248 LEGUMINOS^E 



If 4 fluidrams of the above varieties of copaiba be mixed with 

 1% fluidrams of aqua ammonia and shaken in a test-tube, the mix- 

 ture will be clear, but milky if more alkali or fixed oil be present. 

 Maracaibo (Colombia copaiba) is thicker, darker, not always clear. 

 It solidifies, however, with magnesia and contains from 20 to 40 per 

 cent, of the volatile oil. 



DESCRIPTION or DRUG. A more or less viscid, yellow or light brown, 

 transparent liquid, of about the consistence of olive oil; specific grav- 

 ity, 0.950 to 0.955 a t 25C. (77F.); it becomes thicker and darker 

 with age, the volatilization and the oxidation of the volatile oil leaving 

 a greater proportion of the soft resin. Odor peculiar, aromatic; taste 

 bitter, acrid, and nauseous. 



Para copaiba is a pale, limpid liquid containing from 60 to 90 per cent. 

 of volatile oil. Maranham and Rio Janeiro copaiba are of the con- 

 sistence of olive oil, and contain a somewhat smaller proportion of 

 volatile oil 40 to 60 per cent. Maracaibo copaiba is dark yellow 

 or brownish, thick, somewhat turbid. It contains from 20 to 40 per 

 cent, of oil of copaiba. 



CONSTITUENTS. Volatile oil, upon which its value mostly depends; a 

 bitter principle, and two resins, copaibic acid, C 2 oHsoO2 (soluble in 

 ammonia and absolute alcohol), and a viscid, non-crystalline resin. 

 Para copaiba contains oxycopaivic acid, C 2 H 28 O 3 ; Maracaibo copaiba, 

 metacopaivic acid. C22H 34 O4. Copaiba contains no benzoic nor cin- 

 namic acids, hence the term balsam is a misnomer. 



Preparation of Copaibic Acid. Mix nine parts of copaiba and two parts 

 of ammonia (sp. gr. 0.95); lower the temperature to ioC.; crystals of copaibic 

 acid are then obtained, which agree with abietic acid in composition, but not in 

 properties. 



ACTION AND USES. Stimulant, diuretic, laxative. Its principal action, 

 however, is on mucous membranes. Dose: isTfl, (i mil), in emulsion. 



259 a. OLEUM COPAIBA. OIL OF COPAIBA. A volatile oil distilled 

 from copaiba. A pale yellowish liquid of an aromatic, bitterish taste, 

 and having the general properties of the oleoresin. It is a pure 

 hydrocarbon having the formula C 2 oH3 2 . Dose: 5 to 15 fll (0.3 to 

 i mil), in emulsion. 



260. PONGAMIA OIL. KURUNG OIL. A deep yellow, or reddish-brown, fixed 

 oil expressed from the seeds of an East Indian tree, Ponga'mia gla'bra Vente- 

 nat. It is used by the natives as a local application in skin diseases and rheu- 

 matism; especially recommended in pityriasis versicolor, and other cutaneous 

 diseases due to fungous growth. 



261. COPAL. GUM COPAL. A resin found as a fossil in Zanzibar, or exuding 

 from various species and genera of trees of the natural order Leguminosae, 

 growing in South America, West Indies, and Africa. Yellowish or brownish, 

 irregular masses, often with a wrinkled surface; breaks with a glossy conchoidal 

 fracture; odorless and tasteless. Used in making varnishes. 



