598 MEDICAL BOTANY. 



yields some of the seeds from which Croton oil is prepared, and is recognised 

 as the officinal species. These seeds are very much the shape of the Castor 

 oil bean, of a dark yellowish-brown, or even blackish ; when the epidermis 

 has not been removed, they are yellowish. The inside is of a whitish-yellow 

 colour, oleaginous, odourless, with at first a mild and oily taste, which soon 

 becomes acrid and burning. They are powerfully cathartic, and are used in 

 India, after having been slightly roasted, and their- testae removed ; about a 

 grain, or half a seed will cause full purgation. They owe their powers to 

 the presence of a fixed oil, in combination with a peculiar acid, the Crotonic, 

 and to a brown soft resin. In Europe and this country, the oil only is em- 

 ployed ; this is known under the name of Croton oil, and is a compound of 

 many of the constituents of the seeds. When pure and fresh it is nearly 

 colourless, but by age becomes viscid and yellowish. It has a feeble but un- 

 pleasant odour, and an acrid taste, which is very lasting. 



Croton oil is a violent drastic purgative, capable, in over-doses, of destroying 

 life. It is applicable to cases where it is of importance to make a speedy and 

 powerful impression on the bowels, and where the patient has difficulty in 

 swallowing. It is also beneficial in obstinate costiveness, or a torpid condition 

 of the digestive canal. It has likewise proved of much service as a revulsive, 

 in affections of the head. 



It has of late been much used as an external counter-irritant, to relieve 

 diseases of internal organs, especially in affections of the respiratory pas- 

 sages. It causes rubefaction, and if continued, or employed in an undiluted 

 form, creates a pustular eruption. When applied in this way it sometimes 

 acts on the bowels, and in children has caused severe purgation. The dose 

 of the oil is from 1 to 3 drops; usually given in the form of a pill, or in 

 emulsion, but the first form is preferable. 



The oil found in commerce is not solely obtained from the seeds of the 

 C. tiglium, as some of that from India, as well as part of the seeds them- 

 selves, are derived from C. pavana, and perhaps from C. polyandrum. The 

 former of these are, in the opinion of Dr. Hamilton, the original Tiglium or 

 Tilly seeds, the Grana moluccana of Rumphius ; the latter are called 

 Jamalgota in India, in common with those of the C. tiglium, and C. pavana. 

 (See Dunglison's New Remedies, 481.) 



Numerous other species of Croton are possessed of active properties : C. 

 draco of Mexico furnishes a red juice, which hardens into a fine variety of 

 Dragon's blood, and is used in its native country as a vulnerary and astrin- 

 gent; the same kind of product is derived from C. sangnifluus and C. 

 hibiscifolius, of South America. C. lacciferum of Ceylon, has an aromatic 

 and purgative bark ; its juice is aromatic, and employed as a vulnerary, 

 whilst its branches furnish a small quantity of fine lac. C. balsamiferum 

 also has a resinous juice, which, like that of the last species, is said to be 

 vulnerary, and is used as such in some of the West India Islands. A 

 spirituous liquor, called Petit baume, is distilled from it in Martinique, and is 

 said to be beneficial in irregular menstruation. C. perdicipes of Brazil is 

 there employed in syphilis, and as a diuretic; whilst the C. campestris of 

 the same country is purgative, but likewise deemed remedial in venereal 

 disorders. 



C. thurifer and C. adipatum of South America yield a resin resembling 

 frankincense ; C. humilis is esteemed for its aromatic properties in the West 

 Indies, as is C. gratissimus at the Cape of Good Hope. O. origanifolius 

 affords a balsam somewhat like Copaiva, whilst its leaves and bark are 

 sudorific. C. antisyphiliticum is very stimulating, and even dangerous in 

 over-doses ; according to Martius, the leaves are made into cataplasms and 



