N. 0. BERBERIDE^. 69 



extent the plant can be cultivated j with profit. He has sum= 



marized the following facts from his experiments :— 



(1) that Podophyllum can be grown successfully either from seed or from 

 sections of rhizomes of any size down to under £ in. in length, 

 though perhaps this length should be taken as a minimum ; 



(21 that in either case transplanting can be carried out without danger, 

 though in the case of planting rhizome cuttings it is preferable to 

 plant direct in the forest and not to transplant from nursery 

 beds ; 



(3) that the development of rhizomes is extremely slow : in the case of 

 plants raised from rhizome cuttings it may possibly take at least 

 12 years to produce fair sized marketable rhizomes, while in the 

 case of seedling plants the period is likely to be longer. 



Mr. Puran Singh, F.C.S., Chemist at the Forest Research 

 Institute, Dehra Dun, in a note on the Resin-value of Podophyl- 

 lum Emorfi and the best season for collecting it, writes : — 



"The rhizome should apparently be collected in May about the time 

 when the plant is in flower and not in the autumn as has been suggested. 



The Comparative Value of the Indian and the American Drugs. 



"It has been admitted that the Indian plant is richer in resin as well as 

 in Podophyllotoxin than the American. From the results of the assay of 

 American Podophyllum given by Dunstan and Henry it is calculated that the 

 percentage of the active principle in the resin of the American plant ranges 

 from 1529 to 23*74. According to the analysis of a sample of the American 

 drug by Umney, the active principle amounts to 22'9 per cent, of the resin. 

 In a sample of the Indian drug examined by him, in 1892, he found 25 per cent., 

 while in another sample collected after fruiting in 1910, he found 50*3 per 

 cent. The percentage of Podophyllotoxin in the Indian resin varies according 

 to the season of collection from 25 to 50 per cent., and it is safe to assert 

 that an average quality of the Indian plant will contain as a rule twice as 

 much of the active principle as the American." 



Part used : — The root. 



Use : — " Half a grain of the resin, mixed with a little sugar, 

 produced unmistakable cathartic effects in the course of a few 

 hours. ** * As there is such a great resemblance between the 

 Indian and the American species of Podophyllum in their 

 botanical and technical characters, and as the former yields 

 such a large quantity as 10 to 12 per cent of an active prin- 

 ciple, it is desirable that attention be drawn to such a promis- 

 ing and useful medicinal agent." (Dymock and Hooper in 

 the Ph J. for Jan. 26th, 1889, p. 585.) 



