470 SCIENTIFIC AND APPLIED PHARMACOGNOSY 



Constituents. Volatile oil (3 to 4 per cent) consisting of about 

 60 per cent of eugenol; resin; an acrid fixed oil about 6 per cent; 

 tannic acid; starch; calcium oxalate; ash about 4 per cent. 



Standard of Purity. Allspice, pimento, is the dried, nearly ripe 

 fruit of Pimenta officinalis (L.) Karst. It contains not less than 8 

 per cent of quercitannic acid (calculated from the total oxygen 

 absorbed by the aqueous extract), not more than 25 per cent of crude 

 fiber, not more than 6 per cent of total ash, nor more than -fa per 

 cent of ash insoluble in hydrochloric acid. (U. S. Dept. of Agric.) 



Allied Plants. A variety of P. officinalis yields a fruit with 

 large drupes known as Tobasco or Mexican Allspice. The structure 

 of this fruit resembles that of pimenta, as also does the Crown All- 

 spice obtained from P. acris, a tree of tropical America, the fruits of 

 which are 8 to 10 mm. in length. 



West Indian bay oil is distilled from the leaves of Pimenta acris, 

 Kostel, and is used in the preparation of bay rum. The leaves of 

 two varieties of P. acris, known locally as " Bois d'Inde Citronelle " 

 and " Bois d'Inde Anise," are frequently admixed with the leaves of 

 the true bay to the great detriment of the oil subsequently distilled. 

 The oil from the " Citronella " variety (P. acris var. citrifolia) con- 

 tains citral and has the flavor of lemon. Why the oil from the 

 " Anise " variety does not reach the desired standard is not yet clear. 

 The varietal forms intermingle in extensive wild growths near the 

 coasts of many of the West Indian islands and the leaves are gath- 

 ered indiscriminately. Much harm has already resulted to the bay 

 oil industry and it is a matter of great concern to the distillers that 

 either some method be determined for distinguishing the undesirable 

 leaves or that plantations of the true P. acris be established. 



Adulterants. Ground allspice has been adulterated with clove 

 stems (Fig. 202), cocoa shells, and the endocarp of the olive. 



The various spices have been adulterated with the following 

 substances: The hulls of Sinapis alba (Figs. 127 and 128); walnut 

 shells (Juglans regia, Fig. 70) which are distinguished by their color- 

 less stone cells and brown parenchyma; and shells of the Brazil nut 

 (Bertholletia excelsa, Fam. Myrtacese) which are identified by the 

 isodiametric stone cells with colorless walls and dark-brown contents, 

 and the brown parenchyma. 



COMBRETACE^;, OR MYROBALANS FAMILY 



Mostly tropical trees and shrubs, comprising about 175 species. 

 Like the Fagacese the plants of this family contain a tannin similar 



