Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
May,  1888. 
On  Guarana. 
267 
Such  is  the  home  of  the  Guarana.  This  is  one  of  the  smallest  vines  which 
border  the  water  courses  above  described.  Unlike  coca,  its  origin  is  easily  appre- 
hended. The  Sapindacese  family  is  largely  represented  in  Brazil,  especially  by 
three  genera  of  climbing  vines.  I  have  no  specimens  of  this  with  me.  It  is  found 
wild  in  many  parts  of  this  region.  The  stem  appears  like  three  cylindrical  pieces 
amalgamated  into  a  triangular  stem.  Its  branches  are  long  and  slender, 
climbing  by  their  tendrils. 
With  the  wild  plant  we  have  nothing  to  do.  The  collection  of  the  drug 
from  the  wild  plant  in  this  region  presents  insuperable  difficulty.  The  plamt 
has  long  been  cultivated  in  the  region  of  the  lower  Madeira.  Guarana  is  culti- 
vated in  this  district  about  here  (indicating\it  is  also  a  little  further  south  and 
perhaps  a  little  east.  Here  it  presents  a  very  different  aspect  from  what  it  does 
in  the  wild  state.  It  is  planted  out  just  as  a  vineyard  is  planted,  except  that  it 
is  planted  wider  apart  and  trained  to  poles  the  same  as  haps.  The  plant  is 
kept  within  bounds  by  pruning.  The  ripening  of  the  seeds  is  shown  by  the 
opening  of  the  pods.  Immediately  upon  this  the  fruit  is  gathered  to  prevent 
the  inevitable  loss  which  would  occur  from  its  falling.  This  fruit  resembles 
the  hickory  nut.  It  is  contained  in  a  husk,  which  husk  consists  of  three  instead 
of  four  parts.  From  these  the  seeds  are  shelled  out  by  hand  as  hickory  nuts 
are.  First  they  are  washed  free  from  a  phlegmy  substance  and  then  subjected 
to  a  roasting  process  of  six  hom's'  duration,  which  loosens  from  them  a  papery 
shell  which  is  removed  by  placing  them  in  sacks,  and  beating  them  with  clubs. 
The  best  varieties  of  Guarana  are  those  in  which  the  seeds  have  not  been  very 
finely  broken.  A  small  amount  of  water  is  then  added,  just  sufficient  to  form 
a  mass.  It  is  kneaded  by  hand  into  a  mass  of  the  consistency  of  dough.  I 
have  been  informed  that  the  common  belief  in  this  country  is  that  other 
materials  are  added  to  this  mass  by  which  it  is  adulterated.  The  fact  is  that 
other  things  are  not  generally  so  added.  A  large  building  is  then  utilized  for 
the  drying  purpose.  Upon  the  upper  floore  of  this  building  this  material  is 
spread  out  and  subjected  to  a  slow  fire  of  fuel,  selected  with  a  view  of  making 
no  smoke,  the  object  being  to  keep  the  temperature  equable,  maintaining  at  the 
same  time  sufficient  heat.  It  is  exposed  in  this  way  for  a  certain  number  of 
weeks  when  it  is  ready  for  the  market.  Great  experience  is  necessary  to  carry 
on  this  process.  This  is  the  manner  in  which  it  is  prepared  in  its  own  home 
It  is  used  there  by  the  natives,  a  portion  being  grated  ofl^  with  a  large  file,  and 
it  is  served  in  a  glass  full  of  cold  water.  Its  eff"ects  are  very  refreshing,  but  its 
excessive  use  is  deleterious.  It  contains  two  or  three  times  the  quantity  of 
cafieine  that  coffee  does,  producing  a  happy  effect  on  the  nervous  system,  but 
if  used  in  excess  bringing  on  trembling  and  a  palsied  condition  of  the  limbs. 
Ictbyol  in  Rbeumatism. — Doubelir  reports  that  in  the  military  hos- 
pitals of  Moscow  ichthyol  has  been  given  in  eight  cases  of  articular  rheuma- 
tism, six  of  which  were  acute  and  two  were  chronic.  The  result  was  dimin- 
ished pain,  but  continued  swelling.  The  remedy  may  be  given  in  pills  or  cap- 
sules containing  one  and  a  half  to  three  grains  each.  Of  these  from  six  to 
twelveof  the  first  and  from  three  to  six  of  the  second  may  be  given  in  twenty- 
four  houis.—L' Union  Med.;  Med.  Xeics,  Dec.  10th,  1887. 
