CATHARTICS. 181 



taste and an acid reaction. Soluble in 210 parts of 

 water, slightl}'- soluble in alcohol. In action some- 

 what resembles the acetate and nitrate of potassium. 

 In small doses it is diuretic, and larger doses purga- 

 tive. Dose: H., § iv.-viij. ; D., 3 i.-iv. 



Sodii Sulphas, sulphate of sodium, Glauber's salt. 

 See under Sodium. 



Drastic Purgatives. 



Jalapa, jalap, the tuberous root of Ipomoea jal- 

 apa, a Mexican plant, of the natural order Convolvu- 

 lacesB. Contains fifteen to twenty per cent, of the 

 official resin, which is composed of two resins — jala- 

 pin and convolvulin — the latter being the more active 

 of the two. It is a hydragogue cathartic, a vermi- 

 fuge, and cholagogue. It is neither so powerful nor 

 so irritant as gamboge, colocynth, or elaterium. Its 

 cathartic action upon horses and cattle is very slight, 

 two ounces having been given to the horse with but 

 a gentle cathartic effect, but marked diuresis. For 

 dogs and pigs it is a good purgative, although at 

 times causing nausea and vomiting. Dose: D., 

 3 ss.-ij., of the powdered root. 



Oleum Tiglii, oleum crotonis, croton oil. A fixed 

 oil obtained by expression from the seeds of Croton 

 tiglium, an East Indian tree. The seeds contain 

 about fifty per cent, of the oil, which is of a brown- 

 ish-yellow color, somewhat viscid, and slightl}^ fluor- 

 escent; a slight, fatty odor, a mild, oily, afterward 

 acrid and burning taste, and a slightly acid reaction. 



