ties. An extract of the root was a constituent in arrow poisons 
(Peckolt, 1909). 
The first reference to manacad root appeared in the literature 
in 1648 in De Medicina Brasiliensi, an early materia medica 
written by Willem Piso. Piso was a Dutch physician who trav- 
eled in northeastern Brazil from 1637 to 1644 with the German 
physician Georg Marcgraf. Piso’s work provided a description 
of manacd root and its uses, as well as a line drawing, the first 
illustration of the genus Brunfelsia. He states that the scraped 
bark is a strong purgative, resembling scammony (Convolvulus 
scammoniae L.). Piso’s remarks and illustration were repeated 
by Marcgraf in his Historia Rerum Naturalium Brasiliae, pub- 
lished posthumously and bound together with the work of Piso. 
Manaca was first named scientifically Franciscea uniflora 
by Pohl in 1827. The correct combination Brunfelsia uniflora 
was made in 1829 by David Don, who recognized the similarity 
of Franciscea to the earlier genus Brunfelsia. In 1843, von 
Martius, an outstanding student of Brazilian medical botany, 
discussed at length the medicinal uses and pharmacological 
effects of manacd root. His observations were very thorough 
for the time and often copied by later authors. The substance of 
his account of manaca follows: 
‘The whole plant, most of all the large root, stimulates the 
lymphatic system with great efficacy. It melts away the disease- 
producing parts and eliminates sweat and urine. It is very useful 
in syphilis and is called “vegetable mercury’ by some. The inner 
bark and all the herbaceous parts have a nauseating bitterness 
and are effective for fauces vellicantes. A small dose relaxes the 
body. A larger dose moves the bowels and the urine, produces 
abortion and expels the venom of snakebites. An excessive dose 
acts like a bitter poison... . « Among some tribes of Indians in 
the Amazon region, an extract of manacd is used in arrow 
poisons.” 
Further observations on the effects of manaca root appeared 
in 1871 in a work on toxic plants of Brazil by J.M. Caminhoa. 
Quoting several obscure authors, Caminhoa reported the fol- 
lowing effects not mentioned by von Martius: abundant saliva- 
tion, vertigo, general anesthesia, partial paralysis of the face, 
swollen tongue and turbid vision. He also mentions the great 
usefulness of the drug in treating rheumatism. 
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