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The World's Commercial Products 



or underground stem of the plant, either whole or cut into pieces of suitable length. The 

 " roots '/. <'*re dug up, cut transversely into short pieces which are threaded on a string,. and 

 dried in the sun or by artificial heat. Such pieces are known in the trade as ""rounds," but 

 when too large the Chinese cut them longitudinally into two portions which are known as 

 "flats." Rhubarb is obtained from China, and, the various names of "Turkey," "Russian," 

 and " East Indian " rhubarb are merely relics of former times when the root reached Europe 

 from China via the countries mentioned. Small quantities of the drug are prepared in 

 England from R. officinale, and, to a less extent, from R. rhaponticum. English rhubarb is of 

 excellent quality, and closely resembles the Chinese product. The drug contains -several 

 constiuents possessing laxative properties, and is used as a purgative and bitter tonic. 

 The well-known grittiness of the drug is due to crystals of calcium oxalate. 



DRYING AND PACKING QUININE 



Podophyllum Rhizome. The underground stem of Podophyllum peltatum is the source 

 of podophyllin largely used as an emetic and purgative. The plant is a native of the eastern 

 states of North America and Canada, and was long, known to the Indians as a valuable medicine. 

 As imported, the drug consists of flattened portions of the rhizome, possessing a heavy narcotic 

 odour and a bitter nauseous taste. The active principle is a resinous compound (podophyllin), 

 which is precipitated from an alcoholic extract of the " root " by acidulated water. 



The rhizome of P. Emodi, a common plant on the lower slopes of the Himalayas, has 

 recently been proposed as a substitute for the officinal drug. 



Aconite Root. The poisonous properties of the roots of the Aconite or Monkshood 

 (Aconitum Napellus) have long been known, but it is only in comparatively recent times 

 that the drug has been employed medicinally. The root alone is now officinal, tmt the leaves 

 and flowering shoots were also formerly used. The Monkshood is commonly grown in England 

 both for ornamental purposes and as a medicinal plant ; on the lower slopes of the Pyrenees, 

 the Alps, and the mountains of Germany and Austria, the plant is very common, and is 

 extensively collected by the peasants for sale in the drug markets. In England the drug is 

 collected in the autumn soon after the stem and leaves have died down, and before they have 



