Preparation.

Fluidextractum Spigeliæ.-Fluidextract of Spigelia. By maceration and percolation with Diluted Alcohol, and evaporation. Dose, 4 c.c.; 1 fl. dr.

Unofficial Preparation.

Fluidextractum Spigeliæ et Sennæ.-Fluidextract of Spigelia and Senna. Fluidextract of Spigelia, 300 c.c. (10 fl. oz.); Fluidextract of Senna, 180 c.c. (6 fl. oz.); Oil of Anise, Oil of Caraway, each, 1.20 c.c. (20 m.).

Dose, 2 to 4 c.c.; 2 to 1 fl. dr., for a child two years old.

ACTION.

Anthelmintic; large doses may cause marked flushing, frequently associated with oedematous swelling, of the face, and, in addition, spasm of the facial muscles, dimness of vision, vertigo, stupor, and even convulsions.

USES.

Against lumbricoid worms; when given in combination with a cathartic (senna is usually preferred), it is much less liable to give rise to symptoms of narcotic poisoning.

GENTIAN. The dried root of Gentiana lutea Linné (Fam. Gentianacea). Habitat.-Mountains of Central and Southern Europe.

CHARACTERS. In nearly cylindrical pieces or longitudinal slices, of variable length and from 5 to 35 mm. thick, the upper portion closely annulate, the lower portion longitudinally wrinkled; externally deep

yellowish-brown; internally lighter; somewhat flexible and tough when damp; rather brittle when dry; fracture uneven; the bark rather thick, separated from the somewhat spongy, reddish-yellow or brownish inner portion by a black cambium zone; odor strong, characteristic; taste sweetish and persistently bitter.

COMPOSITION.-The chief constituents are- —(1) Gentiopicrin, an active, very bitter glucoside, soluble in water and Alcohol. Can be split up into glucose and Gentiogenin. (2) Gentisic Acid, C1HО, in yellow, tasteless needles, united with Gentiopicrin. (3) A trace of a volatile oil. (4) Gentianose, a sugar. Gentian contains no Tannic Acid, but cannot be prescribed with iron, because that darkens the coloring

matter.

INCOMPATIBLES.-Iron salts, silver nitrate, and lead salts.

Dose, 1 gm.; 15 gr.

Preparations.

1. Extractum Gentianæ.-Extract of Gentian. By maceration and percolation with Water, and evaporation. Dose, 0.250 gm. (250 milligm.); 4 gr.

2. Fluidextractum Gentianæ.-Fluidextract of Gentian. By maceration and percolation with Diluted Alcohol, and evapora tion.

Dose, 1 c.c.; 15 m.

3. Tinctura Gentianæ Composita.-Compound Tincture of Gentian. Gentian, 100; Bitter Orange Peel, 40; Cardamom, 10. By maceration and percolation with Alcohol and Water to 1000. Dose, 4 c.c.; 1 fl. dr.

ACTION.

The same as that of calumba and other simple bitters.

USES.

In the same kinds of cases as other drugs of its class, and, on account of its more agreeable flavor, it is perhaps more widely employed than any of the rest. The preparations of gentian make excellent vehicles.

CHIRATA.

CHIRATA. Synonym.-Chiretta. The dried plant of Swertia Chirata (Roxburgh) Hamilton (Fam. Gentianacea). Habitat.—Mountains of Northern India.

CHARACTERS. Smooth; root simple, about 7 mm. thick near the crown; stem about 1 m. long, externally yellowish or purplish-brown, cylindrical near the base, quadrangular and lightly winged above, with numerous opposite, ascending branches; wood yellowish, thin, enclosing usually a large yellowish easily separable pith; leaves opposite, sessile, ovate-lanceolate, entire, five-nerved, about 6 cm. long; flowers numerous, panicled, small, with a four-lobed calyx and corolla; capsule ovoid, acute, "one-celled, many-seeded; odor slight; taste intensely bitter. Resembling Chirata.-Lobelia, which is not bitter.

COMPOSITION. The chief constituents are—(1) Chiratin, CHO159 an active, bitter principle, as a yellow, hygroscopic powder. (2) Ophelic Acid, CHO, with which it is combined. No Tannic Acid is present.

Dose, 1 gm.; 15 gr.

Preparation.

Fluidextractum Chiratæ.-Fluidextract of Chirata. By maceration and percolation with Diluted Alcohol, and evaporation. Dose, 1 c.c.; 15 m.

Unofficial Preparation.

Tinctura Chiratæ (U. S. P., 1890).-Tincture of Chirata. Chirata, 100; by maceration and percolation with Alcohol and Water to 1000.

Dose, 2 to 8 c.c.; 1/2 to 2 fl. dr.

ACTION.

It is a simple bitter, like calumba.

USES.

The same as those of calumba and gentian, and in India it is given considerably as a substitute for cinchona. It is thought to be especially serviceable in the dyspepsia of gouty subjects.

STROPHANTHUS. The ripe seed of Strophanthus Kombé Oliver (Fam. Apocynacea), deprived of its long awn. Habitat.—Tropical Africa.

CHARACTERS. Of a light fawn-brown color, with a distinct greenish tinge; about 15 mm. long and 4 to 5 mm. wide, 2 to 2.5 mm. thick, lance-ovoid, obtuse at the base, gradually acuminate and somewhat acute at the summit, usually twisted, bearing on one side a ridge running from about the centre to the apex; silky-lustrous from a dense coating of closely appressed hairs, which mostly lie in longitudinal grooves on the surface; fracture short and somewhat soft, the fractured surface whitish and oily; kernel consisting of a thin endosperm enclosing straight cotyledons; odor slight, or heavy when the seeds are crushed and moistened; taste very bitter.

COMPOSITION. The chief constituents are (1) Strophanthin, CHO12. It exists in all parts of the plant but mostly in the seeds (8 to 10 per cent.). This is in all probability the same as, or closely allied to, the active principle Ouabain (see p. 486) which has been isolated from another species of Strophanthus. It is a transparent, white, imperfectly crystalline, bitter glucoside (being split up by acids into glucose and Strophanthidin). Very soluble in water; insoluble in Chloroform and Ether. Strophanthin, according to recent investigation, can be isolated from Strophanthus Kombé, and many other species of Strophanthus. (2) Kombic Acid, which is not identical in all varieties of Strophanthus. (3) Ineine, an Alkaloid. (4) Tanghinin, CHO, in rhombic prisms.

Dose, 0.065 gm. (65 milligm.); 1 gr.

Preparation.

Tinctura Strophanthi.-Tincture of Strophanthus. Strophanthus, 100. By digestion and percolation with Alcohol and Water

to 1000.

Dose, 0.5 c.c.; 8 m.

STROPHANTHINUM.-Strophanthin. A glucoside, or mixture of glucosides, obtained from Strophanthus. It should be kept in wellstoppered, amber-colored vials.

CHARACTERS.-A white or faintly yellowish crystalline powder, containing varying amounts of water of crystallization, which it does not lose entirely without decomposition; taste intensely bitter. Great caution should be used in tasting it. Permanent in the air. Solubility.Very soluble in water and in diluted Alcohol; less soluble in absolute Alcohol; nearly insoluble in Ether, Chloroform and Benzene. Dose, 0.0003 gm. (0.3 milligm.);

ACTION.

gr.

It is essentially a muscle poison, in sufficient doses causing stiffness of the limbs and afterward complete loss of voluntary movement; in toxic amounts it paralyzes the muscles by direct contact through the blood, and when contractility has once been destroyed by its action, no stimulus will re-excite it. The heart, receiving, as it does, a larger supply of blood than other muscles, is promptly and decidedly influenced; and by proper regulation of the dose it is possible to secure action on this organ while the muscles in general remain practically unaffected. In moderate amounts strophanthus has the same effect on the heart as digitalis, stimulating the tonic contraction of the cardiac. muscle, increasing the force of the ventricular systole, prolonging the diastole, lowering and regulating the rhythm, and causing a pronounced though slow rise of blood-pressure. The most important point of difference between the two drugs is that the constriction of the peripheral arteries is considerably less marked under strophanthus than under digitalis. Strophanthus is an efficient diuretic; its active principle is readily eliminated in the urine, but as its excretion is somewhat slower than its absorption, there is an overlapping of effect when the