

ZINC. 



71 



ZINC. 





Sans. SH?, Yasada. Vem. Das/d, 



Zino ia not mentioned by the older writers, such as Susruta, 

 nor does it enter into the composition of many prescriptions. The 

 Bhavaprakasa mentions it in the chapter on metallic preparations, 

 and directs it to be purified and reduced to powder in the same 

 way as tin. It is said to be useful in eye diseases, urinary 

 disorders, anaemia and asthma. 



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Kharpara. This mineral is mentioned in most works. It 

 enters into the composition of a number of prescriptions both for 

 internal. and external use. The article used under this name by 

 the physicians of Upper India is a sort of calamine or zinc ore. 

 Moat of the physicians in Bengal are not acquainted with tin's ore, 

 and substitute zinc for kharpara, that is, they consider kharpara 

 as a mere synonym of zinc or yasada. They accordingly direct 

 that kharpara should be reduced to powder by being melted over 

 a fire and rubbed with rock salt. Zinc thus prepared is a fine 

 yellowish grey powder consisting of carbonate of zinc mixed with 

 chloride of sodium. In the works of the physicians of Upper 

 India, this preparation is not described. There they use the zinc 

 ore, which does not dissolve on the application of heat. It is 



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simply purified by being boiled in cow's urine or soaked in lemon 

 .juice and then powdered. The Bengali physicians who substitute 

 zinc for kharpara are evidently wrong, for the description of some 

 of the preparations of this drug, as for example of the collvriuni 

 mentioned below, can not apply to metallic zinc. 



Kharpara, as sold by Hindustani medicine vendors, occurs in 

 greyish or greyish black porous earthy masses composed of 

 agglutinated granules. On chemical analysis it was found to 

 consist of carbonate and silicate of zino with traces of other 

 metals as iron, baryta, etc. Kharpara is described as tonio and 

 alterative and useful in skin diseases, fevers etc. It is also much 

 used as a collyrium in eye diseases. Dose, grains six to twelve. 



Vasanta mdlati rasa. Take of leaf gold one part, pearls two 

 parts, cinnabar three parts, black pepper four parts, pnnfied 

 kharpara eight parts, and rub them together. Then a.hl some 



