Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
August,  1895. 
}    Notes  on  Some  Saps  and  Secretions. 
413 
Salix  have  also  been  observed  to  yield  a  saccharine  exudation — 
5.  jragilis,  in  Persia ;  Chilensis,  in  Chili,  and  a  species  in  the 
Punjab. 
Styrax  benzoin,  Dryand.;  Benzoin  officinalis,  Hayne ;  Lithocarpus 
Benzoin,  Blume. — Benzoin,  known  in  commerce  as  "Gum  Benjamin" 
is  an  odoriferous  or  balsamic  gum  resin,  an  exudation  from  the  stem 
of  trees  in  Siam  and  Sumatra,  and  imported  in  small  chests  of  2^ 
cwts.  These  two  qualities  are  chiefly  used  in  medicine ;  the  one  in 
tears  from  Siam,  and  the  other,  in  agglutinated  masses  from  the  far 
East.  The  former  is  the  purest  and  has  the  strongest  odor.  Its 
medicinal  properties  are  stimulant,  expectorant  and  styptic.  It  is 
used  also  in  perfumery,  for  incense,  and  in  making  aromatic  pas- 
tilles, coating  court-plaster  and  for  healing  wounds. 
The  imports  into  London  were,  in  189 1  :  3,464  chests;  1892, 
2,655  chests;  and  in  1893,  3,163  chests.  Benzoin  was  formerly 
employed  in  chronic  bronchitis  and  dysentery,  but  is  now  chiefly 
used  in  the  tincture  known  as  "  friar's  balsam,"  as  a  styptic  and 
stimulant  to  wounds  and  old  ulcers.  Benzoic  acid  is  stimulant  and 
diuretic,  and  also  a  valuable  antiseptic. 
Tabashur,  a  word  of  Sanscrit  origin  ;  Tavakshiri  meaning  cow's 
milk.  This  secretion  is  procured  from  the  joints,  or  internodes,  of 
the  female  bamboo,  Bambuso  arundinacea,  W.  It  so  far  resembles 
silex  as  to  form  a  kind  of  glass  when  fused  with  alkalies.  It  is  also 
unaffected  by  fire  and  acids.  It  is  called  "  bamboo  salt,"  and  is 
employed  medicinally  in  the  East  as  a  tonic  and  astringent  in  the 
cure  of  all  sorts  of  paralytic  complaints,  flatulencies  and  poisons. 
This  hydrate  of  alumina  is  often  found  in  the  soil  where  a  plantation 
of  bamboos  has  been  burnt.  P.  Smith  gives  the  following  analysis 
of  its  composition : 
Silica  .   90*50 
Potash   i*io 
Peroxide  of  iron   0*90 
Alumina   0*40 
Beesha  Rhudii,  Kunth.  (Me/ocanna  bambusoides,  Tim.),  yields 
more  or  less  of  the  Tabashur ;  sometimes,  it  is  said,  the  cavity  is 
nearly  filled  with  this  silicious  crystallization. 
Water 
Sap  . 
4'S7 
2-23 
IOO'OO 
