117-2
ELEMENTS OF MATERIA MEDICA.
Petite Casse d'Amerique, Guibourt. —Pods ^ e ^ ar pes in diameter, pointed at the extremities. “ e et .
Small American Cassia Fistula.
eighteen inches long, and six lines in diameter, pointed at me extremities. - ge t.thinner than the ordinary Cassia fistula. Pulp reddish-brown, acerb, astringent. sIs this pod the fruit of Cathartocarpus bacillaris, a native of the Caribbean I sdepicted in Jacquin’s Fragm Bot. Tab. 85? f m
The pulp of Cassia brasiliana has been employed in America . The pods are ifto 24 inches long, ligneous, and rough, with very prominent sutures.
Composition. — Vauquelin {Ann. Chim. vi. 275) and N. E. E e - r -{Journ. Chim. Med. ii. 370) have analyzed Cassia pulp.
Vauquelin's Analysis.
Pericarp. 35*15
Phragmata . 7 03
Seeds . 13 28
Sugar. 14*85
Pulp ..
Gum
Extractive.
Vegetable jelly ....Glutinous matter ..Woody fibre.
1*56
0*51
0*13
0*79
2*35
Water. 21*35
Cassia pods. 97*00
N. E. Henry's Analysis.
Common orAfrican.
61*00
6*75
Matter possessing many properties?
of tanning substances.S
Do. having some properties of glutenColouring matter soluble in ether....Loss, principally owing to water ....
13*25
tracessmall quan-19*00
Watery extract of Cassia pulp..
100*00
trace®
none
2 4*25
Physiological Effects. —Cassia pulp in small doses is a mild _tive, in larger ones a purgative; but it is apt to occasion nausea, ^lence, and griping. Manna is said singularly to exalt the purgative eof Cassia pulp (see Paris, Pharm. i. 271, 6th ed.) Thus Valisnieri s ®^, ethat twelve drachms of this pulp are about equivalent in P 11 ^ ofstrength to four ounces of manna; but that if we give eight dractn^.^Cassia pulp, in combination with four drachms of manna, ' ve 0 t ; sdouble the effect! But the correctness of such an incredible state®not to be admitted on any evidence yet adduced in support of it- . , jsUses. —It is rarely or never given alone; but the cases for vvhic .j gwell adapted are febrile and inflammatory- affections. On account 0pleasant taste it would be a convenient purgative for children. . a ffye?
Administration. —Dose, for an adult, of the pulp, as a mild ® x3j. to 3ij.; as a purgative, Sj. to 3ij. . [ r e-
Confectio Cassijf., L. Electuarium Cassia, D.—(Cassia P' u l 0 fcently expressed, D.] lb. ss.; Manna, sij.; Tamarind pulp, Sj .; t j ie nRose, fSviij. [Syrup of Orange Peel, lb. ss. D.] Bruise the ^^^ariflddissolve it in the Syrup; afterw r ards mix in the Cassia and I a . g a t-pulps, and evaporate the moisture until a proper consistence ^tained).—Laxative. Occasionally used for children, or as a vensome more active substance. Dose, 5ij. to 3j. for adults.
Copaifera, Linn .—Various Species, E.
Copaif'era Langsdor/fi), Decandolle, L. —Copaif'era officina / lis, Linn. V-Sex . Syst. Decandria, Monogynia.
(Resina liquida, L. D.—Fluid resinous exudation, E.) ^
r I* 1,
History. —The first notice of Copaiva balsam, as well as ° jVJuf-yielding it, was given by Piso {Med. Bras . lib. iv. cap. 4, 111 .. pisp 1Bras . Lugd. 1648). Hayne (Duncan, Suppl. to the Edinb. A jp. 45) is of opinion that the Copaifera bijuga is the species obsePiso. „ sl n al1 '
Botany. Gee. Char. — Calyx ebracteolate, of four sprea i o>