106 FRUITS 



used as an astringent. It occurs in thin curved fragments, granular 

 and brownish yellow or reddish on the outer surface, uniformly yellowish 

 brown within, and there exhibiting distinct, shallow, angular de- 

 pressions left by the seeds ; to some fragments the remains of the 

 coriaceous calyx are attached. It breaks with a short granular fracture, 

 has little odour, but a powerfully astringent taste. 



The student should observe 



(a) The astringent taste, 



(b) The impressions of the seeds, 



(c) The occasional fragments of the superior calyx ; 



and should compare the peel with pieces of Indian bael. 



Constituents. The principal constituent is gallotannic acid (28 

 per cent., Kramer, 1883), and a yellow colouring matter; whether 

 the peel contains any alkaloids allied to, or identical with, those of 

 the bark of the stem and root, is not known. 



Uses. The drug is sometimes used as an astringent in the form of 

 a decoction. 



BITTER APPLE 

 (Colocynth, Fructus Colocynthidis) 



Source, &C. The colocynth plant, Citrullus Colocynthis, Schrader 

 (N.O. Cucurbitacece), is, like many other members of the same natural 

 order, a scabrous, prostrate plant with a perennial root. It enjoys an 

 extensive distribution throughout northern Africa, Syria, and north- 

 western India. In the African and Egyptian deserts it frequently 

 occurs in enormous quantities ; it is cultivated in Syria, Spain, Cyprus, 

 and the north-western provinces of India. 



The remarkable properties of this fruit must necessarily have 

 attracted attention very early. Dioscorides and Pliny were both 

 acquainted with it, and so also were the Arabian physicians, by whom 

 probably its use was introduced into Europe. 



The fruit, which is about the size of an apple, is collected when ripe, 

 dried and then freed from the thin rind by peeling with a sharp knife, 

 the peeled fruits being often termed ' apples.' Persian colocynth is 

 peeled before drying and consequently shrinks considerably. Mogadore 

 colocynth is imported unpeeled and commonly used for filling the show- 

 jars in the pharmacist's window. 



Description. The fruit of the colocynth plant is, when young, three- 

 celled and bears numerous ovules attached to axile placentas. The 

 placentas, however, grow from the centre towards the circumference 

 of the fruit, and when they have nearly reached the pericarp divide 

 in two, each half curving inwards and bearing numerous seeds on its 



