THE 
AMERICAN  JOURNAL  OF  PHARMACY. 
CHEMICAL  EXAMINATION  OF  THE  BERRIES  AND  BARK  OF 
RHUS  GLABRUM. 
By  William  J.  Watson. 
{An  Inaugural  Essay  presented  to  the  Philadelphia  College  of  Pharmacy.} 
Rhus  Glabrum  is  found  in  the  secondary  list  of  the  U.  S.  Phar- 
macopoeia, and  is  known  hy  the  common  names  Smooth  Sumach, 
Pennsylvania  Sumach,  and  Upland  Sumach. 
The  fruit  of  Rhus  glabrum,  though  officinal  in  our  pharma- 
copoeia, is  seldom  employed  by  the  regular  practitioner,  but  is  ex- 
tensively used  by  families  residing  in  the  country  in  the  form  of 
an  infusion,  as  a  pleasant  drink  in  febrile  complaints,  and  as  a 
gargle  for  sore,  throat.  From  the  observations  of  Dr.  Fahnestock, 
it  appears  that  the  inner  bark  of  the  root  is  possessed  of  much 
higher  remedial  powers  than  the  fruit ;  he  states  that  an  infusion 
made  from  it  is  almost  a  specific  when  employed  in  the  form  of  a 
gargle  in  the  sore  mouth  resulting  from  mercurial  salivation.  The 
Sumach  leaves  are  also  used  in  tanning,  and  an  infusion  made 
from  the  bark,  and  concentrated  by  evaporation,  is  used  as  a  mor- 
dant for  dyeing  red  colors. 
The  following  investigation  of  the  fruit,  bark  of  the  root,  and 
galls  of  sumach,  will  exhibit  their  proximate  constitution,  and  may 
throw  some  light  on  their  value,  as  remedial  agents. 
Professor  Rogers  in  his  paper  "  On  the  existence  of  bimalate  of 
lime  in  sumach  berries,"  which  was  published  in  vol.  7,  page  56, 
of  the  American  Journal  of  Pharmacy,  seemed  to  doubt  the  presence 
of  uncombined  malic  acid  in  the  berries;  while  Mr.  Cozzens  of 
New  York,  supposed  the  berries  to  contain  the  acid  in  a  free  state. 
From  the  result  of  the  following  experiments,  both  of  the  gentle- 
men may  have  been  correct,  and  the  difference  in  their  conclusions 
may  be  accounted  for,  by  supposing  the  specimens  examined  to 
have  been  collected  at  different  times  in  the  season. 
15 
