(Aristolochia Serpentaria, _Radix._)
_Serpentaria Root._ _Virginian Snake root, or Birthwort._
QUALITIES. _Odour_, of the dried root, aromatic, and somewhat resembling
that of Valerian; _Taste_, pungent and warm, with a degree of
bitterness, not very unlike that of camphor, or of the _pinus
canadensis_. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. Resin and an essential oil constitute
its active ingredients. SOLUBILITY. Its virtues are extracted by water,
as well as by alcohol. The tincture has a bright green colour, which is
rendered turbid by water. It neither affects Tannin nor Gelatine, nor
does it precipitate the salts of iron. MEDICINAL USES. It has been
regarded as serviceable in cases that required the combined powers of a
diaphoretic and tonic, as in some of the stages of typhus and other low
fevers; it has also been found to exalt the febrifuge powers of the bark
in cases of protracted intermittents. It is likewise valued on account
of its efficacy in certain cases of dyspepsia, attended with a dry skin.
Its stimulating properties will of course prevent its application in the
inflammatory diathesis. FORMS OF EXHIBITION. In substance, or in an
infusion, made by macerating ʒiv of the bruised root in f℥xij of boiling
water in a covered vessel for two hours, and straining. Decoction will
necessarily dissipate its essential oil, and impair its powers; whenever
therefore it is directed in combinations which require this process, it
should not be added until after the other ingredients have been boiled,
as illustrated by _Form: 40_. DOSE, of the powdered root ℈j to ʒss or
more; of the infusion f℥j-f℥ij. OFFICINAL PREPARATIONS. _Tinct:
Serpentariæ._ L.E.D.[634] _Tinct: Cinchonæ comp:_ L.D. _Electuarium
Opiatum._ E.
The roots of the _Collinsonia præcox_ are frequently found mixed with
those of Serpentaria in the market.