214 Botanic Drugs 



flowers is known as oil of neroli. Lemon seed is 

 official in Spain. Citrus acida, LIME, and Citrus 

 decumana, GRAPE FRUIT, are also employed in 

 medicine. 



Citrus juices are tonic, refrigerant, and anti- 

 scorbutic. The uses are too familiar to require 

 comment except that the fruit juices are of great 

 value in typhoid and other fevers. Orange juice is 

 largely used in hospital wards and should be more 

 used in the home treatment of the sick. It is of 

 interest to note that citrus fruit is, in the oxidizing 

 process of digestion, an agent serving to help alka- 

 linize (or render less acid) the urine. Hence con- 

 ditions of acidosis may be benefited by eating 

 oranges, of course not neglecting the administra- 

 tion of bicarbonate and other indicated drugs. 

 Scorbutic children, especially the bottle-fed, may be 

 wholly cured by administering orange juice. The 

 hemorrhagic diathesis, and certain cases of pruritus, 

 are benefited by citrus juices. Hoarse throat is treated 

 with lemon juice, as are many external conditions. 

 The free use of lemons is advocated as a prophy- 

 lactic against gastroenteric troubles in summer. 

 Grape fruit contains a bitter which is a gastric tonic 

 and is said to aid in the treatment of rheumatism. 



LOBELIA 



INDIAN TOBACCO, Lobelia inflata. Generally offi- 

 cial except in Russia and Spain. 



PHARMACOLOGY. Nicotine, lobeline, and cytisine 

 are classed together pharmacologically. The latter 

 alkaloid is derived from Cytisus laburnum. Piturine, 

 from Duboisia Hopwoodi, acts similarly to nicotine; 

 and the synthetic quarternary ammonium basis pro- 



