800

ELEMENTS OF MATERIA MEDICA.

ndii'r

of a small cherry. Seed pendulous; funiculus compressed, asccn ^fdfrom the base of the fruit, and attached at the top of the testa, () f

papery; tunica interna very thin; embryo exalbiuninous, comp 0 *’ 0two large oleaginous cotyledons inclosing superiorly the radicle.

Had. —South of Europe . Cultivated in gardens. .

Description. —Bay leaves (folia lauri ) have a bitter, aromaticand a somewhat aromatic odour. Their infusion reddens litmus-bay-berries (baccee lauri, offic.) are covered externally by a dark-bbrittle coat, which is produced by the epidermis and succulent co'of the fruit. . T , aS tre

Composition. — In 1824 bay-berries were analyzed by v> . 0 ,7(Journ. de Pharm. x. 30), who found the constituents to be— Vote 1 ^0 - 8, laurinAd), fixed oil 12'8, wax (stearin) 7T, resin T(>,zable sugar 0‘4, gummy extractive 17"2, bassorin 6’4, starch 25‘6

fibre 18'8, soluble albumen traces, an acid 0T, water 6'4,

o.

1-5-;'

suite

,d **

•r - - f - - , f

The ashes (amounting to T2) consisted of carbonate of potash aimcarbonate and phosphate of lime.

1- Volatile Oil .—Is colourless, has an acrid and bitter taste, and the smell of l» ortBelow 53J F. it is a dirty white solid. It is completely liquid at 86 F. hl ile.

2. Laurm ; Camphor of the bay berry —A crystalline solid, fusible, andHas an acrid bitter taste, and an odour analogous to that of the volatile oil-, , g jninsoluble in cold water, but it gives to boiling water a bitter taste. It is s° lu "

ether and in boiling alcohol. Sulphuric acid renders it yellow ; nitric acid ^ a j c ob°fAlkalies are without action on it. It is extracted from bay berries by recti» e ^ dry'3. Fixed Oil ; oil of laurel (oleum lauri). —It is obtained by exposing „ sub"berries to the vapour of water until they are thoroughly soaked ; then rap 1 -jectiug them to the press. The oil afterwards deposits a crystalline sedimen y g \\ <»pounds of berries furnish scarcely three ounces of ml. Its consistence is tba Jt lSolives when half solidified. Its colour is greenish ; its odour that of the berpartially soluble in alcohol, completely so in ether. With alkalies it forms s o r

sa jcl *

Physiological Effects. —The berries, leaves, and oil, are ^ j,jpossess aromatic, stimulant, and narcotic properties. The tea'large doses, prove emetic (Merat and De Lens, Diet . Univ. de ’

t. iv. p. 62). , dicine’ 1 !

Uses. —Bay berries or leaves are rarely, if ever, used in me ( ^<1this country. They might, therefore, with great propriety be exp^_ odfrom the Pharmacopoeia . The leaves are employed by the c °^j toaccount of their flavour. Both leaves and berries have beenstrengthen the stomach, to expel flatus, and to promote the catadischarge. The fixed oil has been used externally' to relieve cparalysis of the extremities, and against deafness (Murray', APP’vol. iv. p. 533). It is also employed in sprains and bruises. . n o'Administration. —Both berries and leaves are used in the jj. 0 n>infusion. The volatile oil of the berries may be given in dosesone to five or six drops (Lewis, Mat. Med.)

Other medicinal Lauracete.

Culitlawan or Clove bark is oKt;. r

of the Indian islands. Its properties tcT 9 nnamomum L Culilawan, Blume, ** ■ { &cPereira, in Lindley’s Flora Meclica p *"*}w ou * those of Cassia-hguea-

Massay bark (in commerce M.s-o/'is the I / S rai ^ y mth in Lon t’"; s U sc J ’?the cosmetics of the natives of India (Cra ICTmTTth^ 3 i P- ^

I have never found it in the Loudon shops ’ H ' ° f the Ind ' Archip ' V ° ‘