JUL  2  1898 
THE  AMERICAN 
JOURNAL  OF  PHARMACY 
JULY,  1898. 
A  SPECIES  OF  COMMELINA. 
By  Gilbert  Kent  Preston,  P.D. 
Contribution  from  the  Chemical  Laboratory  of  the  Philadelphia  College  of 
Pharmacy.    No.  176. 
The  attention  of  Professor  Trimble  was  called  to  a  species  of 
Commelina  (supposed  to  be  C.  virginicd)  by  Godfrey  Aschmann, 
a  florist  of  Philadelphia,  whose  observations  led  him  to  believe  that 
it  was  of  medicinal  value.  He  found  that,  when  made  into  an  oint- 
ment and  applied  to  a  surface  wound,  it  not  only  stops  the  bleeding, 
but  also  exhibits  remarkable  healing  properties. 
That  the  plant  does  possess  hemostatic  properties  is  very  prob- 
able, as  there  are  several  plants  in  Mexico  belonging  to  this  same 
family  that  are  of  notable  therapeutic  value.  Alfonso  Herrera,  in 
American  Journal  of  Pharmacy,  1897,  p.  290,  describes  these 
plants  under  the  name  of  "  Yerba  del  Polio."  He  states  that  "  the 
most  distinguished  physicians  use  the  extract  of  Commelina  as  a 
kind  of  hemostatic  in  the  treatment  of  metrorrhagia  and  hemopty- 
sis. They  employ  it,  too,  as  an  active  remedy  against  leucorrhcea, 
and  as  a  general  hemostatic  in  capillary  hemorrhage."  He  was  un- 
able, however,  to  conclusively  determine  to  what  these  properties 
were  due,  although  he  feels  justified  in  attributing  them  to  either 
the  potassium  chloride  or  a  proteid  principle. 
During  the  term  of  1895  and  1896,  Mr.  G.  L.  Genz,  Ph.G.,  an- 
alyzed the  plant  in  the  chemical  laboratory  of  the  Philadelphia 
College  of  Pharmacy,  but  found  nothing  to  which  its  virtues  could, 
with  satisfaction,  be  attributed.   The  material  upon  which  he  worked 
(321) 
