Tormentilla Officinalis.
_Tormentil Root._
QUALITIES. This root is knotty, externally blackish, internally reddish;
_Odour_, slightly aromatic; _Taste_, austere and styptic. CHEMICAL
COMPOSITION. Its active matter is chiefly _Tannin_, and except galls and
catechu, it appears to contain a larger proportion than any other
vegetable astringent.[694] SOLUBILITY. Boiling water extracts all its
virtues, as also does spirit. INCOMPATIBLE SUBSTANCES. _Solutions of
Isinglass_, _the Salts of Iron_; _Alkalies_ and _Alkaline Earths_. MED.
USES. It has been chiefly used in diarrhœa, and it is very efficacious
in that which is so frequently attendant on Phthisis. Dr. Fordyce
recommends its union with Ipecacuan, by which combination, he observes,
we shall astringe the vessels of the intestines, and at the same time
relax those of the skin. FORMS OF EXHIBITION. In substance, or in
decoction made by boiling ℥j of the root in oiss of water until reduced
to oj. DOSE, of the substance in powder, ʒss to ʒj; of the above
decoction f℥j thrice a day. OFFICINAL PREP. _Pulv. Cret. Comp._ L.