N. 0. MELIACEiE. 303 



Planted everywhere in Ceylon ; Southern and Western India. 

 Wild in the sub-Himalaya bract, Burma, cultivated in Dun and 

 Shaharanpur Districts, common along Siwalik Hills. 



Parts used : — Every part of this plant, except the wood, is 

 used in medicine, namely, the bark, root- bark, young fruit, nuts 

 or seeds, oil, flowers, leaves, gum and toddy. 



" Physiological Actions. — The physiological actions of all 

 the parts of this plant employed as drugs may be arranged as 

 follows : — 



" The root-bark, bark and young fruit — tonic and anti- 

 periodic. 



" The oil, nuts, and leaves — local stimulant, insecticide, 

 and antiseptic. 



" The flowers — stimulant-tonic and stomachic. 



" The gum— demulcent-tonic. 



" The toddy-— refrigerant, nutrient and alterative tonic. 



" Therapeutic Uses. — The bark, root-bark, and young fruit 

 are useful in some slight cases of intermittent fever and general 

 debility. The root-bark is more active and speedy in its action 

 than the bark and young fruit. The margosa oil has proved 

 itself a useful local remedy in some chronic forms of skin 

 diseases and ulcers, by stimulating and exciting a healthy 

 action. Applied to foul and sloughing ulcers, it retards the 

 sloughing process to some extent, prevents the production of 

 maggots, and dislodges them if already produced. The oil is 

 also a very useful adjunct to some other and stronger remedies, 

 as chaulmugra oil, as already mentioned in my remarks under 

 the latter drug. The dry nuts of M. Azadirachta possess almost 

 the same medical properties as the oil, but they require to be 

 bruised and mixed with, water or some other liquid before they 

 can be applied to the skin or ulcers ; and their use, is therefore, 

 attended with so much, inconvenience that they cannot be 

 resorted to at all, except in those places where the oil is not 

 procurable. A strong decoction of the fresh leaves is a slight 

 antiseptic, and is useful like a weak carbolic lotion in washing 



