OLEUM SESAMI 393 



524. CHELONE. BALMONY. SNAKE-HEAD. The hejb of Chelo'ne gla'bra 



Linne. Habitat: United States. Tonic, anthelmintic, and laxative, with a 

 supposed peculiar action on the liver. It has been largely employed in 

 domestic practice as an external application in diseases of the skin. Dose: 

 30 to 60 gr. (2 to 4 Gm.). 



OROBANCHACE^;. Broom-rape Family 



525. EPIPHEGUS. BEECH-DROP. CANCER-ROOT. The herb of Epiphe'gus 

 virginia'na Barton, growing in all parts of North America as a parasite on 

 the roots of the beech tree. It is a fleshy plant with a scaly, tuberous root, 

 and smooth, yellowish or purpKsh stem, about 400 mm. (16 in.) tall, covered 

 with small scales instead of leaves; taste bitter, astringent, and nauseous. 

 It receives its name, cancer-root, from the popular belief that the powder 

 was beneficial in the treatment of cancerous ulcers. It is often given as an 

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



BIGNONIACE^E. Bignonia Family 



526. NEWBOULDIA. The root-bark of Newboul'dia lae'vis Seeman, introduced 

 from tropical Africa as an astringent in diarrhea and dysentery. Dose of 

 fl'ext.: 15 to 60 tig (i to 4 mils). 



527. CAROBA. The leaves of Jacaran'da proce'ra Sprengel. Habitat: South 

 America. A valuable alterative and antisyphifitic. Dose of fl'ext.: 15 to 

 60 trjj (i to 4 mils). 



PEDALINEJE 



528. SESAMUM. BENNE. From Se'samum in'dicum Linn6, a plant growing 

 to the height of 4 or 5 feet, native to the East Indies, but long cultivated in 

 Asia and Africa; from the latter country it was introduced by the negroes 

 into Southern United States. Both the leaves and the seeds are used, and 

 a fixed oil expressed from the latter. 



528 a. The leaves are oblong-lanceolate, from 75 to 125 mm. (3 to 5 in.) long, 

 heart-shaped at base; pubescent, prominently veined beneath. They abound 

 in a gummy matter to such an extent that two leaves stirred in a cup of water 

 will make a sufficiently thick mucilage for use as a demulcent. 



528 b. The seeds are used chiefly a.s a source of the fixed oil, of which they con- 

 tain from 50 to 60 per cent. They are used by the southern negroes as food. 

 Ovate, flattened, about 3 to 4 mm. (% to Y in.) long; externally yellowish- 

 white to pale brown (in one species, S. orientate, purplish-brown), with four 

 longitudinal ridges, and, on the pointed end, a somewhat prominent hilum; 

 internally whitish, oily; taste bland. 



528 c. Oleum Sesami. TEEL OIL. BENNE OIL. A yellowish, limpid, 

 transparent fixed oil, thinner at ordinary temperatures than most of 

 the fixed oils; odor slight; taste bland, nut-like. It has a specific 

 gravity of 0.919 to 0.923, and congeals to a yellowish-white mass at 

 5C. ( 23F.). It is often used to adulterate olive and almond 

 oils, in which it may be detected by shaking a portion of the sus- 

 pected oil with an equal weight of concentrated hydrochloric acid; 

 a bright emerald-green color will usually be produced, changing to 

 blue, then violet, and finally to deep crimson on the addition of about 

 one-tenth its weight of cane-sugar and agitating. 



CONSTITUENTS. Contains olein (76 per cent.), myristin, palmitin, 

 stearin-resinoid compound, higher alcohol, C25H 44 O, sesamin, 

 CnH^Os, crystalline. 



