(Anthemis Pyrethrum. _Radix._)
_Pellitory Root._
QUALITIES. The dried root is inodorous, but upon being chewed, it soon
produces a pungent and peculiar sensation. SOLUBILITY. Alcohol, æther,
and boiling water extract its virtues. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. _M.
Gautier_ has lately shewn that the peculiar pungency of the root depends
on a fixed oil, which resides in vesicles in the bark. MED. USES. As a
sialagogue, especially in cases of tooth-ache, and in paralysis of the
tongue and muscles of the throat. (_Form. 143._) It also constitutes the
basis of a very valuable gargle, in use at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital,
for relaxation of the uvula and soft palate, as well as in certain cases
of deafness depending upon an enlarged state of the tonsils. It is made
by boiling ℥ss of the bruised root in oj of distilled water, until the
fluid is reduced to one half; to which, when strained and cold, fʒij of
_Liquor Ammoniæ_ are to be added.