164 THE MEDICINAL PLANTS OF THE PHILIPPINES 



in the Philippines. Personally I have had occasion to use it 

 in several cases of malarial fever in the town of San Mateo 

 near Manila. It is astringent, anthelmintic and antiperiodic, 

 highly useful in chronic diarrhoea and dysentery, not only for 

 its astringent effects but for its tonic and restorative action. 

 As a tonic it gives as good results as quinine. The dry 

 powdered bark is given internally in wafers of 20-30 centi- 

 grams. The infusion is prepared from 15 grams of the dry 

 comminuted bark to 300 of water. The dose is 30-60 grams 

 2 or 3 times a day. 



Another convenient preparation is the tincture, 75 grams of 

 the powdered bark macerated 7 days in 500 grams of alcohol, 

 shaking from time to time. It is then filtered and enough 

 alcohol added to make up the 500 cc. The dose is 4-8 grams 

 a day. 



I have often used the following wine as a tonic for con- 

 valescents and patients suffering from general debility : Finely 

 powdered bark, 25 grams, muscatel or dry sherry one bottle ; 

 macerate a week, shaking every day, and filter ; dose \ wine- 

 glass with equal parts water a few minutes before each meal ; 

 children or very weak patients should take it after eating ; it 

 should always be diluted. 



G. Grupe, a Manila pharmacist, treating the bark in 1883 

 by the same process as that used in the preparation of quinine, 

 obtained a bitter substance which he named Ditaine. Accord- 

 ing to Grupe Dr. Pina used this substance with great success 

 in the treatment of malarial fevers, but neither Grupe' s report 

 nor Pina's experiment are of any scientific value, inasmuch as 

 they have neglected to mention the doses in which the so-called 

 alkaloid was employed. Later analyses by Hesse and Jobst re- 

 vealed several principles : two alkaloids ditamine (C 16 H 19 NO 2 ), 

 soluble in ether ; Ditaine or Echitamine (C 22 H 28 NO 4 + H 2 O) 

 insoluble in ether, soluble in water ; acetic acid and two amor- 

 phous substances dextrogyrous in ethereal solution, one of them 



