Am.  J  our.  Pharm.  \ 
Dec.  1, 1872.  j 
Quinoa. 
559 
the  ladies  of  Lima.  The  grains  are  slightly  toasted  like  coffee,  and 
boiled  in  water,  yielding  a  brown-colored  soup,  which  is  seasoned  with 
spices,  and  is  of  a  taste  so  peculiar  that  few  strangers  like  it. 
The  real  quinoa  "amarga''  is  chiefly  cultivated  in  small  quantities 
in  gardens.  The  seeds  bruised  and  boiled  in  water  are  said  to  form 
a  bitter  decoction,  which,  mixed  with  sugar,  is  employed  as  a  vulne- 
rary for  sores  and  bruises.  Cataplasms  are  also  made  of  it.  The 
bitter  quality  is  said  to  be  removed  by  soaking  in  water.  From  other 
sources  we  learn  that  this  variety  is  employed  internally  as  an  eme- 
tic, and  also  as  a  substitute  for  quinine  in  cases  of  ague,  and  exter- 
nally as  a  poultice  for  cancer,  gangrene,  contusions,  etc. 
The  leaves  of  the  quinoa  are  commonly  eaten  as  a  vegetable,  and 
much  resemble  those  of  other  species  of  Chenopodium,  as,  for  instance, 
the  Chenopodium  bonus- Henricus,  and  its  ally  the  spinach. 
It  still  seems  to  be  uncertain  what  is  the  medicinal  value  of  the  red 
quinoa,  and  to  what  its  bitterness  is  to  be  attributed.  Whatever  it 
may  be,  the  bitterness  seems  to  be  confined  to  the  husk  or  testa  of 
the  seed,  and  may  be  removed  by  digesting  the  seed  in  a  dilute  solu- 
tion of  carbonate  of  soda,  and  afterwards  washing.  It  was  this  seed 
which  was  analyzed  by  Dr.  Voelcker,  with  the  following  results : 
Water  
Starch    
Sugar  and  Extractive  
Gum  
Oil  
Casein  and  a  little  soluble  albumen  
Insoluble  albumen  and  other  protein  compounds 
Vegetable  fibre  •    
Inorganic  matters  
Natural 
Calcula- 
state. 
ted  dry. 
1G-01 
38-72 
46-10 
5-12 
6-10 
3-94 
4-60 
4-81 
5-74 
7-47 
8-91 
11-71 
13-96 
7-99 
9-53 
4-23 
5  06 
100-00 
100-00 
A  somewhat  similar  plant,  or  perhaps  two  or  three  species,  has  long 
been  cultivated  in  India  for  its  farinaceous  seeds,  which  are  very 
much  smaller  than  those  of  the  Quinoa.  Under  the  names  of  Ama- 
rantus gangeticus,  Amarantus  frumentaceus  and  Amarantus  anardanaf 
plants  are  referred  to  by  different  authorities  as  yielding  seeds  resem- 
bling small  millet,  which  are  employed  in  a  similar  manner  and  for  a 
like  purpose. — Pharm.  Journ.,  Lond.,  Oct.  12,  1872. 
