PIPimACEJE. 181 



attention to tlie fact that tlie action of cubebs upon the urine- 

 genital organs, though known to the old Arabian physicians, 

 was unknown to modern European writers on 3Iateria Medicaat 

 the commencement of the pre::?ent century- According to 

 Crawfurd, its importation into Europe, which had long been 

 discontinued, recommenced in 1815, in consequence of its 

 medicinal virtues having been brought to the knowledge of the 

 Eno-lish medical officers serving in Java^ by their Hindu 

 servants. {Op. cit,^ 2nd EtLj p. 585.) In earlier times cubeb 

 pepper was used in Europe as a spice, as it still is, to some 

 extent, in the East. 



Description, — The fruits are elevated on a kind of stalk, 



so 



that thej^ are not really but only apparently stalked. 



The dry berries are spherical, wrinkled, of a brown colour, 

 and are easily distinguished from black pepper by the pedicel 

 at their base ; beneath the pericarp is a nut which contains the 

 seed. The albumen is white and oily. As the fruit is gathered 

 Avhon immature, the drug usually consists of little else than the 

 pericarp. The mature fruit which is sometimes met with in 

 the Indian Bazars should be rejected. 



Microscopic sfructure, — The pericarp consists of an ej^idernii^, 

 beneath which is an interruj^ted row of small thick-walled cells. 

 ^Vithin this the parenchyrac is composed of cells containing 

 starch and oil ; in the latter, bundles of needle-sliaped crystals 

 of cubebin may be observed ; lastly, the innermost layer of the 

 pericarp is formed by several rows of tangentially extended 

 cells containing essential oil. 'J'he nut is yellow and brittle* 

 The seed when present is seen to contain crystals of cubebin. 



Chemical compodfion. — The most obvious constituent of eubebs 

 is the volatile oil, the proportion of w^hich yielded by the dru^- 

 varies from 4 to lr5 per cent. The oil, when freshly distilled, is 

 slightly greenish, but becomes colourless on rectification. It 

 has the odour of cubebs, and a warm aromatic comphoraceous 

 taste. Its density varies between 920 and 9r36 at 15° C, The 

 causes of the great variation in the yield of oil may be found in 



^i> 



