588 PIPERACE^. 



om 



Cubebs were imported into Singapore in 1872 to the 

 extent of S062 cwt., of which amount 2348 ewt. were entered as from 

 Netherlands India. The drug was re-shipped during the same year to 

 tlie amount of 276G cwt., the quantity exported to the United Kingdom 

 beino- 1180 cwt., to the United States of America 1244 cwi, and to 

 British India 104 cwt/ In the previous year, a larger quantity was 

 shipped to India than to Great Britain, 



Uses — Cubebs are much employed in the treatment of gonorrhoea. 

 The drug is usually administered in powder; less frequently in the form 

 of ethereal or alcoholic extract, or essential oil. 



Bernatzik and Schmidt, whose chemical and therapeutical experi- 

 ments have thrown much light on the subject, have shown that the 

 efficacy of cubebs being dependent on the indifferent resin and cubebic 

 acid, preparations which contain the utmost amount of these bodies and 

 exclude other constituents of the drug, are to be preferred. They would 

 reject the essential oil, as they find its administration devoid of thera- 

 peutic effects. 



The preparations which consequently are to be recommended, are the 

 berries deprived of their essential oil and constituents soluble in water, 

 and then dried and powdered ; an alcoholic extract prepared from the 

 same, or the purified resins. 



Adulteration— Cubebs are not much subject to adulteration, though 

 it is by no means rare that the imported drug contains an undue pro- 

 l)ortion of the inert stalks (rachis)^ that require to be picked oiit before 

 the berries are ground. Dealers judge of cubebs by the oihness and 

 strong characteristic smell of the berries when crushed. Those wliicli 

 have a large proportion of the pale, smooth, ripe berries, which look dry 

 when broken, are to be avoided. , 



We have occasionally found in the commercial drug a small, smooth 

 two-celled fruit, of the size, shape, and colour of cubebs, but wanting- the 

 long pedicel. A slight examination suffices to recognize it as not being 

 cubebs. We have also met with some cubebs of larger size than the 

 ordinary sort, much shrivelled, with a stouter and flattened pedicel, one 

 and a half times to twice as long as the berry. The drug has an agree- 

 able odour different from that of common cubebs, and a very bitter taste. 



lum 



•asdff^ 



Miq.), a Sumatran species. . e 



The fruits of Piper Lowovg Bl. (Cuheha Lowong Miq.), a native o 

 Java, and those of P. ribesioi'des Wall. (Cuheha WallicJm »yqy, 

 extremely cubeb-like.^ Those of Fij^er camnum A. Dietr. {tmv 

 ccniina Miq.), a plant of wide distribution throughout the ^^^^i^^' t Mr 

 pelago as far as Borneo, for a specimen of which we have *° ^ '^'^ ig^j^g 

 Binnendyk of Buitenzorg, are smaller than true cubebs, and haves 

 only half the diameter of the berry. t^pgn 



In the south of- China the fruits oriimms Cuheha Lour, have 



1 Slmlt.'i Settlements Blue Book for 1872. => Figiircd in Xces von I^^^^Jfjf 'tab"?! 



294. 338.— There arc no statistics for show- ntedidnales, Piissehlorf, i. (^°f?'] Com- 



mg the total import of cubebs into the A different figure is given by ^^U ' 



United Kingdom. metit. phjtogr. (1839), tab. 6. 



- They yielded to Schmidt 1 •' per cent. 

 of oil and 3 per cent of resin. 



