2c8  Some  Constituents  of  Jambul,      {  Am.  jour.  Pharm. 
J  <•     June,  1917. 
pericarp  and  bark,  have  been  employed  in  the  treatment  of  diabetes 
mellitus  with  questionable  results,  but  is  perhaps  impressed  by  some 
beneficent  results  reported.  Two  parts  of  the  plant,  the  bark  and 
the  pericarp,  have  been  recognized  in  the  pharmacopeia  of  the 
Netherlands.2 
The  berry-like,  sour  fruit  is  about  as  large  as  the  olive,  and  ap- 
parently forms  a  readily  procurable  commodity  in  the  European 
market,  whereas  the  term  Jambul  as  used  in  this  country  refers  to 
the  flinty,  hard  seed  contained  in  the  pericarp.  There  is  also  some 
difference  in  opinion  as  to  the  part  of  the  plant  which  should  be 
employed  in  the  manufacture  of  the  fluid  extract. 
The  early  chemical  studies  showed  the  presence,  in  the  bark,  of 
tannin,3  in  the  seed,  of  gallic  acid.4  The  seed  yields  a  trace  of 
ethereal  oil,  0.37  per  cent,  fat,  and  0.3  per  cent,  resin,  and  pharma- 
ceutical shrewdness,  rather  than  chemical  investigation,  or  conform- 
ance with  a  rational  system  of  nomenclature,  has  given  the  name 
"  antimellin  "  to  an  alleged  glucosidic  constituent.5  This  finding  of 
Borsch  could  not  be  substantiated  by  Power  and  Callan.6  The 
statement  of  Pottiez7  concerning  the  presence  of  quercitol  and  cin- 
namic  acid  could  not  be  confirmed  by  these  chemists.  Stephenson8 
found  that  the  diastatic  hydrolysis  of  starch  was  appreciably  re- 
duced by  the  presence  of  the  extract  of  the  fresh  kernels. 
Several  preparations  of  German  origin  are  marketed,  e.  g., 
Djoeat,  Bauers,  Glykosolvol  and  Pavykol,  which  probably  contain, 
in  part,  extracts  from  the  bark  or  pericarps,  and  Djoeatin  (Borsch) 
which  is  alleged  to  contain  the  above-mentioned  "  antimellin."  The 
presence  of  tannin  has  recommended  its  use  among  the  natives  as 
an  astringent,  but  on  the  whole,  as  stated  in  the  Dispensatory,  "  it 
has  failed  to  establish  itself  as  a  practical  medicament." 
The  recent  work  of  Power  and  Callan  on  Jambul  seed  leaves 
the  question  as  to  the  pharmaceutical  value  of  the  pericarp.  It  was 
our  plan  to  make  a  comparative  study  of  the  seed  and  pericarp,  and 
we  decided  to  investigate  independently  the  seed,  while  awaiting  a 
promised  supply  of  pericarp,  which  unfortunately  will  not  be  avail- 
able at  present  and  we  therefore  report  our  work  on  the  seed. 
2  Ph.  Nederl,  IV. 
3  Johanson,  Dissert,  Dorpat,  1891. 
4Elborne,  Pharm.  J.,  3,  932  (1888). 
5  Borsch,  Pharm.  Ztg.,  44,  574  (1899). 
6  Pharm.  J.,  34,  414  (1912)  ;  91,  245  (1913). 
'Ann.  Pharm,  Louvain,  5,  373,  490  (1899). 
8  Pharm,  J.,  p.  211  (1892). 
