An.  Jour.  Pharm.  \ 
Oct.  1, 1873.  j 
On  Pareira  Brava. 
455 
In  Oissampelos  Pareira  the  root  and  stem  are  nearly  alike  in  struc- 
ture, and  in  transverse  section  show  no  concentric  rings.  Those  re- 
ceived from  Jamaica,  which  were  the  largest  that  could  be  collected, 
were  rarely  so  much  as  an  inch  in  diameter,  and  in  many  localities  it 
is  difficult  to  obtain  the  stem  or  root  thicker  than  a  goose  quill. 
The  Pareira  Brava  of  English  commerce  is  mostly  of  larger  size 
than  the  root  of  Chondodendron,  and  is  a  much  more  woody  substance. 
Its  internal  structure,  which  is  familiar  to  most  druggists,  is  very  re- 
markable, consisting  of  a  series  of  layers  which  are  often  developed 
exclusively  in  one  direction.  Nothing  is  known  of  the  botanical  ori- 
gin of  this  drug,  beyond  the  fact  that  the  structure  of  the  wood  is  that 
of  the  order  Menispermacew. 
Of  late  years  even  this  sort  has  become  rare,  and  its  place  has  been 
taken  by  a  drug  completely  void  of  medicinal  power.  This  latter  con- 
sists of  cylindrical  woody  truncheons  which  have  an  internal  struc- 
ture not  very  diverse  from  that  represented  below,  though  generally 
less  eccentric,  with  always  a  distinct  central  pith.  The  wood  is  taste- 
less, and  often  seems  to  have  been  injured  by  damp.  It  should  be 
rigidly  excluded  from  pharmaceutical  use. 
Several  other  sorts  of  Pareira  Brava  are  known — at  least  in  South 
America.  One,  of  which  there  is  a  parcel  now  in  the  London  market, 
as  remarkable  for  its  large  size,  and  for  being  internally  of  a  fine 
yellow.    As  it  is  also  very  bitter,  it  probably  contains  berberine. 
Another  sort  is  derived  from  Abuta  rufescens  Aublet,  a  well- 
marked  plant  growing  in  Guiana  and  North  Brazil.  Specimens  of  a 
thick  woody  root,  marked  Abutua  grande  or  Parreira  Brava  grande, 
and  attributed  to  this  species  have  been  sent  to  me  by  Mr.  Correa  de 
Mello  ;  they  exhibit  numerous  concentric  layers  traversed  by  very  dis- 
tinct, dark  medullary  rays,  the  inter-radial  spaces  being  white,  and 
rich  in  starch.  It  is  apparently  a  well-marked  sort,  and  one  I  have 
not  seen  in  commerce.* 
In  conclusion,  I  strongly  advocate  returning  to  the  use  of  the  root 
*  When  Aublet  was  in  Guiana,  1762  4,  the  stems  of  Abuta  rufescens  were 
shipped  to  France  as  Pareira  Brava  blanc.  He  says  there  is  a  variety  of  the 
same  with  the  woody  parts  reddish,  which  is  known  in  Cayenne  as  Pareira 
Brava  rouge.  He  also  describes  and  figures  a  plant  he  calls  Abuta  amara  or 
Pareira  Brava  jaune,  which  has  the  wood  yellowish  and  very  bitter. 
This  last  is,  I  think,  identical  with  the  yellow  wood  of  which,  as  I  have  said, 
4here  is  a  Quantity  now  on  sale  as  "  Pareira  Brava."  See  Hist,  des  Plantes  de 
<u  Gm'me  Francoise,  i.  (1775),  618-21,  tab.  250-51. 
