The Medicinal Plants of the Philippines, Trinidad Hermenegildo Pardo de Tavera [book club suggestions TXT] 📗
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Mix and keep in a well-corked flask.
Dose.—1–2 grams 3 times a day.
In the Philippines the powdered seed is given in affections of the digestive tract, especially in diarrhœa and feeble digestion. The same name of Bonduc is given to the seeds of another species that grows in the Philippines, C. Bonduc, Roxb.; Kamot-Kabag, Bayan-Kambig̃, Tag. The seeds are identical in chemical composition and therapeutic indication.
The two principal substances contained in the seeds are an oil, 24% and a resin, 1.88%. The former is straw-colored and slightly bitter by virtue of the presence of a resin that may be precipitated by alcohol. The resin or bitter principle exists as an amorphous powder, white, bitter, not acrid, soluble in chloroform, alcohol, acetone, crystallizable acetic acid, fixed and essential oils; slightly soluble in ether and bisulphide of carbon, insoluble in water and petroleum ether. The alkalies do not affect it. It melts at 140°, decomposing and leaving only a carbon. Its discoverers, Heckel and Schlagdenhauffen, have given it the name bonducin (C14H15O5). Hydrochloric acid colors it red; sulphuric acid, a maranthin red in half an hour.
Bonducin seems to be the active principle of the seeds and is given internally in doses of 10–20 centigrams; according to Dr. Isnard, of Marseilles, this dose has given as good results in fevers as the same quantity of quinine.
Botanical Description.—A shrub with prostrate stem bristling with thorns. Leaves twice abruptly pinnate, a thorn taking the place of the terminal leaflet. Leaflets in 10–14 pairs, ovate, expanded, with a spine at the apex. Common petioles thorny, with 4 leaf-like stipules at the base. Flowers yellow, in racemes. Calyx 5-parted, curved downward. Corolla inserted on the calyx, 5 petals, 4 nearly equal, the uppermost broader and shorter. Stamens 10. Filaments very unequal in height, inserted on the calyx, united and woolly at the base. Pistil very short. Stigma thick. Pod rhomboidal before maturity, prickly, containing 2 semi-globose seeds with testa hard, mottled and tough.
The other species, C. Bonduc, Roxb., is distinguished by leaflets unequal at the base, by the absence of stipules, and by the bright orange yellow seeds.
Habitat.—Common in Luzon, Panay and Joló. Blooms in December.
Cæsalpinia Sappan, L.
Nom. Vulg.—Sibukao, Sapag, Tag.; Palo del Brasil, Sp.; Sappan Wood, Eng.
Uses.—The decoction of Sibukao is given in hemorrhages, especially of the lungs. It is probably the red color of this decoction which originated the idea of giving it to check bleeding, and this is the practice of the native Filipino doctors, as well as of the Arabs and Hindoos. The natives of Cochin China, reasoning in an opposite manner, prescribe it as emmenagogue. Some authors recommend Sibukao as a substitute for logwood. The decoction is administered in chronic diarrhœa, especially that of children. A few cases of phlebitis have been reported as occasioned by its use. The extract is made as follows:
Macerate for 24 hours, boil until reduced by half, filter and evaporate the filtrate to a syrupy consistency. Do not use iron vessels.
Sibukao contains much tannin and gallic acid, and a peculiar substance which distinguishes it from logwood, brasilin (C22H20O7), which gives a red color to alkaline solutions instead of blue or purple. It is a crystalline pigment which may be considered a compound of hematoxylon and fenol.
Botanical Description.—A very common tree, 12–15° high, with spiny trunk, leaves twice abruptly pinnate. Leaflets linear, notched at the apex. Flowers racemose. Calyx boat-shaped. Corolla, 5 petals, the uppermost broad, short, spotted red. Stigma bifid. Pod sabre-like, woody, with 3–4 seeds separated by partitions. The wood is well known everywhere in the Philippines, being a very important article of commerce, and there is no fear of logwood being substituted for it, as the latter is more expensive, and substitutions are not ordinarily made under such circumstances. In commerce it occurs in large pieces of all shapes and forms, since the branches and trunks are cut into pieces which vary from 1/2–2 meters in length. Its color is reddish-yellow or white with more or less red grain. Blooms in September.
Cæsalpinia pulcherrima, Swartz. (Poinciana pulcherrima, L. & Blanco.)
Nom. Vulg.—Flores y Rosas Caballero, Caballero, Sp.-Fil.; Barbadoes Flower-Fence, Eng.
Uses.—The leaves are emmenagogue, purgative like those of senna, and excitant. The bark especially is a powerful emmenagogue, used in some countries for criminal purposes. The decoction of the flowers is pectoral and febrifuge and is given in bronchitis, asthma and malarial fever. The flowers contain a bitter principle. The roots are acrid and poisonous. The seeds of the green fruit are eaten frequently by children; when ripe they contain gallic and tannic acids, by virtue of which they are used in tanning hides and to dye yellow combined with alum, and black combined with salts of iron. They also contain a pigment and a resin.
Infusion of the Flowers.—
Mix. Dose, a wineglassful several times a day.
Botanical Description.—A shrub, with prickly trunk. Leaves twice abruptly pinnate. Leaflets 5–8 pairs, glabrous, ovate and elliptical, bearing a spine at the extremity, 3 stipules to each pair of leaflets. Flowers yellow and red, in racemes on the ends of the branches. Calyx divided almost to the base, with 5 concave parts. Corolla, 5 petals 1′ long with short claws, one petal very small and straight, the others larger, with wavy edges. Stamens 10, crimson, 3′ long, free, woolly, united at the lower end. Pistil the same length as the stamens. Stigma somewhat concave. Ovary sessile, unilocular, many-ovuled. Pod compressed, with 7 or more seeds inserted on the superior suture and separated from each other by fleshy divisions.
Habitat.—Very common in gardens where it is cultivated for its beautiful flowers. Blooms throughout the entire year.
Cassia fistula, L.
Nom. Vulg.—Cañafistula, Sp.; Lombayog̃, Ibabaw, Baloyog̃, Vis.; Purging Cassia, Eng.
Uses.—The pod known in pharmacy under the name of “Cañafistula” contains a blackish, sweet pulp, which is a mild purgative if combined with carminatives, but it produces severe colic if given alone. The urine sometimes takes on a dark color after taking it. The laxative dose is 4–8 grams, the purgative 30–60.
Extract of Cassia.—
After mixing the pulp with water the liquid is strained through a woolen cloth; the material which remains in the strainer is washed with a little more cold water which is added to the other liquid and the two are evaporated to the consistency of the extract.
Dose.—15–30 grams.
Dr. Irving states that the root is a very energetic purgative. In Concan the juice of the tender leaves is used in the treatment of impetigo.
Botanical Description.—A tree with trunk about as thick as the human body, with leaves opposite and abruptly pinnate. Leaflets, the lower ones smaller, 5 pairs, ovate, lanceolate, glabrous and rather tough. Common petiole, cleft at the base, lacking glandule. Flowers bright yellow, in long, pendulous racemes. Calyx, 5 ovate sepals. Corolla, 5 unequal petals. Stamens 10, free, 3 longer than the rest. Ovary unilocular, many-ovuled. Pod cylindrical, pointed at the end, woody, black, 1–2° long, with many circular seeds, surrounded by a blackish pulp and separated by partitions.
Habitat.—Common in Luzon and Panay. Blooms in March.
Cassia occidentalis, L.
Nom. Vulg.—Tighiman, Balotag̃aso, Tag.; Tambalisa, Vis.; Western Senna, Styptic Weed, Eng.; Negro Coffee, Indo-Eng.
Uses.—In Brazil they use an infusion of the root as a tonic and diuretic, 4 grams of the root bark and 180 of boiling water to be taken in one day. In Dahomey the leaves are used as a febrifuge. Thirty grams of fresh leaves are boiled in 300 grams of water till the liquid is reduced to 250 grams. The patient takes this decoction hot the first day of the fever and a profuse perspiration promptly breaks out. As a rule the effect is immediate and the fever does not recur. This treatment of fevers is more common in that country than that by quinine and they claim that it has the advantage over the latter of acting as a stomachic tonic. By adding a small quantity of the roots to the decoction it is rendered diuretic. The seeds possess the same properties and are used in decoctions of 30 grams to 300 of water. According to De Lanesan the roasted seeds are used in La Réunion in infusion similar to coffee in the treatment of gastralgia and asthma. In some countries they mix them with coffee just as chicory is used in Europe.
Heckel and Schlagdenhauffen have made a very complete study of the plant and we quote the following from their works:
Chemical composition of the seeds.—
Previous to the studies of the above authors the seeds had been therapeutically tested by Delioux de Savignac and Professor Clouet. Heckel and Schlagdenhauffen have confirmed the febrifuge virtues of the seeds and are uncertain as to the active principle since they found no glucoside or alkaloid in their analysis. The antiperiodic properties are comparable with those of quinine and have even proved effective in some cases in which quinine failed. It seems quite clear that the tannin is the active principle which is the more probable because its anti-periodic virtues are now recognized by all therapeutists.
It is given in maceration or infusion, 2–15 grams of the seeds to 3 or 400 of water to be taken several times a day. The treatment causes no very marked physiological effects. It seems to act as a sedative to the nervous system.
Botanical Description.—An annual plant, .60–1 meter high. Root central with lateral rootlets. Stem straight, ramose. Leaves opposite, abruptly pinnate with a stylet in place of the odd leaflet. Leaflets, 5–6 pairs, the lower ones smaller, ovate, oblong, margins and lower face downy. Common petiole swollen at the base, 2 stipules and 1 glandule. Calyx, 5 unequal sepals. Corolla, 5 nearly equal petals, sulphur yellow, concave, the posterior one further developed. Two verticils of 5 stamens each. Of the 5 stamens superior to the sepals, 2 are fertile, larger and arched; of the other 5 stamens 4 are fertile and small. Pod compressed, linear, smooth, 5′ long, containing many compressed, heart-shaped seeds, separated by thin partitions.
Habitat.—Common in Luzon. Blooms in October.
Cassia alata, L.
Nom. Vulg.—Acapulco, Sp.-Fil.; Katandá, Gamut sa Buni, Sontig̃, Tag.; Suntig̃, Kansitás, Vis.; Pakayomkom-kastila, Pam.
Uses.—This is one of the most popular Philippine remedies and its usefulness is vouched for by many physicians practicing in many different lands. Its antiherpetic properties are notable and the Tagalo name of the plant, “Gamut sa Buni,” means literally “medicine for herpes.” The natives use the juice of the leaf applied locally to the affected part. These properties have long been familiar to the Malays and to the Hindoos who in their medical works give the plant the Sanscrit name of “Dadrughna,” meaning “to cure herpes.” The Pharmacopœia of Bengal recommends cassia in the form of an ointment made by mixing the crushed tender leaves with simple ointment. This preparation is, in
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