby, perennial, with knotty, fibrous root-stocks, branching from crown, from which many erect, flowering stems arise, .3 M. (1 degree) high; stems 6-8, woolly or glabrous, at first leafy; leaves bipinnatisect, 12 Mm. (1/2') long, woolly when young, afterward grayish.  Flowers, 2-4 Mm. 1/12-1/6') long, 1 Mm. 1/25') wide, oblong-ovoid, slightly flattened, obtuse, smooth, glossy, grayish-green, after exposure to light -- brownish-green, consisting of an involucre of 12-18 closely imbricated, glandular scales, with broad midribs, enclosing 4-5 rudimentary florets; odor strong, peculiar, camphoraceous; taste aromatic, bitter.  Solvents: diluted alcohol; hot water partially.  Dose, gr. 15-60 (1-4 Gm.).
    CONSTITUENTS. -- Santonin 2.5-3.5 p.c., volatile oil 2-3 p.c., artemisin, C₁₅H₁₈O₄ (in santonin mother-liquor, recrystallizing pure form chloroform), resin, gum, ash 7 p.c.
    Santoninum.  Santonin. -- Discovered in 1830, and may be obtained by mixing powdered santonica (5) with slaked lime (1), exhausting with hot water, concentrating filtered solution containing calcium santonate, decomposing with hydrochloric acid, giving calcium chloride in solution, and santonin precipitated along with resinous matter, from which freedom may be obtained by washing with dilute ammonia water, or recrystallizing from hot alcohol.  It is in colorless, shining, flattened rhombic prisms, crystalline powder, odorless, nearly tasteless at first, afterward developing bitterness, permanent; yellow on exposure to light, which may be converted into colorless crystals by recrystallization from alcohol, soluble in alcohol (43), boiling alcohol (6.5), chloroform (1.7), ether (110), slightly in water or boiling water; solutions levorotatory, melts at 170 degrees C. (338 degrees F.).  Tests: 1.  Heat .2 Gm. with 2 cc. of alcoholic potassium hydroxide T.S. -- red color; incinerate--ash .1 p.c.  2.  Shake .01 Gm. with a cooled mixture of sulphuric acid and distilled water, each 1 cc., heat to boiling, add 1 drop of dilute ferric chloride solution (1 in 10)--violet color.   Impurities: Alkaloids, readily carbonizable organic substances.  Should be kept dark, in wellclosed containers.  Dose, gr. 1-4 (.06-.26 Gm.); child, gr. 1/4-1 (.016-.06 Gm.).
    Volatile Oil. -- Obtained by distilling with water or steam; yellowish, disagreeable odor; consists mainly of cineol, C₁₀H₁₈O, some dipentene, sp. gr. 0.0930, when shaken with iodine get greenish crystals.
    ADULTERATIONS. -- SANTONICA: Mustard hulls (large brown fragments recognized by microscope), exhausted birch bark. SANTONIN: Salicin, boric acid, strychnine, picric acid.  With Sulphuric acid at first colorless (abs. of salicin, which turns red).  Boric acid insoluble in chloroform, non-volatile--green color to alcohol flame, and heated upon foil--glassy mass, the solution of which turns turmeric paper brown.  Picric acid--explodes by heat or percussion; forms yellow salts and precipitates gelatin in aqueous solution.
    Commercial. -- The source Artemisia marit'ima var. pauciflora is preferred by some writers, although it has escaped far from its original maritime habitat.  Flowers exposed to light and air soon become brown and inactive, hence should be preserved in tight containers.  There are two varieties: 1, Aleppo, Alexandria, Levant, collected July-August, forwarded to the great fair of Nizhnee-Novgorod, and thence to market via Moscow, Leningrad (Petrograd, St. Petersburg), W. Europe; 2, Barbary (A. Siebe'ri, + A. Ramo'sa), rarely met here, as it (flowerheads) does not contain santonin.
    PREPARATIONS. -- 1.  Tabellae Santonini, F.F., gr. ½ (.03 Gm.) each --santonin 3 Gm., gluside .06 cocoa 6, sucrose 21, tr. vanill. 1.5 cc.: compress 100 tablets, dose, 1-2 tablets.  2.  Tabellae Santonini Compositae, n.f., ½ gr. (.03 Gm.) Each--santonin 3 Gm., mild mercurous chloride 3, gluside .06, cocoa 6, sucrose 18, tr. vanill. 1.5 cc.: compress 100 tablets, dose, 1-2 tablets.  As both tablets suggest candy, physicians should not morder more than 3, since 2 gr. (.13 Bm.) Has caused the death of a 5-year-old child.
    Unoff. Preps.: FLOWER-HEADS; Electuary.  Extract.  Infusion.  SANTONIN:   Trochiscus Santonini (Br.) 1 gr. (.06 Gm.).  Sodium Santoninas, U.S.P. 1880, gr. 2-10 (.13-.6 Gm.).  Trochisci Sodii Santoninatis, U.S.P. 1880, 1 gr. (.06 Gm.), 1-4 troches.  Santoninic Acid, gr. 1-4 (.06-.26 Gm.).
    PROPERTIES. -- Anthelmintic, stimulant, emmenagogue.  The Crusaders introduced santonica into Europe, and it has been used there ever since, mostly now as santonin.  It is absorbed as sodium santoninate, and eliminated by the kidneys; large doses dilate pupils, causse gastric oppression, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, thirst, cold, clammy skin, giddiness, cerebral congestion, yellow vision (xanthopsia) changing to purplish-red, convulsions, death.  Santonin in gr. 5 (.3 Gm.) doses is a strong diuretic imparting to normal acid urine a saffron color (as does rhubarb), which, by age, hence alkalinity, becomes violet-purple.
    USES: -- For round worms (Ascaris lumbricoides), sometimes for thread-worms (Oxyu'ris vermicula'ris), but never for tape-worm.  Santonin kills the round worms that inhabit the small intestine; therefore, purgatives having specific action here should be selected.  Give the powder in honey, molasses, to which calomel of jalap has been added, at bedtime, having fasted that day; follow this next morning, before food, with a draught of senna (infusion) or a dose of castor oil; a suppository is serviceable for thread-worms; may reserve entire cathartic until next morning if desirable.  Useful in incontinence of urine, eye affections due to inflammatory changes of optic nerve and retina.  Never give to children with fever nor while constipated, owing to possible toxic results, which are combatted by ammonia, strychnine, eliminants, artificial respiration.  A. Ramo'sa, Barbary Wormseed, N. E. Africa -- unexpanded flower-heads rounder than those of A. Auciflora, and covered
with whitish down, by which they may readily be recognized; Indian Wormseed, Europe, are only half the size of santonica, hairy and more yellow; American Wormseed (Chenopodium), in spite of slight resemblance, are often substituted for santonica.
 

Asagraea (Cebadilla)

    Asagrae'a officina'lis, Sabadilla, Cevadilla; Veratrina, Veratrine, Veratria, N.F. -- A misture of alkaloids obtained from the seed; Mexico.  Bulvous perennial herb; bulb ovoid covered with black scales; scape 1.2-1.5 M. (4-5 degrees) high; fruit 3-celled capsule (follicle).  Seed 6 Mm (1/4') long, dark brown, fusiform; contains veratrine (cevadine, veratridine, cevadilline, sabadine, sabadinine), angelic acid, methyl-crotonic acid, cevadic acid, veratric acid, fixed oil, ash 3.5 p.c.
    Veratrina. Veratrine, C₃₇H₅₃O₁₁N. -- This mixture of alkaloids is obtained by exhausting seed with alcohol, evaporating to syrupy consistency, adding water to remove resin, oil, coloring matter, etc., precipitating the filtrate containing veratrine veratrate with ammonia water in excess; or may boil alcoholic extract in acidulated water (HEI or H₂SO₄), decompose with magnesium oxide, take up alkaloids with acidified alcohol, evaporate, filter through animal charcoal, precipitate with ammonia water.  Commercial or medicinal veratrine usually consists of veratrine, cevadine (most important, sternutatory, with potassium hydroxide splitting into methyl-crotonic acid and amorphous cevine, C₂₇H₄₃O₈N, veratridine, cevadilline (amorphous, insoluble in ether, benzene), sabadine (non-sternutatory, crystallizes from ether in needles and, like the preceding alkaloids, is colored yellow, then red by sulphuic acid), sabadinine (resembles sabadine, but turns red at once with sulphuric acid), and their derivatives.  It is a white, grayish-white, amorphous powder, odorless, but causing intense irritation and sneezing; slightly hygroscopic, soluble in water (1760), hot water (1345), alcohol 2.8), chloroform (.7), ether (4.2), insoluble in purified petroleum benzin; alcoholic solution alkaline; with sulphuric acid--yellow, orange-red, greenish fluorescence, intensified by sulphuric acid; alcoholic solution + platinic chloride T.S.--clear (abs. of foreign alkaloids).  Sedative, powerful irritant, sternutatory, errhine, great depressant, reduces force and rate of pulse; externally--muscular and articular rheutmatism, neuralgia, sciatica, headache, pneumonia.  Poisoning: same as aconite.  Must be cautious in handling it--never use on abraded surface, and should be kept dark, in well-closed containers.  Dose, gr. 1/32-1/12 (.002-.005 Gm.--seldom given internally); 1.  Oleatum Veratrinae, 2 p.c.; 2.  Unguentum Veratrinae, 4 p.c.

[ILLUSTRATION] Asagraea officinalis: a,  Fruit-bearing stem; b, root, bulb, and leaves.  Sabadilla: a, fruit, natural size; b. seed and longitudinal section, magnified.
 

Asarum

As'arum canaden'se, Asarum, Canada Snake-root, Wild Ginger, N.F.  The dried rhizome and roots with not more than 5 p.c. of foreign organic matter, North America.  Small plant with dividing stem; leaves 2, reniform; flowers brownish-purple, woolly; fruit capsule, 6-celled.  Rhizome 5-17 Cm. (207') long, 2-4 Mm. (1/12-1/6') thick, 2-edged (young), quadrangular (old), finely striate, nodes with irregular scars, internodes with annular scars, purplish-brown, fracture short, whitish, few starchy or resinous roots; odor ginger-like or recalling serpentaria, non-irritating upon heating; taste pungent, bitter.  Powder, brownish -- starch grains, tracheae, epidermal tissue, parenchyma and numerous oil cells; contains volatile oil 1.5-3.5 p.c., resin, asarin.  Stimulant, carminative, tonic, diaphoretic, diuretic; whooping cough, colic, febrile affections.  Dose, gr. 30 (2 Gm.); 1. Syrupus Asari Compositus, 6.2 p.c., + fldext. Ipecac 3/10 p.c., potassium carbonate 1/4 p.c., + dose, 3ss-1 (2-4 cc.).  Infusion.  Tincture.
 

Asclepias curassavica

    Ascle'pias curassav'ica, Bastard Ipecac. -- C. And S. America; has short rootstock abruptly divided into many yellowish rootlets.
 

Asclepias incarnata

    Ascle'pias incarna'ta, Swamp Milkweed. -- The root (rhizome), U.S.P. 1820-1830, 1840-1850, 1870; Canada, United States.  Perennial herb, smooth or pubescent, .6-1 M. (2-3 degrees) high, with 2 downy lines above; very leafy; leaves lanceolate, cordate base, 10-17.5 Cm. (4-7') long, 2.5-5 Cm. (1-2') wide; flowers rose-purple, sweet-scented; root 2.5 Cm. (1') long, knotty, oblong, brownish, bark thin, central pith, sweet, then acrid bitter, emits milky uice when wounded; contains volatile oil, 2 acrid resins, asclepiadin.  Alterative, emetic, cathartic, diuretic, like Asclepias tuberosa; decoction, infusion, tincture.  Dose, gr. 15-40 (1-2.6 Gm.).
 

Asclepias syriaca

    Ascle'pias syri'aca, Common Milkweed, Silkweed. -- The root (rhizome), U.S.P. 1820-1850, 1870; United States.  Herb 1-1.5 M. (3-5 degrees) high, stout, pubescent, finely soft; leaves oblong, 10-20 Cm. (4-8') long, downy beneath; flowers large, purplish-white, sweet-scented, hoods ovate with a tooth each side of stout, claw-like horn; fruit prickly pods containing much silky seed-down; root 2.5-15 Cm. (1-6') long, 6-12 Mm (1/4-1/2') thick, in sections, wrinkled, knotty, brownish; bark tough, thick, with laticiferous vessels, wood-wedges yellow, bitter, nauseous; contains asclepion (tasteless), bitter, crystalline principle, caoutchouc (6 p.c. of milk-juice), resin, tannin, starch.  Used like preceding, also to coat over wounds, ulcers, etc., to promote cicatrization.  Dose, gr. 15-40 (1-2.6 Gm.).  A. curassav'ica, Bastard Ipecacuanha, C. and S. America; flowers bright red; the glossy seed-hairs, called vegetable silk, firmer than the preceding; contains asclepiadin; used natively as we do Asclepias tuberosa.
 

Asclepias tuberosa

    Ascle'pias tubero'sa, Asclepias, Pleurisy Root, N.F. -- Asclepiadaceae.  The dried root with not more than 5 p.c. of foreign organic matter; United States, Canada.  Perennial plant with numerous stems .6-1 M. (2-3 degrees) high, hairy, green or reddish, differing from other asclepiades in not emitting milky juice; flowers beautiful orange-red.  Root, irregularly fusiform, 10-20 Cm (4-8') long, .5-5 Cm. (1/5-2') thick, occasionally branched, usually in pieces; orange-brown, annulate above, numerous intersecting grooves; bark thin; fracture tough, granular and white, yellowish wood bundles and medullary rays; odor slight; taste bitterish, disagreeable, acrid.  Powder, yellowish-brown -- many starch grains, calcium oxalate rosettes, abundant parenchyma cells, many filled with starch grains; stone cells, tracheae, bordered pores, few fibers; solvent: diluted alcohol; contains asclepiadin--the active glucoside, volatile oil,, 2 resins, mucilage, starch, tannin, ash 9 p.c.  Diaphoretic, expectorant, carminative, sudorific, anodyne, irritant, large doses emetic, cathartic; pleurisy (hence name), pneumonia, consumption, rheumatism of chest, colic, dyspepsia, asthma, scrofula, ulcers, wounds.  Dose, gr. 15-30 (1-2 Gm.); 1.  Fluidextractum Asclepiadis (diluted alcohol), dose, 3ss-1 (2-4 cc.).
 

    Dryopteris Filix-mas, (Linne) Schott.  The rhizome and stipes, yielding not less than 6.5 p.c. oleoresin, nor more than 3 p.c. acid-insoluble ash.
    Habitat.  N. America, N. Asia, Europe, N. Africa.  (Canada, westward to Rocky   Mountains, Mexico, S. America, Andes, Himalaya Mountains, Polynesian Islands.).
    Syn.  Male Fern, Male Shield Fern, Bear's Paw Root, Sweet Brake, Knotty Brake,  Shield Root; Br. Filix Mas, Radix Filicus maris; Fr. Foug're male; Ger. Rhizoma Filicis,  Farnwursel, Wurmfarn, Waldfarn, Johanniswurzel.
    Dry-op'te-ris.  L. Fr. Gr. ..., of the oak, growing among trees in thickets, +...,  a feather, wing, or fern -- i.e., their favored place of growth.
    Fil'ix-mas'.  L. Filix, a fern, fr. Gr...., a fern, frond, etc., + mas, male -- i.e., referring to  its assexual fructification.
   As-pid'i-um.  L. Fr. Gr...., a little shield -- i.e., shape of the indusium.
    PLANT. -- Tall, handsome, perennial fern; frond .3-1 M. (1-3 degrees) high or long, bipinnate, pinnae lanceolate, circular fruit dots situated on the veins, near the midrib, covererd by a heart-shaped indusium.  RHIZOME, horizontal, 15-30 Cm. (6-12') long, 5-7.5 Cm. (2-3') thick, covered with stipe-bases, "fingers," which remain green several years and often constitute
the greater bulk of the official drug; when peeled (deprived of stipes, roots) the rhizome itself is 7.5-15 Cm. (3-6') long, 1-3 Cm. (2/5-1 1/5') thick, cylindraceous, nearly straight, or curved, tapering toward one end, usually split longitudinally, roughly scarred with remains of the stipe bases, or bearing several coarse longitudinal ridges and grooves; stipes nearly cylindrical but tapering toward one end, nearly straight or somewhat curved, 3-5 Cm. (1 1/5-2') long, 8 Mm. (1/3') thick; brownish-black, if peeled -- light brown; fracture short, pale green (inner half), spongy, exhibiting an interrupted circle of 6-12 small vascular bundles (steles); odor slight; taste sweetish, astringent, bitter, acrid.  POWDER. Greenish, brownish -- must be prepared freshly. Solvents: alcohol; acetone; ether -- extracting filicic acid, filicin, volatile oil, resin, chlorophyll, fixed oil, all occurring in the official oleoresin.  Dose, 3ss-2 (2-8 Gm.).
    ADULTERATIONS. -- Rhizomes of many indigenous ferns (chiefly Osmunda species) resembling the official, although such are thinner, free from chaff, and have stipes rarely closely imbricate, but when peeled and mixed practically defy detection; composition and properties Are less subject to change in the unpeeled, while adulterations are recognized more easily; carelessness often renders the drug unreliable.
    Commercial. -- The "uncomminuted rhizome" covered with stipes (fingers) should be collected when strongest, autumn, freed from roots and dead portions of rhizome and stipes (only such parts being retained as have green fracture), dried at 70 degrees C. (120 degrees F.), and quickly made into preparations, as it deteriorates rapidly, usually becoming inert in 1-2 years; soil and climate have greater influence upon amount of filicic acid than time of collection, etc., the richest yield being from plants growing on strata of volcanic origin.
    CONSTITUENTS. -- Filicic acid 5-10 p.c., Filicin 19-31 p.c. (Rohfilicin) fixed oil 6-7 p.c., filitannic acid 10 p.c., filix red, chlorophyll, volatile oil, 2 resins, ash 3 p.c.  Bohm isolates aspidin (2-3 p.c.), albaspidin, aspidimin, aspidinol, and flavaspidic acid, and claims virtue to be chiefly in aspidin and filicic acid combined; Kraft and Jaquet believe the virtue to reside in filmaron.  Dose, gr. 7-10 (.5-.6 Gm.).
    Filicic (Filicinic) Acid, C₃₅H₄₂O₁₃. -- Most active constituent, white, amorphous or crystalline, tasteless, more soluble than its anhydride, poisonous.  Dose, gr. 10-20 (.6-1.3 Gm.).
    Filicin (Filicic Anhydride), C₃₅H₄₀O₁₂. -- Yellowish-white, non-poisonous, inactive, crystalline, soluble in most solvents except aqueous; yields with fusing potassium hydroxide butyric acid and phloroglucin.
    PREPARATIONS. -- 1.  Oleoresina Aspidii.  Oleoresin of Aspidium.  (Syn., Oleores, Aspid., Oleoresin of Male Fern, Oil of Fern; Br. Extractum Filicis Liquidum, Oleum Filicis Maris; Fr. Extrait (oleo resineux) de Fougere male; Ger. Extractum Filicis, Farnextrakt, Wurmfarn-extrakt, Wurmfarnol.)
    Manufacture: Percolate slowly, in a covered glass percolator, 100 Gm. with ether, added in successive portions, until exhausted; reclaim most of the ether on water-bath, transfer residue to a dish, allow remaining ether to evaporate spontaneously in a warm place; yield 10-15 p.c. (acetone 18 p.c.).  It is a dark green, thick liquid containing filicic acid 5-10 p.c., some of which deposits in granular crystals on standing, and must be mixed thoroughly with the liquid portion before dispensing.  Should be preserved in well-stoppered bottles.  Dose, 3ss-1 (2-4 cc.); more than 3iss (6 cc.) is dangerous, while death has occurred from 3vj (24 cc.).
    Unoff. Preps.: Extract, gr. 15-30 (1-2 Gm.).  Fluidextract, 3j-2 (4-8 cc.)
    PROPERTIES.--Taenifuge, tonic, astringent, poisonous.
    USES. -- This was known to the ancients as a vermifuge, being mentioned by Discorides, Galen, Pliny, Theophrastus, etc.  In 1775 the King of France bought and made public this secret tapeworm remedy from the Swiss surgeon Nouffer's widow.  In 1775 the King of France bought and made public this secret tapeworm remedy from the Swiss surgeon Nouffer's widow. It is next to pelletierine in reliability, and valuable in uncinariasis. In giving it for tapeworm, the patient should fast the previous day, being nourished only by a little bread and milk; at night take 3j (30 cc.) of castor oil, to expel nidus, and on the following morning a full dose of oleoresin, still fasting, and 2 hours later a full dose of Epsom salt; a full dose of calomel, jalap, gamboge, or saline enema may also clear away the dead worm.
    Poisoning: Excessive doses may produce gastro-enteritis, abdominal pain,muscular relaxation, vomiting, purging, somnolence, albuminuria, glycosuria, paralysis, temporary blindness, convulsions, collapse, coma, death.  Strong coffee, tea, tannin, empty stomach if vomiting has not been free (zinc sulphate, mustard, etc.), cardiac and respiratory stimulants--brandy, whisky, aromatic spirit of ammonia, strychnine, atropine, digitalis, morphine, artificial heat--avoid castor oil.
    Allied Plants:
    1. Dryopteris margina'lis. -- Canada, United States, Rhizome, U.S.P. 1880-1910, similar to that of D. Filix-mas, except it has 6 steles instead of 10-20, and the round fruit dots are nearer the margin than the midrib.  D. Rig'ida (Aspidium rig'idum); S. Europe, California.  Rhizome longer, thinner, with 6 vascular bundles. D. athaman'tica (A. athaman'ticum): S. Africa.  Rhizome thicker, firmer than official, inside brownish, with black resin dots, broader vascular bundles.

[ILLUSTRATION] Aspidosperma (one'half natural size).
 

Aspidosperma

    Aspidosper'ma Quebra'cho-blan'co, Aspidosperma, Quebracho Bark.  -- The dried bark with not more than 2 p.c. of wood or other foreign matter, U.S.P. 1890-1910; S. America, Argentine Republic, Chile.  Evergreen tree, 25-30 M. (80-100 degrees) high, drooping branches; wood brownish; leaves lanceolate, small, coriaceous, rigid, glaucous; flowers campanulate, yellowish, 5's; fruit dehiscent capsule, pericarp thick, woody.  Bark, in irregular pieces, 5-14 Cm. (2-6') long, 10-35 Mm. (2/5-1 2/5') thick, 2-layers -- outer corky, 3-25 Mm. (1/8-1') thick, reddish-brown, deeply furrowed, frequently reticulate with longitudinal and shallow transverse fissures; outer surface of bark (after removing cork) reddish-brown, rough, inner surface yellowish-brown, sometimes with adhering wood, striate, porous; fracture short, fibrous, revealing 2 well-defined strata of near equal thickness marked with dots, stone cells and striae; nearly inodorous; taste bitter, slightly aromatic.  Powder, reddish-brown -- bast-fibers, crystal-fibers, stone cells, cork cells, starch grains; solvent: diluted alcohol; contains aspidospermine, aspidospermatine, aspidosamine (amorphous), quebrachine, quebrachimine, hypoquebrachine (amorphous), quebrachit (sugar), tannin 3-4 p.c.  Cardiac and respiratory stimulant, slows and deepens breathing, antispasmodic, antiperiodic -- poisonous, death from asphyxia, solutions protective to wounds; cardiac and asthmatic dypsnea, phthisis, asthma from bronchitis or chronic pneumonia, shortness of breath.  Dose, gr. 15-30 (1-2 Gm.); Fluidextract, Extract, Tincture, 20 p.c., Wine. Quebracho Colorado (Loxopteryg'ium Lorent'zii -- Red Quebracho). -- S. America, Bark checkered, wood red, light brown (Colorado); contains tannin 20 p.c., loxopterygine; resinous exudation of bark resembles kino; resembles aspidosperma but deeper color, largely used in tanning. Quebracho flo'ja (Iodi'na rhombifo'lia), S. America, and Copalchi Bark (Croton ni'vens), Mexico.  All three collected and sold as aspidosperma.
 

    Astragalus gummifer, Labrillardie're, or other Asiatic species.  The dried gummy exudation.
    Habitat.  W. Asia -- Asia Minor, Armenia, Kurdistan, Persia, Syria, Greece; mountainous
 districts.
    Syn.  Trag., Gum Tragacanth, Goat's Thorn Gum, Doctor's Gum, Hog Gum; Fr.  Gomme Adragante; Ger. Traganth.
    Astrag'a-lus.  L. fr. Gr. ..., bone, + ..., milk -- i.e., the milky then horny exudation, or  from the seed squeezed into a square-like form similar to vertebrae (...) in some  species.
    Gum'mif-er.  L. gummi, gum, + ferre, to bear -- i.e., plant produces gum.
    Trag-a-can'tha.  L. fr. Gr....A goat, + ..., thorn -- a goat thorn -- i.e., plant thorny like  goat's head, and hedges made of it resist their onslaughts.
    Trag'a-canth, natively called first: "gum adragant," then "gum dragant," next "gum  dragan," finally "gum dragon."
    PLANT. -- Shrub .6-1 M. (2-3 degrees) high; stem naked with many stragglling, much ramified branches; bark reddish-gray, rough, and marked with leaf-scars, young twigs woolly; leaves 3 Cm. (1 1/5') long, closely placed, pinnate, rachis hard, stiff, persistent for some years as a woody spine, yellow, very sharp-pointed; leaflets 10-15 pairs, 3 Mm. (1/8') long, obovate, grayish-green; flowers small, pale yellow; stamens 10, upper one free, others united in a sheath; fruit small, oblong pod, covered with white hairs; seed 1, reniform, smooth, pale brown.  GUM (tragacanth), in flattened, lamellated, frequently curved fragments, straight or spirally twisted pieces, .5-2.5 Mm. (1/50-1/16') thick, whitish, brownish, translucent, horny; fracture short, rendered more easily pulverizable by heat (50 degrees C.; 122 degreesF.); inodorous; taste insipid, mucilaginous.  POWDER, whitish, forming with water a translucent mucilage -- numerous starch grains, .003-.025 Mm. (1/8325-1/1000') broad, occasional 2-4 compound, many swollen and more or less altered, due to excessive heat used in drying before powdering, by which it loses 15 p.c.  Tests: 1. Add 1 Gm. To 50 cc. of distilled water -- swells and forms a smooth, nearly uniform, stiff, opalescent mucilage free from cellular fragments (Indian gum -- uneven mucilage with few reddish-brown fragments, separating on stirring in coarse, uneven strings).  2.  Shake 2 Gm. with 100 cc. of water, when fully swollen and free from lumps add 2 Gm. Of powdered sodium borate, shake until dissolved -- mucilage does not lose transparency, change consistency, or appear slimy or stringy on pouring, even after standing 24 hours (abs. of foreign gums).  3.  Boil 1 Gm. with water 20 cc. until a mucilage results, add hydrochloric acid 5 cc. Boil for 5 minutes -- no pink or red color develops (abs. of Indian gum).  Solvents: hot water; cold water best. Dose, gr. 5-30 (.3-2 Gm.).

[ILLUSTRATION]  Astragalus gummifer - natural size of branch).

    ADULTERATIONS. -- Cherry Gum (cherry, almond, plum, etc.) -- in irregular brownish nodules, insoluble portion not identical with bassorin; Indian (Bassora, Kutera, Hogg) Gum, Persia -- broken up in Smyrna and mixed with tragacanth; occurs in yellowish-brown (sometimes whitened with lead carbonate), angular, tasteless masses, swelling with water; Cashew Gum -- brownish-yellow, translucent, iridescent, partly soluble in water.
    Commercial. -- Tragacanth is not a simple plant juice, but a degenerative product due to the transformation of the cell-walls of pith and medullary rays in the stem and older branches, and exudes spontaneously, July-August, through natural, or artificial punctures, longitudinal and transverse incisions (near the base of stem) into the medullary part which alone yields juice; it only flows at night, the shape of opening and rate determining its final congealed outline, the time of hardening for collection (1-2 weeks, dry weather 3-4 days) governing its color -- white if congealed rapidly, yellow to brown if slowly, from long exposure to changeable weather--heavy rains darkening and washing it off upon the ground causing admixture of impurities; the surface lines indicate the daily concretion while the whiter and more translucent possess greatest value.  There are several varieties: 1.  Flake (Leaf, Smyrna), usually in broad, thick, yellowish flakes, prominently ridged; the ribbon-like and white flakes are produced in Kurdistan, Persia, often being designated as Syrian; 2, Vermiform (Vermicelli), in very narrow contorted string-like pieces, or confluent coils; 3, Common (Sorts), called in Europe traganton, being the result of spontaneous exudation and incidental collection while gathering higher grades; occurs in tear-like pieces, rounded or irregular, brownish, waxy, and, like the preceding varieties, encloses starch.  Enters commerce from ports of Asia Minor (Smyrna, Constantinople), Persian Gulf, Bagdad, etc.
    CONSTITUENTS. -- Cellulose, Soluble gum, Bassorin (traganthin, adraganthin), C₁₂H₁₀O₁₀, Polyarabinantrigalactan-geddic acids, Starch nitrogenous matter, a-tragacanthan-xylan-bassoric acid, xylan-bassoric acid, bassoric acid, -tragancanthan-xylan-bassoric acid, ash 3.5 p.c. (more than one-half being calcium carbonate).
    Cellulose. -- The portion of gum insoluble in boiling water, in cold diluted acids and aklalies; when treated with boiling diluted sulphuric acid yields arabinose, and a cellulosic residue which is soluble in ammonia and bromine.
    Soluble Gum. -- Not identical with arabin, although its solution is precipitated by alcohol and ammonium oxalate; yields a series of gum acids having the nature of the "geddic acids." but are levorotatory, whereas geddic acids are dextrorotatory.
    Bassorin. -- This is an acid-soluble in hydrochloric acid, ammonia water; when acted upon by an excess of alkali yields a barium salt and two isomeric acids -- a- and -tragacanthan-xylan-bassoric acid, the former soluble in cold water and yielding sparingly soluble salts of barium, calcium and silver; when digested with diluted sulphuric acid yields trgacanthose and xylan-bassoric acid, which when further acted on by 5 p.c. sulphuric acid yields xylan and bassoric acid.
    PREPARATIONS. -- 1.  Mucilago Tragacanthae.  Mucilage of Tragacanth.  (Syn., Mucil, Trag.; Fr. Mucilage de Gomme Adragante; Ger. Traganthschleim.)
    Manufacture: 6 p.c. Mix glycerin 18 Gm. With water 75 cc. in a tared vessel, heat to boiling, remove heat, add tragacanth 6 Gm., macerate 24 hours, stirring occasionally, add water, q.s. 100 Gm., heat until uniform consistence, strain forcibly through muslin.  Dose, 3j-2 (30-60 cc.).
    2, Glyceritum Tragacanthae, N.F., 12.5 p.c., + glycerin 77.5, water 18.5.  3.  Pilulae Ferri Carbonatis, 1/6 gr. (.01 Gm.).  4.  Trochisci Acidi Tannici, 1/3 gr. (.02 Gm.).  5.  Trochisci Ammonii Chloridi, 1/3 gr. (.02 Gm.)  6.  Emulsum Olei Morhuae cum Malto, N.F., 3/10 p.c.  7.  Stili Acidi Salicylici, N.F., 5 p.c.  8.  Syrupus Trifolii Compositus, N.F., 1/10 p.c.  9.  Trochisci Eucalypti Gummi, N.F., 1 gr. (.06 Gm.).  10.  Trochisci Ulmi, N.F., 1/6 gr. (.1 Gm.).
    Unoff. Preps.: Pills, Troches -- various kinds.
    PROPERTIES. -- Demulcent, emollient, protective, nutritious.
    USES. -- Was not known to the Greeks until 4th-5th century, when its uses were as now -- expectorant, for cough, hoarseness, similar to acacia; its superior adhesiveness over the latter renders it a better protective in excoriated surfaces, ulcers, burns, etc.  Employed largely for suspending resins, oils, heavy powders, etc., in emulsion.  Also to cohere pills (paste: 3j + glycerin 3j; 4 Gm., + 30 Gm.) troches, etc.; its partial insolubility in the stomach restricts somewhat its popularity.
    Allied Plants:
    1.  Astragalus bae'ticus. -- Mediterranean basin; seed used for coffee.  A. exsca'pus; C. And S. Europe, mountains; root mucilaginous, astringent, bitter, diuretic.  A. glycyphyl'los, Europe; leaves and seed sweetish, diuretic. A. Crotala'riae, Loco Weed, Rattle Weed, and A. Mollis'simus, N. America (Cal., Neb., Tex.); poisonous to cattle, horses, etc., causing spinal tetanic action.
 

Avena sativa

    Ave'na sati'va, Oat, N.F. -- The grain with not more than 5 p.c. of other seeds or of foreign organic matter; Asia, Europe.  Plant .6-1.3 M. (2-4 degrees) high, culm smooth, leaves linear, veined, rough panicles loose, spikelets 2-3-flowered, paleae (husk) cartilaginous.  Grain pale yellow, up to 1.5 Cm. (3/5') long, 3 Mm. (1/8') thick, fusiform, scar at base, apex showing lemma and palet, groove on ventral side having 2-veined palet or scale, straight or slightly twisted awn (strongly twisted -- Wild Oat), caruncle at micropylar end, dense hairs at apex; odor slight; taste starchy.  Powder, whitish -- epicarp, pointed hairs fragments of lemma and palet, coarse unicellular hairs, endosperm, starch grains up to .06 Mm. (1/400') broad, polygonal or fusiform individual grains up to .01Mm. (1/2500') broad.  Grain composed of husk 25 p.c., grain (kernel) 75 p.c.; the former contains fixed oil 1-1.5 p.c., sugar and gum .25-.75 p.c., proteins 2 p.c.; the latter starch 64-66 p.c., fat 5-7 Oat starch: magnified p.c., proteins 18-21 p.c. (mainly avenin), salts 1-3 p.c.  The grains 250 diam. when ground when ground yield -- oatmeal, when deprived of paleae -- groats.
    Oatmeal (Farina Avenae) is not uniform, but is yellowish-white, with gluten and husk present, bitterish, starch granules polyhedric, muller-shaped.  Demulcent, laxative, dietetic, nutritive; indigestible husks act as a mechanical irritant, exciting peristalsis, but may constipate by compaction; porridge or gruel may ferment and impair digestion.  Dose, ad libitum; 1.  Fluidextractum Avenae Sativae (33 p.c. alcohol), dose, 3j-2 (4-8 cc.).  Prep.: 1.  Elixir Hydrastis Compositum, 1.75 p.c.