TRIOSTEUM PERFOLIATUM. 
CHEMICAL AND MEDICAL PROPERTIES AND USES. 
The root of the Triostrum PERFoLIATUM is the only offici- 
nal part. When dry it is brittle and readily pulverized. The 
odor is nauseous and the taste bitter and unpleasant. Its 
active principles yield both to water and alcohol, and are 
retained in the extract. 
Feverwort is a mild cathartic, and sometimes operates as 
an emetic, especially when the fresh root is given, or when 
the dried root is administered in large doses. It has been 
said on some occasions to operate as a diuretic; but Pro- 
fessor Barton, who observed this effect, justly remarks that 
this may have been only an accidental circumstance, rhubarb 
having been known by C. Piso to produce the same effect. 
Its operation as a cathartic is safe, mild, and thorough. It 
excites a motion of the bowels the nearest to the natural peri- 
staltic motion of any purgative which has ever been discov- 
ered. It often insinuates itself through the obstructed por- 
tions of the bowels better than more powerful purgatives. 
In the disorders of the bowels, such as dysentery, diarrhwa, 
and cholera morbus, the TrrosteuM PERFOLIATUM is a charm- 
ing remedy. It may be used in all cases where it is wished 
to act gently on the bowels, either alone or in combination. 
One of the common vulgar names of this plant, Bastard Ipe- 
cacuanha, indicates also the well-known emetic power which 
it unquestionably possesses. Shoepf speaks of it as an 
emetic only, and alludes to its ‘use in intermittent fevers and 
pleurisy. Among the almost countless number of medicinal 
substances that have been employed toa greater or less ex- 
tent to alleviate suffering and cure disease, perhaps there is 
none more valuable, or more generally applicable in the treat- 
ment of the divers diseases to which man is subject, than a 
safe, prompt, and efficient emetic. The safety and efficacy 
of Feverwort as an emetic, and the great number of accidents 
and diseases requiring a medicine of this description, entitle 
it, therefore, to rank high with the profession. Rafinesque 
mentions that the leaves of this plant are diaphoretic. They 
_ have a tendency to increase the secretions, and consequently 
they possess the property of raising a sweat in a considerable 
_ degree. In fevers the plant is one of the most valuable arti- 
cles in the catalogue of medicines. By way of eminence it 
is called Feverwonrr. 
_ The extract, which is the best mode of exhibiting Trios- 
| TEUM PERFOLIATUM, purges in doses of from ten to fifteen 
_ grains. Five pounds of the root are said to afford two 
_ pounds of extract. The dose of the powder is a scruple to 
=e halfa drachm. _ Se ee Re ee Orr 
_—_'The hard seeds have been used as a substitute for coffee, 
and when 1 properly prepared are a very excellent one. 
