COMMON BUCKTHORN.
1193
Rham'nus cathar'ticus, Linn. L.E. D.— Common Buckthorn.
Sex. Syst. Pentandria, Monogynia.
(Baccae, L. V.— Fruit, E.)
^ Ist °Ry.—A ccording to Dr. Sibthorp (Prod. FI. Greecee, i. 155), the°f Dioscorides is Lycium europeeum. The earliest notice of Illiam-' c atharticus is in Tragus (see Sprengel, Hist. Rei Herb. ii. prief. xi.)iti t i° l ANY - Gen. Char. — Calyx four- or five-cleft, often circumscissile'vitR ^^dle after flowering; the base persistent under, and adherentthe fruit. Petals alternate with the lobes of the calyx, or none.z]' irnen * inserted opposite the petals. Style two- to four-cleft. Fruitf r / Js t juiceless, or baccate, two- to four-celled; cells in the juiceless1 0 1 ? separable, one-seeded (rarely two-seeded), dehiscing inwards by ag ro ® ltu dina.1 chink. Seeds oblong, marked at the external side by a deepr, Ve > which is broader towards the base (D. C )g a • Ghar. —Erect. Leaves ovate, toothed. Flowers fascicled, poly-^°Us-dicecious. Berries four-seeded, somewhat globose (D. C.)l a . spreading shrub with terminal spines. Leaves with four or six strongturves parallel with the margin or rib. Stipules linear. Flowersi i ] 1( | f ’ U ls h-green: the males with broader petals , four stamens and onesti s tyle, without either ovary or stigma: the females smaller, with fourhuj as projecting beyond the calyx, and rudimentary stamens. Fruitjjf four-celled.
Indigenous ; in hedges, groves, and thickets.—Flowers in May.lr uit is ripe in September.
the ^ SCr iption.—B uckthorn berries (baccee rhamni cathartici) are aboutf 0llr Sl2e of the fruit of juniper. They are black externally, and containi s r . ^‘eds, surrounded by a deep violet-red juicy parenchyma. The juicee ol i ^wied by acids, and rendered green by alkalies. The berries arepfowl in September.
c}, fo’WisnTON.—The expressed juice of buckthorn has been examined,Cy ( j lc foly> by Vogel (Bull, de Pharm. iv. 64), and by Hubert (Journ. dem -Med. vi. 193).
VogeVs Analysis.■Peculiar colouring matter.At'etic acid.
"lueilage.
Sugar.
Nitrogenous matter.
buckth
orn juice.
Hubert’s Analysis.
Green colouring matter.
Acetic and malic acids.
Brown gummy matter.
Sugar.
Bitter substance {cathartine ?).
Buckthorn juice.
Ur tber r -P at weprinciple .—The nature of the purgative principle of buckthorn requiress fob;;, acidation. Hubert asserts that it possesses the proper ties of cathartine before de-• ~' Sce P- 1107): but his experiments are not conclusive. As from 25 to 30 berries
e ct, j Cl . eil t to purge, while an ounce of the juice is required to produce the_
^rc ).,(■, Is „l )r °bable that the greater part of the purgative principle resides in the2. Col af - er tbe expression of the j uice -
4|| d nil.. Ur fj matter .—It is soluble in water, less so in alcohol, and insoluble in etherAcids redden it; whereas alkalies render it green. Vogel thinks its proper
c (l , oils.h <kvei S gree «
>tu 0 £ d J n tl,e ripe fruit.
fotu,
and that it only becomes purple by the action of tbe acetic acid, whichWhen the juice is evaporated to dryness with lime, it
It disappears byconsistence.
ootat'—^he a*oeilage of buckthorn is of a peculiar nature.lou - It is" abundant in the recent juice, to which it gives ci