250 LEGUMINOS^E 



Ion, as sometimes applied to the balsam, suggests the fact that for a 



long time it was supposed to be derived from a species of Myroxylon 



(M. peruiferum). 

 DESCRIPTION or DRUG. A brownish-black, oleoresinous, non-viscous 



liquid, transparent in thin layers, and, by transmitted light, a bright 



red-brown; heavier than water; odor balsamic and vanilla-like; taste 



warm, bitterish, afterward acrid. 

 CONSTITUENTS. Benzoic and cinnamic acid, cinnamein (the cinnamate 



of benzyl alcohol) constituting the greater part, about 60 per cent.; 



resin 32 per cent., and small quantities of benzyl alcohol, CeHsCH^- 



CH 2 OH; benzylic benzoate, C7H 5 (C7H7)0 2 ; stilbene, Ci4Hi 2 ; styrol, 



CsH 8 ; styracin; toluol, CrHg. 

 ACTION AND USES. Stimulant, expectorant, and stomachic. Externally 



in ointment. Dose: 8 to 30 gr. (0.5 to 2 Gm.). 



263. BALSAMUM TOLUTANUM. BALSAM OF TOLU 



BALSAM OP TOLU 

 A balsam exuding from incisions in the trunk of Tolui'fera Balsamum Linn6. 



BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS. A lofty evergreen tree with warty branches; 

 the wood contains a liquid balsam, which exudes when incisions are made. 

 Leaflets 7 to 8, ovate-oblong. Legume indehiscent, with winged expansions 

 and a winged stalk; very broad at apex. 



HABITAT. Venezuela and New Granada. 



COLLECTION. The balsam is obtained by making V-shaped incisions 

 through the bark and collecting the exudate in small cups or cala- 

 bashes. It is imported from Venezuela in tins holding from ten to 

 twenty-five pounds. This tapping of the tree continues for eight 

 months, causing the tree to become partially exhausted, showing 

 itself in the lessened foliage. A spurious article has been found 

 on the market. It has a soft consistence, is very sticky, especially 

 when chewed, and under the microscope shows only an occasional 

 crystal. On distilling a portion of this balsam with water, it was 

 observed to contain more of a fragrant volatile oil and less cinnamic 

 acid than the genuine drug. 



DESCRIPTION or DRUG. A very viscid, yellowish-brown semi-solid, with 

 a sweet, fragrant odor, and feebly aromatic taste. Long kept, it gradu- 

 ally hardens into a more or less solid mass, which, is brittle in the 

 cold. Soluble in volatile oils, alcohol, chloroform, glacial acetic acid, 

 and solution of potassa. Readily fusible, and burns with an aromatic 

 odor. 



