130 INDIAN MEDICINAL PLANTS. 



5, erect ; anthers 2-celled, introrse, bursting by slits. Style 

 glabrous. Ovary pubescent, sessile, incompletely 2-3-celled. 

 Ovules 2 or more on each placenta. Capsule glabrous, | in. 

 diam.; pisiform, woody 2-rarely 3-valved ; valves coriaceous, 

 placentiform in the middle. Seeds 1-4, occasionally numerous, 

 smooth, embedded in a pulp. 



Uses: — The bark is bitter and aromatic, and is said by 

 natives of the Western Ghats to possess narcotic properties. It 

 is used in doses of 5 to 10 grs. as a febrifuge, and in doses of 

 50 grs., is believed to be a specific for snake poisoning ; 5 to 

 10 grain doses of the dried bark given with benefit in chronic 

 bronchitis. It is a good expectorant, but in one or two cases 

 in which it was tried in Bombay, it gave rise to dysenteric 

 diarrhoea (Pharmaco. Indica). 



The late M. 0. Periera of Bandra, an Assistant in the 

 Bombay Medical Stores, used to prepare a tincture of the bitter 

 bark. In exhibiting a specimen of the Tincture at the Thera- 

 peutical Section of the International Medical Congress of 

 Australasia, held in Melbourne in January 1889, Surgeon Major 

 K. R. Kirtikar said thus :— " The tincture contains a volatile 

 oil which is said to act as an antiseptic and stimulant to the 

 mucous membrane of the bronchi. The dose of the tincture 

 is a drachm and a half, thrice daily in water or honey." 

 (Seep. 948, Proceedings of the Second Session of the x^ustrala- 

 sia CongressJ 



In Travancore, half-a-teaspoonful doses are given internally 

 in leprous affections, and the oil beaten up with the kernels 

 and shells of castor oil seeds, is used as a remedy for itch, 

 (Dymock.) 



In physiological action, the oil is alterative, tonic, and a 

 local stimulant, and appears also to have a specific effect on certain 

 skin diseases. It has been recommended for trial as a local 

 application in rheumatism, leprosy, sprains and bruises, scia- 

 tica, chest affections and phthisis, ophthalmia, and the various 

 forms of skin diseases. Internally it may be prescribed in 

 doses of from 15 minims to 2 drachms in cases of leprosy, 

 various forms of cutaneous disease, secondary syphilis and 



