498 
Extract  of  Guarana,  etc. 
(  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
\    Nov.  i,  1874. 
established,  and  if  it  has  any  merit  it  will  become  popular  in  the  few 
diseases  for  which  its  peculiar  properties  adapt  it. 
Judging  from  my  knowledge  of  its  active  constituents,  and  from 
what  I  have  been  able  to  glean  from  published  accounts  of  its  medic- 
inal virtues,  I  am  led  to  believe  that  it  is  more  especially  in  nervous 
and  sick  headache  and  in  other  disorders  of  the  nervous  system  that 
physicians  must  look  for  the  best  effects  from  its  employment. 
Tonic  properties  are  also  ascribed  to  it,  but  these  I  should  think 
were  feeble,  and  the  medicine  would  not  be  relied  upon  for  these 
properties  alone,  especially  when  the  physician  has  so  many  valuable 
and  well-established  remedies  of  this  class  at  his  command.  These 
properties,  however,  as  associated  with  its  astringency  and  other  prop- 
erties, may  contribute  to  its  efficiency  in  the  treatment  of  diseases  to 
which  it  is  peculiarly  adapted. 
Some  writers  speak  of  it  highly  as  a  remedy  in  the  diarrhoea  of 
phthisis  and  also  in  idiopathic  diarrhoea.  The  application  of  it  to 
diseases  of  this  character  seems  rather  singular,  and,  I  should  think, 
of  doubtful  propriety,  unless  its  use  be  restricted  to  chronic  cases, 
inasmuch  as  it  so  closely  resembles  coffee,  not  only  in  physiological 
action,  but  also  in  its  active  constituents. 
The  strongly  laxative  tendency  of  coffee,  especially  when  the  bowels 
are  in  an  already  irritable  condition,  is  well  known  to  all ;  and  to 
such  an  extent  does  this  tendency  exist  that  many  judicious  prac- 
titioners strictly  inhibit  its  use  in  the  existence  of  diarrhoea  or  other 
lax  conditions  of  the  bowels. 
But,  as  Paidlinia  seems  to  contain  considerable  tannic  acid,  this 
may  so  modify  its  effects,  and  so  control  and  qualify  the  action  of  its 
caffein,  as  to  render  its  use  admissible  in  recent  cases,  and  may  pos- 
sibly make  it  a  useful  remedy  in  chronic  disorders  of  this  class. 
But  this  is  a  matter  that  must  be  settled  by  the  intelligent  and 
observing  physiologist  and  therapeutist.  I  merely  have  referred  to 
the  matter  in  order  to  awaken  closer  observation  and  to  stimulate,  on 
the  part  of  physicians  in  their  practice,  a  closer  scrutiny  into  its 
effects  in  this  class  of  diseases. 
For  all  of  us,  both  physicians  and  pharmacists,  are  liable  at  times 
to  be  led  astray  by  the  published  experience  of  our  professional 
brethren ;  and  we  thus  sometimes  take  things  for  granted,  which 
often  prevents  us  from  making  any  personal  investigation ;  but  the 
moment  a  doubt  is  raised  in  our  minds,  and  we  begin  to  observe  and 
