{ 103 ) 
The root has no peculiar fmell; its tafte is fweetifh, glutinous, and 
fomewhat bitter; on being chewed for fome time, it is faid to difcover 
a degree of acrimony, which continues to affe& the mouth a con- 
fiderable time. According to Neuman, two ounces of the root 
yielded eleven drams of watery extra; but Cartheufer, from a like 
quantity, only obtained fix drams, and twenty-four grains. This 
extract manifefted a fweetifh tafte, followed by an acrid quality. 
The fpirituous extract is lefs in quantity, but of a more penetrating 
acrid tafte. Decoétions of the root, on being fufficiently agitated, 
produce a faponaceous froth; a fimilar foapy quality is obfervable 
alfo in the extra, and ftill more manifeftly in the leaves, infomuch 
that they have been ufed by the mendicant monks as a fubftitute for 
foap in wafhing of their clothes; and Bergius, who made feveral 
experiments with the Saponaria, declares that it has all the effe@s of 
foap itfelf.* , eee wees 4 | 
From thefe peculiar qualities ° of the Saponaria there can be little 
doubt of its poffefling a confiderable fhare of medical eflicacy, which 
we could with to find faithfully afcertained. | . 
The difeafes for which the Saponaria is recommended, as fyphilis, 
gout, rheumatifm, and jaundice, are not perhaps the complaints in 
which its ufe is moft availing; for a fancied refemblance of the roots 
_of Saponaria with thofe of farfaparilla, feems to have led phyficians 
to think them fimilar in their effe€ts, and hence they have both been 
adminiftered with the fame intentions, particularly in fixed pains, 
and venereal affections.  Bergius fays, “ in arthritide, cura mercu- 
- yiale, &c, nullum aptiorem potum novi.” — : 
However, according to feveral writers, the moft ‘inveterate cafes 
of fyphilis were cured by a decoétion of this plant, without the ufe 
of mercury© wees j 4 I 
Haller informs us, that Boerhaave entertained an high opinion of . 
its efficacy in jaundice, and other vifceral obftructions. 
© He obferves alfo, that the Saponaceous quality is not injured by acids, like that 
f {i a : =e % 2 . ar * 
© iS eee foal d except the kernels of the fruit of the Sapindus Saponaria, the 
root of Gypfophila Struthium, and the flowers of the Lychnis chalcedonica. 
© Vide edie De morb. occult. et venenat. L. 5. ¢- 18. p.215._ Septalius, dnimady. 
et caut, med. p» 275. Zapata, Memorab. medico-chir, Werner. Diff: de virtute faponar. 
. : CAMPANACEZ, 
