SARSAPARILLA 385 



talline glucoside yielding by hydrolysis sarsasapogenin and dextrose. 

 According to Power and Salway this is the only definite saponin- 

 glucoside in Jamaica sarsaparilla, which also contains sarsapic acid 

 (a crystalline dicarboxylic acid), dextrose, fatty acids, sitosterol-d- 

 glucoside, resin, &c. Parillin and smilacin, formerly cited as con- 

 stituents, are probably mixtures. It has been assumed that sarsa- 

 parilla is practically devoid of therapeutic value, but this hag by no 

 means been proved . Like other drugs containing saponins it possesses 

 hsemolytic properties. Kobert has shown that the haemolytic action 

 of Honduras sarsaparilla is about eight times that of Jamaica. The 

 drug contains also varying quantities of starch ; it yields from 10 to 20 

 per cent, of aqueous extract, and about 7 per cent, of ash. 



Uses. Sarsaparilla has been administered as an alterative in syphilis, 

 chronic skin diseases, and rheumatism, but great diversity of opinion 

 exists as to its therapeutic value. 



Varieties. Several other varieties of sarsaparilla are imported into 

 the English market ; the following are the most important : 



FIG. 208. Bundle of Honduras Sarsaparilla. 

 Reduced. (Pereira.) 



1. Honduras Sarsaparilla, the botanical origin of which is unknown. 

 The drug is imported from British Honduras in serons (see fig. 2, B) 

 containing a number of bundles about 75 cm. long and 5 or 6 cm. wide, 

 much longer and narrower therefore than the bundles of the Jamaica 

 variety ; they are sometimes closely whipped round or sometimes 

 loosely bound with a long root. The roots are distinguished from 

 those of the Jamaica variety by their pale yellowish or brownish colour, 

 and by their less shrunken, more plump and starchy appearance ; they 

 have generally fewer rootlets attached and are always free from rhizome. 

 The section exhibits a pale, starchy cortex, usually thicker than that 

 of Jamaica sarsaparilla, but a similar stele. 



This variety is largely used on the Continent, where it is generally 

 preferred. 



2. Lima Sarsaparilla is imported from Panama in bundles about 

 60 cm. long and about 7 cm. in diameter, loosely folded, bound with 

 a root, and made into bales similar to those of Jamaica sarsaparilla, 

 each containing about 300 bundles and weighing nearly 100 kilo- 

 grams. This drug shows a close resemblance to Jamaica sarsaparilla, 

 and indeed can only be distinguished with certainty by the different 

 packing and by the anatomical characters of the cells of the endo- 



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