Am.  Jour.  Pharm. ) 
August,  1884.  j 
Note  on  Kamala. 
421 
priate  treatment,  first  with  alcohol  and  afterwards  with  Schultz's  solu- 
tion of  sulphuric  acid  and  iodine,  the  cells  are  seen  to  be  composed  of 
cellulose,  while  the  enclosing  membrane  is  seen  not  to  be  cellulose. 
Professor  Fliickiger1  says  that  he  examined  authentic  specimens 
from  the  Calcutta  gardens.  These  were  taken  from  Mallotus  phillipi- 
nensis  (Rottlera  tinctoria),  and  he  found  them  to  agree  entirely  with 
the  kamala  of  commerce. 
From  this  it  is  plainly  evident  that  the  source  of  commercial  kamala 
has  been  definitely  settled. 
Some  years  ago  Messrs.  Allen  and  Hanbury  imported  a  remarkable 
kind  of  this  drug  from  Aden.  A  full  account  will  be  found  in  "  Phar- 
niacographia."  Mr.  Hanbury  forwarded  a  sample  of  this  to  Professor 
Fliickiger,  who  submitted  it  to  an  exhaustive  examination.2  It  differs 
from  the  ordinary  variety  in  bulk,  in  having  a  dark  red  or  violet 
color.  Microscopically  examined,  it  is  at  once  seen  to  have  quite  a 
distinct  structure.  Solution  of  caustic  potash  dissolves  the  resin  con- 
tained by  the  glands  and  the  general  structure  is  easily  seen.  The 
glands  are  cylindrical,  somewhat  conical,  and  are  composed,  like  the 
other,  of  resin  cells  enclosed  by  a  membrane.  The  arrangement  of 
the  cells  will  be  best  understood  by  reference  to  Fig.  2.    The  glands 
Fig.  2.  Fig.  3. 
A.  B.  Glands  of  purple  kamala.     A.  New  (?)  variety  of  kamala  seen  dry. 
B.  Simple  hair  of  same.  B.  The  same  seen  in  solution  of  caustic  potash. 
are  170  to  200  mkm.  long  and  from  70  to  100  mkm.  broad.  The 
hairs  mixed  with  them  are  simple  and  long,  when  compared  with  the 
short  stellate  hairs  of  the  common  kind.  Professor  Fliickiger  is  quite 
sure  the  two  kinds  are  not  obtained  from  the  same  plant. 
Dr.  Dymock,  in  his  "  Vegetable  Materia  Medica  of  Western  India/' 
says:  "  '  Wurs/  or  'wurrusj  which  differs  from  genuine  kamala  in 
being  a  dark  purple  color,  is  the  gland  of  the  leaf  of  a  leguminous 
1  "  Pharm.  Journ."  [2],  ix,  279.       2  "  Pharm.  Journ."  [2],  ix,  279. 
