Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  ) 
Aprii,  1913.  / 
Oil  from  Spurious  Cubebs. 
193 
We  are  hopeful  that  all  the  cases  we  are  treating  will  be  cured, 
although  we  cannot  make  as  yet  any  definite  statement  concerning 
their  ultimate  fate. 
We  selected  for  our  treatment,  especially,  cases  in  which  the 
changes  taking  place  in  the  tumor  could  be  followed  with  the  naked 
eye,  but  included  also  a  few  other  cases,  upon  which  we  shall  report 
later.  All  our  cases,  with  one  exception,  had  been  operated  upon 
before  without  success ;  several  had  been  treated  with  Roentgen 
rays,  likewise  unsuccessfully ;  in  one  case  the  patient  had  not  been 
operated  upon  previous  to  the  injection,  but  had  been  treated  un- 
successfully with  Roentgen  rays  and  other  means.  All  the  cases 
were  almost  hopeless  as  far  as  effect  of  any  other  surgical  or 
dermatological  treatment  was  concerned. 
THE  OIL  FROM  SPURIOUS  CUBEBS.1 
We  learn  from  an  article  by  J.  C.  Umney  and  H.  V.  Potter2 
that  a  parcel  of  cubebs  imported  from  Macassar  into  Amsterdam, 
and  distilled  there,  yielded  an  oil  which  attracted  attention  by  its 
extraordinarily  low  optical  rotation.  Whereas  this  value  ranges 
normally  from  —  25  to  —  40 0  3,  in  the  oil  in  question  it  was  only 
— - 140.  The  cubebs  themselves  appeared  to  be  in  most  respects 
normal,  but  the  odor  was  mace-like. 
The  abnormality  of  this  oil  led  the  authors  to  make  some  en- 
quiries as  to  the  cubebs  present  on  the  London  and  Amsterdam 
drug  markets,  with  the  unsatisfactory  result  that  out  of  eight 
samples  examined,  only  four  proved  to  be  genuine  cubebs.  Three 
samples  consisted  of  other  species  of  cubebs,  while  one  contained 
an  admixture  of  other  fruits.  Part  of  the  samples  was  also  largely 
adulterated  with  stalks,  in  one  instance  to  the  extent  of  46  p.  c. 
The  spurious  cubebs  differed  from  the  genuine  both  by  their  mace- 
like odor  and  by  the  result  of  the  sulphuric  acid  test.  For  when 
the  fruit,  crushed  in  a  porcelain  basin,  was  moistened  with  a  little 
concentrated  sulphuric  acid,  the  genuine  samples  quickly  showed 
a  beautiful  crimson  color,  while  in  the  case  of  the  false  fruits  the 
1  From  Semi-Annual  Report  of  Schimmel  &  Co.,  October,  1912,  pp.  50-52. 
s  Chemist  and  Druggist,  80  (1912),  331,  443. 
'Umney  and  Potter  give  — 300  as  the  maximum  limit  of  value.  Thi§ 
is  probably  a  misprint. 
