552 
Spurious  Blood  Root. 
( Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
\     October,  1896. 
SPURIOUS  BLOOD  ROOT.1 
By  E.  M.  Holmes,  F.L.S. 
As  a  rule,  drugs  are  adulterated  only  when  they  are  high  in  price, 
and  then  with  others  that  are  less  expensive.  When  this  is  not  the 
case  the  term  adulteration  can  scarcely  be  applied.  A  commercial 
sample  of  the  rhizome  of  Sanguinaria  Canadensis  that  recently  came 
under  my  notice  contained  another  more  expensive  rhizome,  very 
like  it  in  shape  but  differing  slightly  in  color,  to  the  extent  of  about 
40  per  cent. 
2c.  lc. 
1.  Sanguinaria  Canadensis  :  1a,  showing  annual  growth,  and  id,  with  traces 
of  leaf  scars,    ic,  transverse  section  magnified. 
2.  Chamielirium  Carolinianum  :  2a,  showing  annual  growth  and  endogenous 
character  of  rootlets.    2b,  younger  rhizome.    2c,  transverse  section  magnified. 
This  rhizome  I  have  been  able  to  identify  with  that  of  Chamaeli- 
rium  Carolinianum,  Willd.,  better  known  as  Helonias  dioica.  As 
this  rhizome  is  nearly  three  times  as  expensive  as  Sanguinaria,  it 
was  obviously  an  admixture,  either  through  ignorance  of  the  ex- 
porter or  through  carelessness.  Instances  of  this  kind  are  compara- 
tively rare,  but  serve  to  remind  the  retail  pharmacist  that  he,  and 
1  Pharmaceutical  Journal,  July  ir,  1896. 
