PRUNES 101 



Description. The pods are brown or greenish brown or pale green 

 and brownish in the centre over the seeds, broadly oblong, very flat 

 and rounded at each extremity and very slightly mucronate at the 

 apex. They are about 5 cm. long and 2 to 2-5 cm. wide and contain 

 several pale greyish green, hard, flat, irregularly reticulated, obovate- 

 cuneate seeds. Indian senna pods are usually rather darker than 

 Alexandrian and slightly narrower and the remains of the base of the 

 style are rather more distinct. 



Constituents. The constituents are presumably the same as those 

 of senna. 



Uses. Senna pods are used as a laxative and are considered to be 

 more certain than the leaves and to cause less griping. The liquid 

 extract made from the fruits (with seeds) appears to cause more pain 

 than one made from the pericarps alone ; the reason for this is not 

 known. 



PRUNES 



(Prunum) 



Source, &c. The prune, or French plum, is the dried fruit of Prunus 

 domestica, Linne, var. Juliana, de Candolle (N.O. Rosacece), a variety of 

 the plum tree cultivated in France, especially in the valley of the Loire. 



The plums are collected when ripe, and dried by exposing them to 

 the sun for a day or two, after which the drying is completed in an 

 oven or drying apparatus, the temperature being raised in stages 

 from 45 to 90. A more rapid process consists in drying in a special 

 ' evaporator ' on wicker trays. 



Description. Prunes are of irregular flattened-ovoid shape, and 

 about 3 cm. long. The surface is shrivelled and nearly black ; the 

 pulp, which should be soft and fleshy, is dark-coloured and surrounds 

 a hard oval flattened stone ; the latter is broadly rounded at one end 

 and provided at the other with a shallow, slightly oblique depression. 

 They have an agreeable odour and sweet fruity taste. 



The seeds contain about 45 per cent, of fixed oil and also amygdalin 

 (see p. 163). 



Varieties. The best prunes are the French from the Loire districts, 

 but California now exports large quantities of excellent fruit, and 

 smaller amounts come from Bosnia, Spain, and Portugal. 



Constituents. The pulp contains about 40 per cent, of dextrose, 

 about 2 per cent, of vegetable acids (malic, tartaric, &c.), and about 

 30 per cent, of water, the composition varying with the season, degree 

 of ripeness, &c. 



Uses. The prune is nutritive, demulcent, and slightly laxative ; 

 it is frequently ordered as an article of diet in habitual constipation. 



