1018 ELEMENTS OF MATERIA MEDICA. ^

or brownish-gray colour—sometimes whitish; and a second, c a ^ e ^ g ^ u )artullium, and which consists of a thin, yellowish-white, wood) > 0 dcord, running through the centre of each piece. In 100 parts ripecacuanha, there are about 80 of cortex and 20 of mediLilliioo^.^jycacuanha root has an acrid, aromatic, somewhat bitter taste, and anauseous, but peculiar odour. The colour of the root varies sobeing brownish, reddish-brown, grayish-brown, or gray. ... y

Richard (op. cit.), Merat (Diet, des Scienc. Mid. t. xxvi.; and Diet . ^

.ribs,

whose.01

ana uuinourt ( tlist. aes Drotj. l.) admit three varieties of aunulated lpecaeu..- natur eprincipal distinction is the colour of the epidermis. The age of the root, th j 0 ciDtrthe soil, and the mode of drying, are among the different circumstances |

these varieties. Sometimes they are met with in the same bale. j^niety-

Var. a. Brown Annulated Ipecacuanha, Richard; Brown Ipecacuanha. ar j 0 ftb e—(Radix ipecacuanha; annulatee fuse a:). This is the best kind. The greater P j eC plyipecacuanha of commerce consists of this variety. Its epidermis is more or ^ ra y.brown, sometimes even blackish ; its fracture is gray, or brownish: its powd , j r0 mThe cortical portion has a horny appearance. The root which I have rece ^ j g (beProfessor Guibourt, as blackish gray ipecacuanha, is somewhat less brown.gray or annulated ipecacuanha of Merat. . caC ua |1 ^ a ’

I have occasionally found in commerce a brown non-annulated variety of ip® , piece*'imported in distinct bales. It consists of slender, cylindrical, often braiic p tfI) ili*' ‘ ‘ ' . ' aulated or _ u; „|.

frequently several inches long, smooth, or slightly warty, but not annu

■ thick**

form, with a very thin cortex, and a woody meditullium of the usual size, ° ( j cc£ vsio [1 'These pieces appear to be the subterraneous bases of the stems or runners,ally pieces of the brown annulated ipecacuanha are found attached. jjpg by

Var. $. Red Annulated Ipecacuanha, Richard.—This differs from the P re ]l( j by'Pthe lighter and reddish colour of its epidermis, by its less powerful odour, a^ gelB i-want of aromatic taste. Sometimes it has, when broken, the same horny " dumtransparent quality of the brown ipecacuanha, but more frequently it is 0 P a ^ )] . (l bablyand farinaceous; in which case it is generally less active. These difference* re .depend on the nature of the soil in which the plant grew. The root which ppgitAdiceived from Professor Guibourt, under the name of reddish gray annulated tp j s theis scarcely so red as the pieces which I have met with in English commerce-red-gray ipecacuanha of Lemery and Merat. jjera 4 ;

Var. y. Gray Annulated Ipecacuanha, Richard ; White■ Gray Ipecacuann .’^^hit®-Greater Annulated Ipecacuanha, Guibourt.—The colour of this variety is ca cU 3rI k®Professor Guibourt has met with it of a reddish-gray colour. Gray *E e ef; mof®occurs in pieces of larger diameter than either of the foregoing kinds, with t e pbael* s ’irregular, and less prominent rings. It is merely a portion of the root of the f e0 t, orwhich has become more developed, either from meeting with excess of nounsfrom some other circumstance. t ]ong er

I have found, in English commerce, a gray ipecacuanha, whose roots werethan the brown variety, but whose rings were imperfectly developed. ^

Composition. —The most important analyses of ipecacuanha y jof Pelletier ( Journ. dc Pharm. iii. 148), Richard and Barruel (

264), and Bucholz (Ginelin, Handb. d. Chem. ii. 1281).

Pelletier’s Analyses-

Brown Annulated Ipecacuanha.

Red do.

Cortex.

Meditullium.

Cortex.

Emctina.

. 16 .

.. 115

14

Odorous fatty matter .

- 2 .

.. traces

2

Wax .

. 6 .

. . -

_

Gum .

. 10 .

.. 500

16

Starch.

42 ..

.. 20 00

18

Ligneous matter_ _

20 .

.. 66-60

48

Non-emetic extractive

0 .

2-45

—

Loss.

4 ..

4-80

2

Ipecacuanha...

100 ..

.. 100-00

100

Bucholz’s Analysis-Emetic extractive [erne- ^

..

Soft resin... q.j5

^ ax ..

.. 9 .00

Starch .

Woody fibre .•* jo-13

Bitter extractive . <,.00

Sugar .*

Extractive,gum &starch, ^extracted by potash.••

Loss .

Ipecacuanha .