the second an additional 7 per cent., were obtained of a hygroscopic extract much more soluble than commercial liquorice, and totally unsuitable for being moulded into sticks. The residue having been then exhausted by steam, 16 per cent. was obtained of an extract differing entirely from those of the previous operations. It was a dry friable substance, cracking and falling to pieces in the drying stove, having a sweet taste without acridity, not readily dissolving in the mouth, and very imperfectly soluble in cold water. This then was the substance required to give firmness to the more soluble matter, and to render possible the preparation of an extract possessing that degree of solubility and hardness which would render it an agreeable sweetmeat, as well as a permanent and stable commodity. In fact, by treating the root at once with steam according to Delondre's process, the experimenters obtained 42 to 45 per cent. of extract having all the qualities desired in good Italian or Spanish Juice. When the latter substance is suspended in water undisturbed, the soluble matter may be dissolved out, the stick still retaining its original form. Glycyrrhizin which is but slightly soluble in cold water, remains to some extent in the residue, and by an alkaline solution may be afterwards extracted together with colouring matter and probably also pectin. The proportion of soluble matter which the best varieties of liquorice juice yield to cold water, varies from about 60 to 70 per cent. A sample of Solazzi Juice recently examined by one of us, lost 8-4 per cent. when dried at 100° C.; it was then exhausted by 60 times its weight of cold water used in successive quantities, by which means 66.8 per cent. of soluble matter were removed. The residue consisted of minute starch granules, fragments of the root, and colouring matter partially soluble in ammonia. Small shreds of copper were also visible to the naked eye. The dried juice yielded 6.3 per cent. of ash. Corigliano liquorice treated in the same manner gave 71.2 per cent. of extract soluble in cold water; Barracco liquorice 64.9. The small liquorice lozenges known as Pontefract Cakes (Dunhill's), not previously dried, gave 71 per cent. of matter soluble in cold water. Commerce-The value of the imports of Liquorice into the United Kingdom has been for the last five years as follows: 1868 1869 1870 1871 1872 The last named sum represents a quantity of 28,000 cwt., of which 11,170 cwt. were furnished by Italy, and the remainder by Turkey, France, Spain, and other countries. The total exports of Liquorice Paste from Smyrna were estimated in 1872 as 1,200 to 1,400 tons (24,000 to 28,000 cwt.) per annum. Uses-Stick liquorice is sucked as a remedy for coughs, and by children as a sweetmeat. It is also used in lozenges, and in some pharmacopoeias is admitted as the raw material from which to prepare soft extract of liquorice. The block liquorice, of which a large quantity is imported, is chiefly used in the manufacture of tobacco for smoking and chewing. OLEUM ARACHIS. Ground-nut oil, Earth-nut oil, Arachis oil; F. Huile d'Arachide ou de Pistache de terre; G. Erdnussöl. Botanical Origin—Arachis hypogaa L., a diffuse herbaceous annual plant having stems a foot or two long, and solitary axillary flowers with an extremely long filiform calyx-tube. After the flower withers, the torus supporting the ovary becomes elongated as a rigid stalk, which bends down to the ground and forces into it the young pod, which matures its seeds some inches below the surface. The ripe pod is oblong, cylindrical, about an inch in length, indehiscent, reticulated, and contains one or two irregularly ovoid seeds. The plant is cultivated for the sake of its nutritious oily seeds in all tropical and subtropical countries, but especially on the west coast of Africa. It is unknown in the wild state. De Candolle1 regards it as a native of Brazil, to which region the other species of the genus exclusively belong. But the opinion of one of us 2 is strongly in favour of the plant being indigenous to Tropical Africa. History-The first writer to notice the Ground Nut appears to be Monardes,3 who describes it as a nameless subterraneous fruit, found about the river Marañon and held in great esteem by both Indians and Spaniards. Some account of it and a figure were given in the following century by Marcgraf, who calls it by its Brazilian name of Mundubi. It is only in very recent times that the value of the Ground Nut has been recognized in Europe. Jaubert, a French colonist at Gorée near Cape Verde, first suggested about 1840 its importation as an oil-seed into Marseilles, where it now constitutes one of the most important articles of trade.5 Description-The fat oil of Arachis as obtained by pressure without heat, is almost colourless, of an agreeable faint odour and a bland taste resembling that of olive oil. An inferior oil is obtained by warming the seeds before pressing them. The best oil has a sp. gr. of about 0-918; it becomes turbid at 3° C., concretes at -3° to -4°, and hardens. at -7°. On exposure to air it is but slowly altered, being one of the non-drying oils. At length it thickens considerably, and assumes even in closed vessels a disagreeable rancid smell and taste. Chemical Composition-The oil consists of the glycerides of four different fatty acids. The common Oleic Acid, C18H3402, that is to say its glycerin compound, is the chief constituent of Arachis oil. Hypogaic Acid, C16H300,2 has been pointed out by Gössmann and Scheven (1854) as a new acid, whereas it is thought by other chemists to agree with one of the fatty acids obtained from whale oil. The melting point of this acid from Arachis oil is 34-35° C. The third acid afforded by the oil is ordinary Palmitic Acid, C16H3202, with a fusing point of 62° C. 1 Géographie Botanique, ii. (1855) 963. Flückiger, Ueber die Erdnuss,-Archiv. der Pharmacie, 190. (1869) 70-84. 3 Las Cosas que se traen de nuestras Indias Occidentales, Sevilla 1569, part 2. Hist. Rerum. Nat. Bras., 1648, 37. 5 Duval, Colonies et politique coloniale de la France, 1864. 101.-Mavidal, Le Sénégal, son état présent, son avenir, Paris 1863, 171. -Carrère et Holle, La Sénégambie Française, 1855, 84. Poiteau, in Annales des Sciences nat., Botanique, xix. (1853) 268. Arachic Acid, C20H4002, the fourth constituent, has also been met with among the fatty acids of butter and olive oil, and, according to Oudemans (1866), in the tallow of Nephelium lappaceum L., an Indian plant of the order Sapindaceœ. When ground-nut oil is treated with hyponitric acid, which may be most conveniently evolved by heating nitric acid with a little starch, a solid mass is obtained, which yields by crystallization from alcohol Elaidic and Gaidinic acids, the former isomeric with oleic, the latter with hypogæic acid. Production and Commerce-The pods, or the seeds removed from them, are exported on an immense and ever increasing scale from the West Coast of Africa. From this region, not less than 66 millions of kilogrammes, value 26 millions of francs (£1,040,000), were imported in 1867, almost exclusively into Marseilles. The oil is exported from India where the ground-nut is also cultivated, though not on so large a scale as in Western Africa. In Europe it is manufactured chiefly at Marseilles, London, Hamburg and Berlin. The yield of the seeds varies from 42 to nearly 50 per cent. The softness of the seeds greatly facilitates their exhaustion, whether by mechanical power or by the action of bisulphide of carbon or other solvent. Uses-Good arachis oil may be employed in pharmacy in the same way as olive oil, for which it is a valuable substitute, though more prone to rancidity. It has been introduced into the Pharmacopoeia of India, and is generally used instead of olive oil in the Indian Government establishments. Its largest application is for industrial purposes, especially in soap-making. RADIX ABRI. Indian Liquorice; F. Liane à réglisse, Réglisse d'Amérique. Botanical Origin-Abrus precatorius L., a twining woody shrub indigenous to India, but now found in all tropical countries. History The plant is mentioned in the Sanskrit medical writings of Susruta, whence we may infer that it has long been employed in India. Its resemblance to liquorice was remarked by Sloane (1700), who called it Phaseolus glycyrrhites. As a substitute for liquorice, the root has been often employed by residents in the tropical countries of both hemispheres. It was introduced into the Bengal Pharmacopoeia of 1844, and into the Pharmacopoeia of India of 1868. The seeds, of the size of a small pea, well known for their polish and beautiful black and red colours, have given their name of Retti to a weight (= 2 grains) used by Hindu jewellers and druggists. Description-The root is long, woody, tortuous and branching. The stoutest piece in our possession is as thick as a man's finger, but most of it is much more slender. The cortical layer is extremely thin and of a light brown or almost reddish hue. The woody part breaks with a short fibrous fracture exhibiting a light yellow interior. The root has a peculiar, disagreeable odour, and a bitterish acrid flavour leaving a faintly sweet after-taste. When cut into short lengths it has a slight resemblance to liquorice, but may easily be distinguished by means of the microscope. Mr. Moodeen Sheriff' who says he has often examined the root of Abrus both fresh and dried, remarks that it is far from abounding in sugar as is generally considered;—that it does not possess any sweetness at all until it attains a certain size, and that even then its sweet taste is not always well marked. As it is often mixed in the Indian bazaars with true liquorice, he thinks the latter may have sometimes been mistaken for it. Microscopic Structure-On a transverse section the bark exhibits some layers of cork cells, loaded with brown colouring matter and then, within the middle zone of the bark, a comparatively thick layer of sclerenchymatous tissue. Strong liber fibres are scattered through the interior of the cortical tissue, but are not distributed so as to form wedge-shaped rays as met with in liquorice. In the latter the sclerenchyme (thick-walled cells) is wanting. These differences are sufficient to distinguish the two roots. Chemical Composition-The concentrated aqueous infusion of the root of Abrus has a dark brown colour and a somewhat acrid taste accompanied by a faint sweetness. When it is mixed with an alkaline solution of tartrate of copper, red cuprous oxide is deposited after a short time: hence we may infer that the root contains sugar. One drop of hydrochloric or other mineral acid mixed with the infusion produces a very abundant flocculent precipitate, which is soluble in alcohol. If the infusion of Abrus root is mixed with a very little acetic acid, an abundant precipitate is likewise obtained, but is dissolved by an excess. This behaviour is similar to that of glycyrrhizin (see p. 158). Berzelius observed so long ago as 1827, that the leaves of Abrus contain a sweet principle similar to that of liquorice. Uses The root has been used in the place of liquorice, for which it is in our opinion a very bad substitute. SETÆ MUCUNE. Dolichi pubes vel sete; Cowhage, Cow-itch 2: F. Pois à gratter, Pois pouillieux; G. Juckborsten. Botanical Origin- Mucuna pruriens DC. (Dolichos pruriens L., Stizolobium pruriens Pers., Mucuna prurita Hook.), a lofty climbing plant with large, dark purple papilionaceous flowers, and downy legumes in size and shape not unlike those of a sweet pea, common throughout the tropical regions of both Africa, India and Âmerica. History-The earliest notice we have found of this plant is that of Parkinson, who in his Theater of Plants published in 1640, names it "Phaseolus siliquâ hirsutâ, the Hairy Kidney-Beane called in Zurrate [Surat] where it groweth, Couhage." It was subsequently described by Ray (1686), who saw the plant raised from West Indian seeds, in the garden of the Hatton family in Holborn.3 1 Supplement to the Pharmacopoeia of India, Madras, 1869, 17.-The author has kindly sent us specimens of the root. We are also indebted for authentic samples to Mr. Thwaites of the Royal Botanical Garden, Ceylon, and to Mr. Prestoe of the Botanical Garden, Trinidad. The last named gentle Rheede figured it in the man remarks-"I do not find any liquorice property in the root, even fresh, but it is very strong in the green leaves." 2 These names and the following are also applied to the entire pods, or even to the plant. 3 Hist. Plant. i. 887. Hortus Malabaricus,1 and it was also known to Rumphius and the other older botanists. The employment of cowhage as a vermifuge originated in the West Indies, and is quite unknown in the East. In England the drug began to attract attention in the latter part of the last century, when it was strongly recommended by Bancroft in his Natural History of Guiana (1769), and by Chamberlaine, a surgeon of London, who published an essay descriptive of its effects which went through many editions. It was introduced into the Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia of 1783, and into the London Pharmacopoeia of 1809. At the present day it has been almost discarded from European medicine, but has been allowed a place in the Pharmacopoeia of India (1868). 2 The name Cowhage is Hindustani, and in the modern way is written Kiwach; the corruption into Cow-itch is absurd. Mucuna is the Brazilian name of another species mentioned in 1648 by Marcgraf.3 Description-The pods are 2 to 4 inches long, about of an inch wide, and contain 4 to 6 seeds; they are slightly compressed and of a dark blackish brown. Each valve is furnished with a prominent ridge. running from the apex nearly to the base, and is densely covered with rigid, pointed, brown hairs measuring about of an inch in length. The hairs are perfectly straight and easily detached from the valves, out of the epidermis of which they rise. If incautiously touched, they enter the skin and occasion an intolerable itching. Microscopic Structure-Under the microscope the hairs are seen to consist of a single, sharply pointed, conical cell, about of an inch in diameter at the base, with uniform brownish walls 5 mkm. thick, which towards the apex are slightly barbed. Occasionally a hair shows one or two transverse walls. Most of the hairs contain only air; others show a little granular matter which acquires a greenish hue on addition of alcoholic solution of perchloride of iron. If moistened with chromic acid, no structural peculiarity is revealed that calls for remark. The walls however are somewhat separated into indistinct layers, the presence of which is confirmed by the refractive power displayed by the hairs in polarized light. Chemical Composition-The hairs when treated with sulphuric acid and iodine assume a dark brown colour. Boiling solution of potash does not considerably swell or alter them. They are completely decolorized by concentrated nitric acid. Uses-Cowhage is administered for the expulsion of intestinal worms especially Ascaris lumbricoides and A. vermicularis, which it effects by reason of its mechanical structure. It is given mixed with syrup or honey in the form of an electuary. The root and seeds are reputed medicinal by the natives of some part of India. The pods when young and tender may be cooked and eaten. 1 Tom. viii. tab. 35, sub. nom. Nāi Corana. On the efficacy of Stizolobium or Cow hage, Lond. 2nd ed., 1784. 3 Hist. Nat. Brasil. 18. |