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PHARMACOLOGY OF LONCHOCARPUS 
According to a catalog of the products of Gabon in French Sanatoria! 
Africa exhibited at the Paris Exposition (315) of 1867 and also according 
to Moloney (285) in 188? the bark of Loncho ca rpus scriceu s H. B. K. has been 
employed in West Africa for abdominal complaints and as a laxative for chil- 
dren. 
Drake and Spies (118) in 1932 reported that an acetone extract of 
barbasco root of. unknown botanical origin from Costa Bica, used at the rate 
of 1 cc. of extract (representing 0.2 gram plant material) per liter of water, 
killed goldfish in 184 minutes. A similar extract of derris (rotenonc = 
1.7 percent) killed in 92 minutes. 
Haegele (182) in 1934, in reporting spraying tests with cube and der- 
ris against the codling moth at Parma, Idaho, stated that the derrj s and cube 
dust' became s-inewhat nauseating t? those exposed to the dust or spray for a 
time, 
Ambrose and Kaag (7) in 1936 reported a toxicological study of derris. 
One sample of cube containing 4.7 percent ro tcnone end 2a.. 4 percent total 
carbon tetrachloride extractives was also tested and found to be similar to 
derris in action when fed to rabbits, rats, cavies and dogs. A snucr'.men of 
derris (9.6 percent rotenonc and 28.5 percent total carbon tetrachloride ex- 
tractives) had a fatal oral toxicity of 600 rig. per kg. of body weight for 
rabbits, 100 for rats, 75 for cavies and 150 for dogs. 
Mathews and Lightbody (273) in 1936 reported on the toxicity of three 
samples of derris and one of cube to rats. The cube contained 3.8 percent 
rotenonc, and to houseflies its toxicity was equivalent to 3.5 percent ro- 
tenonc When fed to rats, an olive oil extract of this cube had a m. 1. d. 
(dose necessary to kill 50 percent of . a group of rats) of 300 mg. per kg. 
body weight. A carbon tetrachloride extract gave a value of 370. Based on 
toxicity to rats, this cube had an apparent rotenone content of 8.3 percent 
based on the olive oil extract, or 6.7 percent based on the carbon tetra- 
chloride extract. 
Viehoever (449) in 1936 reported on the action of various materials 
on Daphnia — a transparent crustacean which serves as a biological reagent. 
"Insecticides, as rotenonc, rotenone resin and cube extract containing ro- 
tenone, cause the paralysis of the breathing legs. If the rotenonc is not 
oxidized in the upper food canal, then the digestive canal will also be 
paralyzed — a toxic action which has correspondingly been observed in higher 
animals, such as cats, rats and rabbits." 
The United States Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Chemistry 
and Soils (415), in its annual report for 1936 reported that diets containing 
cube or derris root did not interfere with the normal growth of rats when 
the concentration, was below 0.06 percent. Marked retardation occurred with 
a diet containing 0.12 percent. Experiments with rotenonc in comparison 
with cube and derris root indicated that the growth-inhibitory effects of 
cube and derris were not produced by their rotenonc content. 
