tin 1
1322 ELEMENTS OF MATERIA MEDICA.
vated at the Mauritius . It is deficient in the bright greenish-ycT°"of the Mozambique calumba. „ n aibs.
^ - 4 - - - 19,90° J
of
Commerce.— in the year 1838, duty (2d. per lb.) was paid onand in 1839 only on 9384 lbs. of calumba. , s6
Composition.— The more recent analyses of Calumba root are ^Planclie, {Bull, tie Pharm. iii. 189), and Buchner, ( Pharrn■ Centf-fur 1831, S. 429).
Planclie.
Buchner.
Bitter matter .
13
10 to 12 2
Animal matter, soluble in water 1and not in alcohol. j
6
0
Yellow resinous extractive.
0
50
Volatile oil .
a trace
00
Wax.
0
9
33
0-2
3-8 to 4 730 to 35
Gum.
Starch .
Vegetable medulla [pectin ?].
0
17-4
Woody fibre.
39
12 0
Water .
0
9-8
Loss.
?
Calumba root .
100
100
1. Odorous Principle (Volatile Oil?)— The odour of the root is supposed to J
on a volatile oil, traces of which were procured by Planclie. The distilled " a
the root possesses the odour of lhe latter. j s ub-
2. Calumbin—(Bitter Principle). — A crystallizable, odourless, very hitter, neutr
■ stance extracted from Calumba root by Wittstock, (Pharm. Centr.-Blat. f ur 1830,pil,Its crystals are rhombic prisms. It is fusible; very slightly soluble in water,Jtether, and volatile oils. Boiling rectified spirit dissolves about l-40th of its j 1 >jdissolves in acids and alkalies; its best solvent being acetic acid. It is unant'Cmetallic solutions, and by infusion of nutgalls. Sulphuric acid dissolves it, aSS gj.4a>first a yellow, then a red colour. Its composition, according to Liebig, is carbonhydrogen 6 18, oxygen 2837 : or C 12 H4 CM. . p| e ii>
Plauche describes the active principle of calumba as a yellow bitter matter sol j () uwater and alcohol, and yielding no precipitate either with the salts of lead or n*of galls. _ the
3. Starch. —This constitutes about one-third by weight of the root. It renaroot an easy prey to insects.
Chemical Characteristics. —If the root be moistened withand then touched with tincture of iodine, it becomes black. A dec° c ^.^of the root when cold forms with a solution of iodine a blue colour yof starch). Sulphate of iron, emetic tartar, and gelatine, produce » 0 j cvious change in an infusion of calumba, shewing the absence of .jj sand gallic acids. Litmus detects no free acid. Infusion of Ill | °causes in the infusion of calumba a precipitate (tannate of starch ■) o(
Adulteration. —The root of Frasera Waited, called the Amen cfalse calumba, (see p. 901), has been occasionally substituted forc a ^g.root on the continent. Such a fraud would not be practicable n 1land, at least to any extent, as the appearance of the root is <l ul ® pysimilar to that of the genuine calumba. It is distinguished chew l ilir
from the latter by three characters: 1st, It undergoes no change
of c
ol° lir
,star c
IB
when touched with tincture of iodine, shewing that it contains no - , f0lJ ,2ndly, It becomes blackisli-grcen on the addition of sulphate o ^ j. lS t3rdly, It yields a precipitate with a solution of gelatine. The t'characters indicate the presence of tannic acid.