157 ARTEMISIA PAUCIFLORA 



covered with a whitish down ; it has also a more rounded form. 

 Other varieties of Santonica have also been noticed by writers ; 

 but the Levant Wormseed is now the only one ordinarily found in 

 commerce. 



Medical Properties and Uses. Santonica and santonin possess 

 anthelmintic properties,, more especially the latter, which is the form 

 in which the drug is now generally administered. The effects of 

 santonin are more especially manifest upon the round-worm 

 (Ascaris lumbricoides) , which it is said by Kiichenmeister to kill 

 more rapidly than any other anthelmintic. It is useless against the 

 tapeworm, and probably also the threadworm (Oxyuris (Ascaris) ver- 

 micularw) ; although many regard it as an effectual remedy against 

 the latter. Its administration should be followed in a few hours by a 

 mild purgative. Santonin is well adapted for children on account 

 of the smallness of the dose required, and from its being without 

 taste or odour. Besides its use as an anthelmintic, it has been 

 recommended as a substitute for quinia in intermittent fevers, but 

 with no satisfactory results. In some persons the use of santonin 

 has been followed by xanthopsy or yellow vision, so that red colours 

 become orange, and blue green ; an effect which may last for several 

 hours. This singular action has caused the employment of santonin 

 in amaurosis and some other diseases of the eye, but without any 

 marked benefit. In large doses santonin acts as a poison, causing 

 giddiness, headache, vomiting, convulsions, and even death. In 

 such cases, Professor Binz of Bonn, has recommended the inhala- 

 tion of chloroform or ether as the most effectual remedy ; and also 

 advises purgatives and plenty of drink to be given for the elimi- 

 nation of the drug. Santonica is but little used in the United 

 States, having been superseded by the seeds of Chenopodium 

 anthelminticum , which are there universally known under the 

 name of wormseed. These seeds are described by us under the 

 name of the plant from which they are derived. 



Per. Mat. Med., by B. & R., p. 686; Pliarmacograpnia, p. 346 ; 

 U. S. Disp., by W. & B., pp. 773 and 1390 ; Garr., Mat. Med., 

 p. 293 ; Stille's Therapeutics and Mat. Med., vol. ii, p. 341 ; 

 Willkomm, in Botanische Zeitimg, 1872, p. 130; Mialhe, in 



