evi Proceedings of the 
The minutes of the last meeting were confirmed and 
signed. 
Major R. N. Chopra, I.M.S., read a joint paper by himself 
and Dr. Birendra Nath Gho sh on “The Future of Research 
into Indian Indigenous Drugs 
e writers dwelt upon ‘the enormous field for useful 
investigation into Indian indigenous drugs, the necessity for 
C orrelating clinical and experimental investigations, for making 
suitable standardised preparations of such drugs, and on the 
variations in plant chemistry and therapeutic value of plants 
under different conditions of season and climate. After a 
historical resumé of the subject from 1849 to date, it was 
pointed out that there are three main lines of investigation to 
be followed: (a) To render India as far as possible self- 
supporting in her requirements of already recognised and 
official drugs, such as digitalis and belladonna which grow 
everywhere in India but are not utilised. (6) To investigate 
the properties of other Indian drugs of known or of supposed 
therapeutic value, such as bael and isofgool in dysentery, and 
the products of ‘the neem tree as to their antiseptic and 
volatile oils. (c) To bring efficient yet cheap medical remedies 
patient wants is a hakim at four annas, and a bottle of 
medicine at two annasa day, whereas what he now gets is a 
specialist at Rs. 16 a visit and purified alkaloid at Rs. 50 per 
Ib! (from Euro 
is paper, which covered very interesting ground, was 
subsequently published in extenso in the Indian Medical Gazette, 
was copied or abstracted in several of the Indian daily 
newspapers, has aroused attention from almost all the Provin- 
cial Governments in India and has become the basis for muc 
present-day discussion and proposals. There was a most 
interesting discussion at the close of the paper in which Major 
Acton, Colonel Megaw and Major Knowles took part, whilst 
Professor Panchanan Neogi gave an account of his investiga- 
tions into the composition of Ayurvedic remedies 
Dr. U. N. Brahmachari then read a paper on ‘‘ Some New 
Amino-Antimonyl Tartrates and their Therapeutic Value. ’ 
The compounds dealt with were phenocall-, anzsthesin-, 
apothesine-. novocaine-, orthuform-, and acrifavine-antimonyl 
tartrates. Of these the anasthesin compound could be 
administered painlessly by intramuscular methods, and also 
orally without inducing vomiting; whilst the orthoform 
compound was suitable for inunction. The antimony content 
of the different compounds varied from 21 to 29% and 
toxicity of these compounds to experimental animals was less 
than that or potassium or sodium antimony tartrates. 
Dr. Brahmachari’s paper led to an —, discussion, 
in the course of which Dr. L. E. Napier begged for further 
as 


