308 DIPTEROCARPE.E 



appearance of a broken surface, and by giving a blue or green color 

 with iodine when starch is one of the impurities. Pure gamboge is 

 completely soluble by successive treatment with ether or alcohol and 

 then watej. 



CONSTITUENTS. A bright yellow resin (gambogic acid) 73 per cent., solu- 

 ble in alcohol and ether, turned to a red color by alkalies, and black- 

 brown by ferric chloride; gum 16 to 26 per cent., which, with the 

 resin and hot water, forms a yellow emulsion; wax 4 per cent, and 

 ash not more than 2 per cent. 



ACTION AND USES. A drastic hydragogue cathartic, but so liable to pro- 

 duce vomiting and griping that its action is usually modified by com- 

 bining it with other milder purgatives. Dose: ^ to 5 gr. (0.0324 to 

 0.3 Gm.), generally in pill form. 



OFFICIAL PREPARATION. 



Pilulae Catharticae Compositae, Dose: 2 to 5 pills. 



349. MANGOSTANA. MANGO FRUIT. MANGOSTEEN. The pericarp of the 

 fruit of Garcin'ia mangosta'na Linne, of India. Astringent; used in various 

 diseases of the mucous membrane, in injections, etc. Mangostin has been 

 isolated from the pericarp. It is golden-yellow in color, crystallizes in scales, 

 soluble in alcohol and ether. The fruit yields a fatty oil, concrete oil of 

 mangosteen, called kokum butter, used in soap-making. It is well adapted 

 for pharmaceutical preparations and candle-making. Dose: 15 to 60 gr. 

 (i to 4 Gm.). 



HYPERICINE^;. St. John's-wort Family 



350. HYPERICUM. ST. JOHN'S-WORT. The herb of Hype'ricum perfora'tum 



Linne. Habitat: Europe, Asia, and North America. The drug as it appears 

 in market is composed of a mixture of oblong-ovate, pellucid-punctate leaves, 

 thread-like branches, and less slender, brittle stems, with occasionally black- 

 dotted flower petals, the whole having a greenish-brown appearance. Con- 

 stituents: Resin, tannin, and a red coloring matter. Used as a stimulant, 

 diuretic, and astringent. Dose: 30 to 60 gr. (2 to 4 Gm.). 



DIPTEROCARPEJE 



Trees often gigantic, exuding a resinous juice; rarely shrubs. 



351. GURJUN. GURJUN BALSAM. WOOD-OIL. An oleoresin exuding from 

 Dipterocar'pus turbina'tus Gaertner, and other species of Dipterocarpus. 

 Habitat: India and the East Indies. A thick, viscid balsam with uses and 

 properties similar to copaiba. Opaque, and grayish, greenish or brownish 

 in reflected light; transparent and reddish-brown or brown in transmitted 

 light; odor copaiba-like; taste bitter. It contains a volatile oil, 40 to 70 per 

 cent., which is similar to oil of copaiba in composition, and produces a red or 

 violet color with a drop of H 2 SO 4 andHNO 3 mixed; also gurjunic acid (crystal- 

 line), resin, and a bitter principle. Owing to its close resemblance to copaiba 

 it has been used in considerable quantities for the purpose of adulterating the 

 latter. 



352. BORNEO CAMPHOR. SUMATRA CAMPHOR AND BORNEOL. A stearopten, 

 or camphor, CioHigO, obtained in solid crystalline form from fissures and 

 cavities in a gigantic forest tree, Dryoba'lanops aroma'tica Colebrook, growing 

 in the Malay Archipelago. It occurs in masses some pounds in weight. 

 Differs from the ordinary camphor in having a higher specific gravity (heavier 

 than water) and in being less volatile. With nitric acid it yields the Japan 

 (laurel) camphor, CioHieO. 



