regarded as a febrifuge and laxative and is commonly given with some
aromatic. Ainslie notes that the leaves, as well as the fruit, are
bitter and purgative and that the Tamuls use them for their laxative
and stomachic effect. Drury states that on the Malabar coast the seeds
have a considerable reputation as a remedy for functional disorders
of the stomach. Although the green fruit is very bitter the natives
of that region use it as a condiment. The tender stems and the dry
capsules, both bitter and purgative, are given in infusion and in a
sweetened solution, as an aid to digestion. The seeds are febrifuge
and anthelmintic. The juice of the leaves is emetic and that of the
roots purgative. The decoction of the stem is expectorant.
In Bombay the plant is considered febrifuge, and is given in decoction
with ginger, _Swertia chirata_, and sugar. The Mohammedan authors
say that the _T. cucumerina_ is effective in expelling lumbricoids
and one of them mentions the following as a cure for stubborn fevers:
Seeds of _T. cucumerina_ No. 180.
Seeds of coriander or cumin No. 180.
Boiling water 200 grams.
Let stand over night, filter, add a little sugar, administer in
2 doses morning and evening.
In Concan they use the juice of the leaves as a liniment in remittent
fevers, rubbing the hepatic region and in fact the entire body.
Botanical Description.--_T. anguina_, L., is a vine with 5-angled stem,
bearing tendrils and spattered with white dots. Leaves heart-shaped,
with 5 acute lobules, spiny-toothed. Petioles with a bifid swelling
at their bases. Flowers white, monoecious. Staminate: calyx 5-toothed
with dotted borders; corolla, 5 fringed petals; stamens 3; anthers
3, entirely united and forming a cylinder. Pistillate: 3 glandules
in the corolla tube; style long; stigmas 3. Fruit ribbed, long, the
compartments formed by reticular partitions; contains many irregular
seeds, one border sharp, the other obtuse, covered by a very thin aril.
The _T. cucumerina_, L., is less common, bears a spindle-shaped or
obovate fruit, is hairy and lacks ribs. Its seeds are ovoid, very
smooth, encircled by a narrow wing. The reticulum within the fruit
is similar to that of the foregoing species.
Habitat.--Common in all parts of the islands. Blooms in October.
_Lagenaria vulgaris_, Ser.
Nom. Vulg.--_Common Gourd_, _Bottle Gourd_, _Calabash_, Eng.
Var. _Lagenaria Gourda_, Ser. (_Cucurbita lagenaria oblonga_, Blanco.)
Nom. Vulg.--_Calabaza de peregrino_, Sp.; _Pilgrim's Gourd_, Eng.
Var. _L. courgourda_, Ser.
Nom. Vulg.--_Tabayag_, Tag.
Var. _L. clavata_, Ser. (_C. lagenaria villosa_, Blanco.)
Nom. Vulg.--_Calabaza blanca_, Sp.; _Opo_, Tag.; _White Gourd_, Eng.
Uses.--The three above-mentioned varieties of _L. vulgaris_, Ser.,
are commonly grouped under the name calabaza (gourd). All have the same
action and hence the same therapeutic application. The green portion of
the rind is bitter and possesses purgative and emetic properties. The
decoction of the tender shoots is expectorant; in addition it appears
to possess purgative properties and in India is used in jaundice.
The part of the plant most generally used is the seeds, the tænifuge
properties of which are well known. Its action, however, is not always
certain, which may be as truly said of all other known tænifuges. The
seeds have the advantage of lacking the disgusting taste characteristic
of other remedies of the same class; the taste is almost neutral and
a little sugar conceals it completely. The dose is unlimited; some
take 15 grams, others as high as 100, and no unpleasant symptoms of
any kind have been reported. The only precaution to be observed is
to give the patient a purgative 1-2 hours after his dose.
Heckel has analyzed the seeds and found a resin which he calls
_pepo-resina_; it exists in the greenish pellicle that envelopes
the embryo and appears to be the active principle of the seeds. Its
dose is 0.80-1.00 gram (Dujardin-Beaumetz), the product of 250 grams
of the seeds. The dose of 100 grams of the seeds mentioned above is
very small, if the pepo-resin represents the entire active principle,
for 100 grams of the seeds would only contain about 40 centigrams.
Botanical Description.--A very familiar vine, clammy, pubescent
and musk-scented; large leaves, long-stalked flowers, white petals,
greenish veiny fruit usually club-shaped or enlarged at the apex, the
hard rind used for vessels, dippers, and so forth. It is noteworthy
that none of the tænifuge varieties mentioned bears yellow fruit.
_Luffa Ægyptiaca_, Mill. (_L. pentandra_, Roxb.; _L. petola_, Ser.;
_Momordica operculata_, Blanco.)
Nom. Vulg.--Probably bears the same names as the _Trichosanthes_.
Uses.--The root is a hydragogue cathartic even in minute doses. The
fruit is emollient by virtue of the large quantity of mucilage it
contains, but it is more interesting for other properties. When cut
in two, deprived of epidermis and seeds, and washed until none of the
mucilage remains, there is left a fibrous skeleton, a sort of skein of
interwoven nets that constitutes the so-called vegetable sponge. It
serves the same purpose as a sponge and has the advantages that its
fibers do not rot and that they are easily kept clean. In view of its
cheapness and plentifulness in the Philippines the above advantages
should suffice to bring it into universal use for the toilet, for
surgical purposes and for cleaning in general.
Botanical Description.--A vine with square, glabrous stem. Leaves
alternate, cordate, 3-5-lobulate, dentate, rough, 5-7-nerved. Petioles
short. Flowers monoecious. Staminate in axillary panicles; calyx
bell-shaped; corolla yellow, 5 oval petals, borders entire; stamens
3; filaments short; two thick ones divide high up in 2 parts, thus
giving the appearance of 5 stamens in all. Pistillate axillary,
calyx adherent, 5 pointed sepals; corolla, 5 nearly triangular petals,
finely dentate; style thick, short, the base encircled by 3 glandules;
stigma cordate. Ovary, 3 pseudo-locules formed by the central union
of the placentas; pluriovulate. Fruit oblong, terminating at the apex
in a deciduous lid or cover, marked with 8 or 10 black longitudinal
lines; the interior reticulate, 3 compartments with many seeds, oval,
black, flat with thin borders. The natives do not distinguish between
this specimen and the _Trichosanthes_, but it is to be noted that
the corolla of the former is not ravelled or fringed.
Habitat.--Common in Luzon and Panay. Blooms in January.
_Momordica balsamina_, L.
Nom. Vulg.--_Ampalaya_, _Ampalea_, Tag.; _Amargoso_, Sp.-Fil.; _Paria_,
Iloc.; _Apalia_, Pam.; _Balsamina_, Sp.; _Balsam Apple_, Eng.
_M. charanta_, L. (_M. muricata_, Willd.; _M. cylindrica_, Blanco.)
Nom. Vulg.--The same as of _M. balsamina_.
Uses.--The fruit of both varieties is edible, though a bitter principle
gives it such an intensely bitter taste that it is intolerable to
the unaccustomed palate. It is eaten raw as a salad, or cooked with
meat or fish. The juice of the leaves is prescribed internally as a
purgative and anthelmintic. In Concan it is given alone or combined
with aromatics, in bilious disorders as an emetic and purgative;
externally they use it as an ointment for the itch and other skin
diseases; in India it is mixed with cinnamon, pepper, rice and oil
of _Hydnocarpus inebrians_, Vahl.
The fruit and leaves are used internally for worms and externally
for leprosy. Some Hindoo writers state that the fruit is tonic and
stomachic, and that it is useful in rheumatism, gout, diseases of
the liver and spleen.
Botanical Description.--The first variety, _M. balsamina_, more
common than the second, is a vine with angular stem and simple
tendrils. Leaves, many serrate lobules with white dots on the
ends. Flowers yellow, monoecious. Staminate solitary, peduncles very
long, involucre cordate; calyx 5-lobed; corolla 5 petals; filaments
simple, one separate, 2 approximated; anthers joined at their
bases. Pistillate solitary; ovary, 3 locules and numerous ovules;
stigma, 3 bifid divisions; fruit globose, narrowing at the ends,
covered with tubercles; seeds numerous, lacking albumen, having
red aril.
The second variety, _M. cylindrica_, has a downy stem, 5-angled with
simple tendrils. The leaves are 5-lobuled, cordate, serrate, with
short hairs on under surface. Melon hollow, glabrous, very long,
cylindrical, tapering at the ends, covered with tubercles, some
elevated in longitudinal lines, others depressed; seeds in 3 rows,
enveloped in pulpy arils, white, long quadrangular, truncate above,
encircled by 2 rows of obtuse toothlets.
Habitat.--Both grow in all parts and are well known.
_Citrullus Colocynthis_, Schard. (_Cucumis Colocynthis_, L.)
Nom. Vulg.--_Coloquíntida_, Sp.; _Colocynth_, _Bitter Apple_, Eng.
Uses.--The part employed is the fruit pulp, official in all the
pharmacopoeias as a very energetic hydragogue cathartic. It is seldom
given alone, but in combination with other drugs to modify its energy
and its action.
In large doses it causes vomiting, bloody diarrhoea and a series of
nervous phenomena that may end in death. Six to ten grams constitute
a toxic dose. It operates with most force upon the large intestines
and sympathetically upon the uterus.
Dose.--Extract, 0.10-0.30 gram; powder, 0.30-1.00 gram.
The pulp contains a yellow, intensely bitter substance, quite soluble
in water and in alcohol, discovered by Hubschmann and named by him
_coloquintina_. The seeds contain 17% of an insipid oil.
Botanical Description.--An herb with long, prostrate stems covered with
stiff hairs. Leaves alternate, triangular, deeply cleft in 3 lobules
that subdivide. Petioles long. The color of the leaves is pale green
above, whitish or gray and covered with white hairs underneath. Flowers
yellow, monoecious, solitary, axillary, with long peduncles. Staminate:
receptacle cup-formed, 5 sepals and 5 free, yellow petals; 5 stamens in
pairs, one free. Pistillate: the receptacle globose, covering the lower
part of the ovary; 3 staminodes take the place of the stamens. Ovary
unilocular, uniovulate, with a short style bearing 3 lobules at its
apex. Fruit globose, 6-8 centimeters in diameter, smooth, greenish,
later yellow with white spots; it is full of a whitish pulp that
becomes dry and pithy and that contains the obovate seeds, smooth,
flattened, brown, lacking albumen.
Habitat.--Manila.
FICOIDEÆ.
_Trianthema monogyna_, L. (_T. obcordata_, Roxb.; _Portulaca toston_
and _axiflora_, Blanco.)
Nom. Vulg.--_Toston_, Tag.; _Alusiman_, _Ayam_, Vis.
Uses.--This plant is edible, the natives eating it boiled, fried or
in salad. The root is cathartic and is used powdered.
_Botanical Description._--A plant with prostrate stems, radiating
branches. Leaves ensheathing the stem, opposite, oval, red-bordered,
glabrous. Petioles with 2 stipules at the base and 2 small teeth near
the middle. Flowers axillary, solitary, sessile. Calyx, 2 pointed
sepals. Corolla, 5 oval petals. Stamens 15-20. Style simple. Seed
vessels inversely pyramidal, dehiscence horizontal. Seeds numerous.
Habitat.--Very common in the rice fields. Blooms in January.
UMBELLIFERÆ.
Parsley Family.
_Hydrocotyle Asiatica_, L.
Nom. Vulg.--_Takip kohol_, _Takip suso_, Tag.; _Rabasa_, Sp.; _Indian
Pennywort_, Indo-Eng.
Uses.--Dr. Daruty, of Mauritius, has published a study of this plant,
giving a résumé of its composition, therapeutic uses and physiological
action. The writers of antiquity recognized the plant as a powerful
alterative, tonic, diuretic, stimulant and vermifuge, especially
effective in secondary syphilis and in ulcerative diseases of the skin.
Lépine and Boileau used it experimentally to treat leprosy and
reported favorably; but later experience demonstrated that it did
not exercise any specific effect, but benefited anæsthetic leprosy
simply by improving the general condition of the patient.
The plant is official in the Pharmacopoeia of India, as alterative,
tonic and stimulant. It states that the drug has been found very
useful in the treatment of secondary and constitutional syphilis,
when the disease attacks the skin and subcutaneous tissue.
In Bombay it is a popular remedy for the mild dysentery of children,
given as a decoction of 3 or 4 leaves with a little cumin seed and
sugar; the bruised leaves are then applied to the umbilical region. In
the Philippines the decoction of the leaves is given as a purge.
Dr. Dervegie reports good results in the treatment of eczema,
administering the powdered leaf in dozes of 0.10 gram and applying
locally the powder or an ointment of the same. The most marked and
constant effects of the drug are a considerable increase of the
urinary secretion, elevation of the temperature of the skin and
profuse diaphoresis.
Dr. Boileau, quoted above, himself contracted leprosy of which he died;
he experimented on himself with "hydrocotyle" and on one occasion
a dose of 3 grams nearly proved fatal; tetanic symptoms supervened
with suffocation, palpitation, epistaxis and rectal hemorrhage,
abating finally with profuse sweating and diuresis.
Dr. Lépine, a pharmacist of Pondicherry, has analyzed the plant
and isolated a substance that seems to be the active principle;
he has named it _vallarin_, from "vallarai," the Tamul name of
the plant. "Vallarin" is a thick, pale yellow oil of a piquant and
persistent taste and an odor peculiar to the plant. It changes under
the influence of air, moisture or heat and volatilizes at 120°. It
is soluble in alcohol. The plant contains 8/10 to 1% of this oil,
a dark resin and a green resin.
The Pharmacopoeia of India gives 2 official formulæ, a powder and a
cataplasm. The powdered leaf is given internally in doses of 0.30 to
1.50 grams and is applied locally to superficial ulcers.
Botanical Description.--Plant herbaceous with reniform or heart-shaped
leaves, forming a sort of funnel, dotted with little hairs, dentate
with white tips. Petioles very long, ensheathing each other by 2 wings
at their bases. Flowers 3-4, sessile, springing directly from the root,
greenish-white, growing in horizontal rows on either side of a short,
common peduncle. Common involucre of 2-3 leaflets. Calyx adherent,
flattened, faintly toothed. Corolla, 5 small petals, ovate. Stamens
5, equal in height, inserted on the receptacle, alternating with
the petals. Filaments short. Anthers globose, cleft at the base in 2
diverging parts. Ovary inferior, cordate, much flattened. Styles 2,
short. Stigmas simple. Fruit truncate, oval, downy, indehiscent,
marked with furrows, with 2 compartments each containing a seed
inserted on the wall.
Habitat.--Grows in shady and moist places. Blooms in July.
_Carum copticum_, Benth. (_C. ajowan_, DC.; _Ammi copticum_, L.;
_A. glaucifolium_, Blanco; _Daucus opticus_, Pers.; _D. anisodorus_,
Blanco.)
Nom. Vulg.--_Lamudio_, _Damoro_, Tag.; _Lamudio_, Vis.; _Caraway_, Eng.
Uses.--The fruit, of which both form and taste remind one of anise,
is official in the Pharmacopoeia of India as a carminative, stimulant
and antispasmodic. It is indicated in flatulent colic, atonic dyspepsia
and diarrhoea and gives very good results. It has been used in cholera,
but is of little value in that disease. In moderate doses it increases
salivary and gastric secretion.
The P. of India contains the 2 following official formulæ:
_Oleum_--obtained from the fruit by distillation; is colorless when
fresh but soon turns yellow; possesses the odor of the fruit and an
acrid, burning taste. _Aqua_--600 grams of the fruit ground and mixed
with 9 liters of water; this is distilled till 4 1/2 liters have gone
over, these constituting the "aqua cari."
Dose.--1-2 drops of the essential oil in emulsion or on a piece of
sugar. Of the "aqua," 30-60 grams as a carminative or to disguise the
taste of other drugs (such as castor oil), thus frequently preventing
nausea or vomiting.
Botanical Description.--Leaves finely pinnately compound. Common
petiole clasps the stem at the base. Flowers white, in flat
compound umbels. The secondary peduncles 12. Flowerets of each
partial umbel about 16. Calyx of flowerets superior, 5 globose
sepals. Corolla, 5 equal petals, with rounded lobules. Stamens 5. Ovary
tuberculate. Styles 2, very short. Seeds 2, united, furrowed and
nearly glabrous at maturity.
Habitat.--Cultivated in gardens. Blooms in October.
_Foeniculum vulgare_, Gaertn. (_F. officinale_, Allion; _F. panmorium_,
DC.; _Anethum foeniculum_, Blanco.)
Nom. Vulg.--_Anis_, Sp.; _Fennel_, Eng.
Coriandrum sativum, L. (_Cuminum cynimum_, Wall.)
Nom. Vulg.--_Cominos_, _Calantro_, Sp.; _Coriander_, Eng.
Uses.--The fruit of both species has the same therapeutical application
being stomachic and carminative par excellence. It yields an aromatic
essential oil with stimulant properties, popular because of its
agreeable odor and taste.
As a rule the infusion is given in doses of one liter a day (15-30
grams of the seeds to one liter of water). The essence and the
alcoholate are also employed, the former obtained by distillation,
the latter by macerating the fresh seeds in alcohol. The dose of the
essence, 4-8 drops on a piece of sugar or in potion; the alcoholate,
2-10 grams in sweetened water or infusion of aromatic herbs.
Both plants are official in the Spanish Pharmacopoeia and they and
their preparations are common in all drug stores.
Habitat.--Common, cultivated in the gardens and well known.
Botanical Description.--_F. vulgare_: Aromatic, stout, smooth herb,
4-6° high. Leaves with many slender thread-like divisions. Large umbel
of yellow flowers, no involucre and no involucels. _C. sativum_: Low
aromatic herb, leaves pinnately compound, small umbels with few rays,
flowers white.
CORNACEÆ.
Dogwood Family.
_Alangium Lamarkii_, Thwaites. (_A. decapetalum_, _hexapetalum_
and _tomentosum_, Lam.)
Nom. Vulg.--(?)
Uses.--According to Mooden Sheriff, the root bark is an efficient
emetic in doses of 3 grams. In smaller doses it is febrifuge and
produces nausea. The bark is extremely bitter; its reputation in the
treatment of skin diseases is undeserved. It is a good substitute
for ipecac, having given good results in all conditions in which the
latter is indicated, with the exception of dysentery.
The febrifuge dose is 0.35-0.60 gram; alterative, 0.15-0.30 gram.
It is furthermore prescribed in India for syphilis and leprosy and
is one of the many remedies used for the bites of rabid animals. The
bruised leaves are applied to the joints of rheumatic patients.
Botanical Description.--A tree 20-30 meters high, leaves alternate,
persistent, petiolate, no stipules, oblong, dentate, acuminate,
pinnately nerved. Flowers whitish, regular, hermaphrodite, in
terminal cymes. Receptacle concave. Calyx short, 10-toothed. Corolla,
10 narrow, elongated ribbon-like petals. Stamens 30-40, filaments
free and glabrous. Ovary inferior, held in the concavity of the
receptacle, one-celled, with 1 seed, crowned by an epigynous disc,
above which rises a simple style with dilated stigma. Fruit a globose
drupe, crowned by the calyx, with 10 inconspicuous ribs. The putamen
encloses an albuminous kernel.
Habitat.--The mountains of San Mateo.
DICOTYLEDONOUS, GAMOPETALOUS.
RUBIACEÆ.
Madder Family.
_Hymenodictyon excelsum_, Wall. (_H. Horsfieldii_, Miq.; _Chinchona
excelsa_, Roxb.; _Exostema Philippicum_, Blanco.)
Nom. Vulg.--_Huligaga_, Tag.
Uses.--The bark of this tree has a wide reputation in India as a tonic
and febrifuge. The inner layer of the bark possesses astringent and
bitter properties much like quinine. Ainslie states that it is used
in India to tan hides and therapeutically where an astringent is
required. O'Shaughnessy experimented with it in the hospital of the
Medical College of Calcutta and reported good tonic and antipyretic
effects.
In 1870, according to Dymock, Broughton analyzed the fresh bark and
reported that the bitter taste was due to _esculin_, which after drying
and coming in contact with decomposing organic matter is transformed
into the almost tasteless _esculetin_. Naylor studied the bark at
a later period, and attributed the bitterness to an alkaloid that
he named _hymenodictyonine_. This substance exists in the form of a
gelatinous mass, cream-colored, very hygroscopic. An ethereal solution,
carefully evaporated, deposits it in the form of crystals. Its
empirical form is C_23_H_40_N_2_; it is probably volatile and is
notable for its lack of oxygen. It differs from _quinoidine_ in that
it is inactive (?) and that in combination with platinum it retains
less of this metal than does quinoidine. It differs from _paricine_
in its proportion of hydrogen, and from _berberine_ in containing more
carbon. In the presence of sulphuric acid its solution assumes a yellow
color, changing to wine-red and then to dark red. Naylor extracted
another principle which he found combined with the alkaloid in a soda
precipitate of the latter; it is a product of the decomposition of a
glucose, the formula of which is C_25_H_49_O_7_. This compound remains
insoluble when the alkaloid is treated with ether. Repeated boiling
in alcohol renders it colorless. It is bitter, soluble in alcohol
and dilute acids; insoluble in ether and chloroform. Reaction, neutral.
Botanical Description.--A large tree, with leaves opposite,
oval, entire, acute, downy. Petioles long, flat above, with 2
stipules. Flowers axillary, in compound verticillate racemes. Calyx
adherent, with 5 promptly deciduous teeth which leave a scar that also
disappears. Corolla much longer than the calyx, funnel-form, the limb
5-cleft. Stamens 5, inserted near the middle of the tube. Filaments
rudimentary. Anthers 2-celled. Style longer than the corolla. Stigma
globose. Seed-vessel rather rough, ovoid, flattened, of 2 compartments,
where are inserted numerous seeds, imbricated, circular, encircled
by an entire wing.
Habitat.--Angat and the woods of San Mateo. Blooms in
August. (P. Blanco states further that this tree grows to a height of
about 3 yards in Angat and that it exhales a strong odor resembling
that of vinegar at times, and again like that of tobacco.)
_Oldenlandia corymbosa_, L. (_O. biflora_, Lam.; _O. ramosa_, Roxb.;
_O. herbacea_ and _serabrida_, DC.; _O. burmaniana_, Mig.)
Nom. Vulg.--Doubtful.
_Uses._--The Sanscrit writers often mention this plant as an important
remedy for the fevers due, according to their theories, to disordered
bile, _i. e._, remittent fevers, accompanied by gastric irritability
and nervous depression. The entire plant is used to make a decoction,
often combined with aromatics. Dymock observed in Goa that this plant
could be gotten in all the shops of the herb-venders, and that it
was widely used as an alterative in mild fevers in combination with
_"Hydrocotyle Asiatica_ and _Adiantum lunulatum_."
In Concan they apply the juice to the hands and feet in fevers,
giving at the same time a dose of one "tola" (6.80 grams) in sweetened
water or milk. This juice is obtained by soaking the bruised plant
in water. In remittent fever the decoction is also used as a liniment
for the whole body. It is given internally for skin eruptions due to
excessive heat, especially "lichen tropicus."
Botanical Description.--A small herb, stem straight, about 30
centimeters high, glabrous, dichotomous. Leaves opposite, linear,
green, lanceolate, stipulate. Flowers small, hermaphrodite, axillary,
solitary, or in pairs, alternate or opposite. Calyx gamosepalous with
5 short teeth. Corolla gamopetalous, funnel-shaped. Stamens 5, free,
inserted in the tube of the corolla. Ovary inserted in the hollow
of the receptacle, 2 many-ovuled locules. Style simple, ending in
a bifid stigma. Capsule rounded-oval, membranous. Seeds numerous,
polyhedrous, albuminous, surface granular.
Habitat.--In the rice fields.
_Randia dumetorum_, Lam. (_R. longispina_, DC.; _R. aculata_, Blanco;
_R. stipulosa_, Miq.; _Gardenia spinosa_, Blanco.)
Nom. Vulg.--_Sinampaga_, Tag.