904
ELEMENTS OF MATERIA MEDICA.
The root of Hemides'mus in'dicus, R. Brown ( Periploca indica, Willd. -4*® M |ioiidosarsa, Roxb.) is used in India under the name of country sarsaparilla. I he a , y [ed.of practitioners in this country was drawn to it by Dr. Ashburner in 1 t>3l (L° n .j.yq.and Phys Journ.v ol.lxv. p. 189) ; and again in 183:5 ( Lond. Med■ Gaz. vol. xl1, 1 •
It has been called Indian or scented sarsaparilla, nannari , or the root of Smilax jHow this last and erroneous appellation became applied to it, I cannot tell i *° no
from specimens of the root of Smilax aspera brought from the South of Europe , j^rresemblance exists between the latter and the root of Hemidesmus indicus. 1 ’ tllS te.is brownish externally, and has a peculiar aromatic odour, and a feeble, bit c [ e xIt is long, tortuous, cylindrical, rugous, furrowed longitudinally, and has itsdivided, by transverse fissures, into moniliform rings. The cortical portion has aconsistence, and surrounds a ligneous meditullium. Mr. Garden (Land - •»“* ' ast e,vol. xx. p. 800), obtained from it a volatile, crystallizable acid, on which t 1 ^ v (
smell, and, probably, the medicinal properties depend. From an erroneous n n](ir ethe origin of the root, he called the acid the smilasperic acid, but it may wl j a s apropriety be termed hemidesmic acid. Hemidesmus indicus has been emplo)®^ itscheap and efficacious substitute for sarsaparilla in cachectic diseases ; but j toeffects and uses require a more extended examination than has yet been . Drt) ye»them. Dr. Ashburner says it increases the appetite, acts as a diuretic, and t fthe general health; “plumpness, clearness, and strength succeeding to - etI) Inmuddiness, and debility.” It has been used with benefit in venerea 1 £’>1some cases it has appeared to succeed where the sarsaparilla had failed; and j t init has frequently failed where sarsaparilla succeeds. The Tamool doctors e . m P °'. e J instrangury and gravel (Ainslie, Mat. Ind. vol. i. p. 382). It may be admims e |j n , e Jthe form of infusion (prepared bv steeping jij. of the root in Oj. of boiling L? ( j oSf swater for twelve hours) ; a pint 1 of which may be given in twenty-four hours, n „fof a wine-glassful. The decoction may be substituted for the infusion. Ear bo ^ re .soda is frequently added to it. The extract is objectionable, as the heat usedparing it must volatilize, part at least of, the hemidesmic acid. A syrup has al5 ( | ]rtlS l>employed. The powder of the bark of the root is used in India against the(Roxburgh, FI- Med. vol. ii. p. 40). ate tb e
The leaves of Cynan'chum Ad gel are employed by the Egyptians to adultesenna of that country. I believe all the Alexandrian senna brought to Engja Qfjcr
(For their characters and effects see
tains some portion of these leaves,
Leguminos.®).
The substance called French or Montpellier Scammony (scammoniummade, in the southern part of France , with the expressed juice of Cynan'chum geU ii-li'acum, mixed with different resins and other purgative substances. It occurs 1,1 ofcircular, blackish, hard, compact cakes, which frequently have the smell ”0 jjlattPeru . The juice of this plant has been analyzed by Marquart ( Pharm■ Cent ■f ur 1837, s. 093). btai ,,ctl
A substance called Smyrna Scammony (scammonium smymeum) is said to be 0 j,idfrom the Secamo'ne Alpi'ni^ Rdmer and Schultes ( Periplo'ca Secamo'ne, Lii 111 ''Marquart (Pharm. Central-Blatt far 1837, p. 696), has analyzed some substanceMg’ this name (see p. 883 and 886).
Order 41. Apocyna'ce.e, Lindley. —The Nux-vomica Tri bE ‘
Essential Character.— Calyx divided into five, persistent. Corolla tnonol'jj^^hypogynous, regular, five-lobed, with contorted (estivation, deciduous.five, arising from the corolla, with whose segments they are alternate. " rt \,ree‘distinct. Anthers two-celled, opening lengthwise. Pollen granular, globose, 0 |y-lobed, immediately applied to the stigma. Ovaries two, or one- to two-cel.lei-r g(spermous. Styles two or one. Stigma one. Fruit a follicle, capsule, or j^,ple»
berry, double or single. Seeds with fleshy or cartilaginous albumen; f 8 _ qyees
embryo foliaceous; plumule inconspicuous; radicle turned towards the hiluin^^reJ*or Shrubs, usually milky. Leaves opposite, sometimes whorled, seldom s st ji,ul c ”quite entire, often having cilice or glands upon the petioles, but with 1)0Inflorescence tending to corymbose. (Lindley). . LTpa s
Properties. —Extremely variable. An order which contains the N lix ' v<, ® 1< j| 1 ’ s iispt'Tieute, the Wooraly, and the Tanghin poisons, cannot but be regarded " 1