284 
INDIAN MEDICINAL PLANTS. 
as hard as a stick. The second or flat variety is extremely rare 
and occurs in flat and circular pipes, varying in diameter from 
two to three inches, and in thickness from £ to \ inch. The pieces 
are more or less soft like the first variety in all other characters. 
*' The third or hard variety (No. 159), which is by far the 
most common, occurs in small halls generally about the size 
of a small orange. The balls are very hard, smooth, dark-brown 
in color, both externally and internally, and possess the same 
kind of smell and taste, but in a much slighter degree. It con- 
tains a great deal of impurities (about 80 per cent.) as earth, sand, 
fragments of wood, &c., upon which its hardness chiefly depends. 
“ With regard to the therapeutic use of the resin of A. 
malabarica, its first variety, if fresh, has a very remarkable 
control oyer dysentery and diarrhoea, as though it possesses 
some specific action over the mucous coat of the large and small 
intestines, and therefore deserves some special attention of the 
profession. In some ordinary cases of acute dysentery and 
diarrhoea, two or three doses of the resin, in the form of emulsion, 
with the mucilage of gum acacia, and with from 5 to 10 minims 
of Tinctura opii in each dose, were sufficient to nip the diseases 
in the bud. There were no more motions, tormina or tenesmus 
after the second or third dose for 10 or 12 hours, and when the 
bowels did begiu to move again after this period, the evacua- 
tions were always healthier and soon became natural without 
further treatment. In more severe cases, however, the medicine 
had to be repeated three or four times in the 24 hours and con- 
tinued for two or three days before the cure was effected. In 
still more severe or serious and complicated cases, it was neces- 
sary to resort to some other medicines, including astringent 
enemata, &c., to assist the resin according to the condition and 
symptoms of each individual case. Matti-pal is also useful in 
gonorrhoea and gleet, and to the same extent as the Copaiba 
and Gurj un-balsam” (Moodeen Sheriff.) 
246 . — Samadera indica, Gcertn. H.F.B.I., I. 519 . 
Vern : — Karinghota (Mai.) ; Niepa (Tam.); Samadara (Sin.). 
