COCCULUS 



183 



(yellow) in small amount, and menispine (white), the principal constituents, 

 with resin, tannin, and starch. Alterative, tonic, diuretic, and laxative; said 

 to resemble sarsaparilla in its action. The root was introduced into the mar- 

 ket as Texas sarsaparilla. Dose: 5 to 30 gr. (0.3 to 2 Gm.). 



159. COCCULUS. FISH BERRIES. Coc'culus In'dicus. N.P. The fruit of 

 Anamirta cocculus Wight and Arnott. Obtained from a climbing shrub in 

 Eastern India, native of Malabar coast. The berries are ovoid, kidney- 

 shaped, and about the size of a large pea, with an obscure ridge around the 

 convex back. Externally wrinkled and blackish-brown in color. The endo- 

 carp is white, and extends from the concave side deeply into the interior. 



FIG. 86. Anamirtozcocculus Flowering branch, a, Fruifc. 6. Section of same. 



The seed is semilunar, oily, very bitter, but the pericarp is tasteless. 

 chief constituent is picrotoxin. 



The 



Preparation of Picrotoxin. To aqueous extract add MgO; treat this with hot 

 alcohol. Evaporate and collect the deposited picrotoxin. 



Locally employed in cutaneous affections. The decoction (or^tincture 

 added to water, I to 4) is used as an insecticide in head lice. Picrotoxin is 

 an acrid narcotic poison; in its action on the secretions it is said to resemble 

 pilocarpine. The berries have been used from ancient times for stupefying 

 * and capturing fish, but "this unsportsmanlike method of fishing in some 

 parts of the country is now illegal." 



Cocculus indicus has been sometimes confounded with the fruit of the 

 Laurus nobilis, commonly known as bayberry. The latter is, however, gen- 

 erally larger, distinctly oval in form, and the seeds lie loose within and fill 

 the cavity of the fruit. The seed of the bayberry has an agreeable aromatic 

 taste. 



