THE  AMERICAN 
JOURNAL  OF  PHARMACY 
JULY,  ]881. 
FALSE  AND  TEUE  SENEGA. 
By  Geo.  Goebel,  Jr. 
From  an  Inaugural  Essay. 
A  root  designated  as  '^Southern  Senega"  lias  been  lately  introduced: 
and  sold  in  ])lace  of  true  senega.  As  Polygala  senega  is  one  of  the 
most  valuable  American  drugs,  it  is  of  great  importance  tliat  it  should 
not  be  displaced  by  a  new  variety  without  a  knowledge  of  its  medi- 
cinal properties  and  constituents,  as  compared  ^vith  the  true  senega ; 
therefore  the  writer  has  undertaken  a  comparative  microscopic  and 
physical  examination  of  the  two  varieties,  witli  a  chemical  analysis  of 
the  medicinal  constituent. 
Tlie  false  senega  as  met  with  in  commerce  is  a  root  varying  from 
yellow  to  a  lightish  brown  color,  surmounted  by  a  knotty  head  or 
crown  of  from  a  half  to  three-fourths  of  an  inch  in  diameter,  the 
knotty  crown  displaying  numerous  stem  scars.  Below  this  crown  i& 
found  the  root  proper,  Avhich  is  from  three  to  six  inches  in  lengthy, 
irregularly  branched,  cylindrical,  tapering,  longitudinally  wrinkled., 
and  breaks  Avith  a  short  fracture,  displaying  a  brittle  and  readily 
removable  bark,  which  constitutes  about  one-fifth  of  tlie  bulk  of  the- 
root.  It  is  difficult  to  reduce  to  a  fine  powder  on  account  of  tlie  hard- 
ness of  the  woody  portion,  the  powder  being  sternutatory  and  of  a 
very  light  straw  color.  The  drug  when  masticated  causes  coughing; 
and  a  painful  sensation  in  the  fauces. 
All  efforts  to  trace  its  exact  habitat,  or  procure  a  plant,  so  far,  have- 
proven  fruitless;  the  only  information  that  could  be  elicited  was  that 
it  came  from  the  Southern  States. 
Greenisl),  in  1878,  described  a  Polygala  which  corresponds  with  this- 
false  senega,  and,  after  having  made  a  histological  examination,  pro- 
nounced it  true  senega,  but  young  and  immature.    This  statement  of 
Greenish  is  erroneous,  as  all  true  senega,  whether  young  or  old,  has. 
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