154 



MELIACEyE. 



MELIACEyE. 



CORTEX MARGOSJE. 



Cortex A zadirachtce ; Nim Bark, Margosa Bark 



Botanical Origin—Melia indica Brandis (M. Azadirachta L., Aza- 

 dirachta indica Juss.), an ornamental tree, 40 to 50 feet high and 

 attaining a considerable girth/ \7ell known throughout India by its 

 Hnidustani name of Mm, or by its Portuguese appellation of l/aj-^osa.' 

 It IS much planted in avenues, but occurs wild in the forests of Southern 

 India Ceylon and the Malay Archipelago, as ftir as Java.' 



1 he hard and heavy wood which is so bitter that no insect will 

 attack it, the medicinal leaves and bark, the fruit which affords an 

 acrid bitter oil used in medicine and for burning, the gum which 

 exudes from the stem, and finally a sort of toddy obtained from 

 young trees, cause the Mm to be regarded as one of the most useful 

 trees of India. 



M.mdka is often confounded with M. Azedarach L, a native of 

 ^nina, and probably of India, now widely distributed throughout the 

 warmer regions of the globe, and not rare even in Sicily and other 

 parts ol the south of Europe. The former has an oval fruit (by 

 aoortionj one-celled and one-seeded, and leaves simply pinnate. The 

 latter has the fruit five-celled, and leaves bi-pinnate. 



. J^istory— The tree under the Sanskrit name of Nimha is mentioned 

 m busruta, one of the most ancient Hindu medical writings, composed 

 perhaps about the 10th century of our era 



n.+;. common with many other productions of India, it attracted the 

 notice of Garcia de Orta, physician to the Portuguese viceroy at Goa 

 nKL.L?i''^^'^\^^e ^^ ^^t^unt of it in his work on drugs in 1503/ 



^ m" ■^^''? supplied some further details and also i 

 . The tonic properties of the bark, long recognized b>' 



Vhristoval Acosta « m 1578 supplied some further details and also a 

 ilio r.n+- i, . .~"^ ^^^^^ properties of the bark, long recognized b>' 

 wLto oflotet'l^f J"J ''^ ^™- -ccosdvcly tested by Dr. D. 



figure of the tree. 



White 



r2^;. '? generally admitted.^ The dru7harrpfac7in"the Phai 

 coposia of India. ° ^ 



cr 



of the present century, and have 

 , A,.,.,^ i,„„ — 1„^^ ;„ +I10 Pharma- 



Description— The bark 



coarse fibrous 



W,.Z.^ Vr.-^ ^^'^ i^ our possession « is in coarse fibrous 

 npl Wl tT * ?^ ^"^ '""^^ *^^^ck ^^d 2 to 3 inches wide, slightly chan- 

 hnp Ti. -^ subcrous coat is rough and cracked, and of a greyish rusty 

 RtrnVf/ 'n '"■ '^'?^''^ '^ ^^ ^ ^"g^t buff and has a highly foliaceous 

 V,!: 5c 1 P^^^^^g a transverse section three distinct layers may 

 be observed^firstly the suberous coat exhibiting a large brown 



W'H^/f pSt?r"«y -^1 Trixnen, Medic. 

 3 o'T "!!}^n/oso, bitter. 



Bre^chn^der, Cku^e BotaniJ" iZ^;, 



15G3 



^ CoUoquios dos Simples, <kc., Goa, 



Colloq. xl. p. 153. ,.•<,///' 



« Tractado de fa.s- Drogasy Mcd'Ctnas^ 



laslndias Oricntalcs, Burgos, 15/8, cap. • • 



'' Waring, in Pharmacojpceia of V/W" . 



1868. 443. „ , f„n 



« We arc indebted for it to Mr.Broughton 



of Ootacamund. 



