ACACIA CATECHU. 159 



fruit, a3 well as a poultice of the leaves, is recommended to be 

 applied to inflamatory swellings. 



Amlikd pcinam} Macerate some tamarind pulp in water; strain, 

 and add black pepper, sugar, cloves, camphor and cardamoms to 

 taste. This preparation is prescribed as an agreeable cooling 

 draught in loss of appetite and disinclination for food. In intoxi- 

 cation from spirituous liquors the following mixture is recom- 

 mended by Chakradatta, Take of dates, raisins, tamarind pulp, 

 pomegranate seeds, fruits of (frewia Asiatics (parushaka) and ripe 

 emblic myrobalans, each one tola, pound them together, and make 

 an emulsion with thirty-two tolas of waber. Dose, about two 

 ounces. 2 



ACACIA CATECHU, Linn. 



Sans. i^rf^T, Khadira, Ymi. Kat, Hind. Khaer, Bong. 



Khadira or catechu is obtained by boiling the wood of Acacia 

 catechu in water and inspissating the decoction. The Bhavaprakasa 



I 



mentions two varieties of catechu, namely, khailira or the ordinary 



dark brown catechu and kmlam or pale catechu. This last is 

 known as pdpri hhaer, or catechu having a laminated structure. 

 Fluokiger and Hanbury thus describe the preparation of pale 

 catechu in Northern India. "Instead of evaporating the decoction 

 to the condition of an extract, the inspissafcion is stopped at a 

 certain point and the liquor allowed to cool, "coagulate," and 

 crystallize over twigs and leaves thrown into the pots for the 

 purpose." 3 Pale catechu is a porous, opaque, earthy looking 

 substance with a laminated texture, light and easily broken. 



The chief use of catechu in India, is as an ingredient of the 

 packet of betle leaf chewed by the natives. For this purpose it is 

 sometimes aromatized in various ways. The packets of betle 



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fafal «*^' ^fir<Ct<uw ii mw*nr: i 



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2. nap. ?s^reft«T iW5ri*stai5Tf$ft: i wto: WW**** w~ 



3. Pkarmacograplu'a, page 250. 



