BLOODROOT 307 



Description. -The drug consists of the rhizome together with 

 numerous stout roots which frequently break off. The rhizome is 

 cylindrical or flattened, about 10 mm. in diameter and contorted. 

 The upper surface bears the short remains of aerial stems, with cup- 

 shaped scars ; to the under surface numerous stout roots are attached. 

 The transverse section is pale brown, starchy or horny, with a ring 

 of radially elongated bundles. The colour, odour and taste resemble 

 those of podophyllum rhizome. 



Constituents. The constituents also are similar to those of the 

 American drug but the yield of resin is usually higher (10 to 12 per 

 cent.) and the proportion of podophyllotoxin greater (1 to 4 per 

 cent.), the resin containing approximately twice as much podo- 

 phyllotoxin as the resin from the American drug, and being about 

 twice as active. According to Dott the two resins may be distinguished 

 by the following test : Mix 0'5 gm. with 5 cc. of 10 per cent, solution 

 of ammonia and 5 cc. of water ; 

 stir well for twenty minutes, 

 filter, wash and dry ; the in- 

 soluble residue from American 

 podophyllin should not exceed 

 0'13 gm. ; from Indian about 

 twice as much willbe obtained. 



BLOODROOT 



(Rhizoma Sanguinarise) 



Source, &c. Bloodroot is 

 the rhizome of Sanguinaria 

 canadensis, Linne (N.O. Papa- FlG - 155. Bloodroot. Natural size. 



veracece), a herb with a per- 

 ennial rhizome, widely distributed throughout Canada and the United 

 States, growing freely in shady places on rich soils ; the plant pro- 

 duces in early spring a single flower succeeded by one or two leaves 

 10 to 15 cm. high, and exudes, when cut, an orange-red juice. The 

 rhizome is collected in the autumn and dried. 



Description. Bloodroot varies usually in length from 2 to 5 cm., 

 and in thickness from 5 to 10 mm. It has a dark grey or dark reddish 

 brown colour, and is generally plump, straight, or somewhat curved, 

 and nearly cylindrical, but it is sometimes much shrivelled and 

 shrunken, and then contains less starch, due probably to its having 

 been gathered before the end of the period of active growth. It is 

 bluntly conical at the apex, and shows only traces of a bud or aerial 

 stem. From the lower surface numerous dark, thread-like, brittle, 

 wiry roots spring, commonly more or less interlaced, but easily break- 

 ing off, leaving inconspicuous raised scars ; in the commercial drug 



