48 
The  Cultivation  of  Buchu. 
(  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
t     January,  1921. 
been  most  successfully  used  in  the  human  female,  even  after  sup- 
puration of  the  gland  has  set  in  and  sinuses  have  been  formed. 
That  Phytolacca  decandra  possesses  active  properties  there  can 
be  no  doubt,  and  its  physiological  action  and  its  chemical  con- 
stituents seem  worthy  of  careful  investigation.  Trimble,  in  Amer. 
Jour.  Pharm.,  June,  1893,  obtained  from  the  root  a  constituent 
which  appeared  to  be  a  saponin  with  acid  properties,  as  it  caused 
much  frothing  when  shaken  with  water,  was  precipitated  from 
alkaline  solution  by  dilute  sulphuric  acid,  and  acted  as  a  sternuta- 
tory. Four  years  later  G.  B.  Frankforter  and  F.  Ramaley  {Amer. 
Jour.  Pharmacy,  1897,  pp.  281-290)  found  in  the  root  about  1  per 
cent,  of  a  resin,  an  acid,  combined  and  free,  calculated  as  formic 
acid,  and  obtained  indications  of  the  presence  of  an  alkaloid,  exist- 
ing as  a  salt  as  well  as  in  the  basic  condition.  An  English  whole- 
sale herbalist  tells  me  that  herbalists  regularly  send  to  him  for'  the 
fresh  root,  which  they  sell  as  a  remedy  for  tumors  and  cancer  of  the 
breast,  and  that  a  lady  who  is  the  daughter  of  a  veterinary  surgeon 
has  a  regular  practice  in  the  treatment  of  tumors  with  poke  root, 
and  that  he  himself  has  given  it  to  persons  suffering  with  swelling 
and  tumors  with  the  happiest  results.  He  has  used  the  fresh  root 
in  the  form  of  a  poultice,  kept  wet  with  the  tincture,  and  covered 
with  oiled  silk,  till  a  good  crop  of  pustular  sores  are  produced,  when 
the  tumor  will  resolve.  He  is  willing  to  supply  the  fresh  root  to 
any  qualified  medical  practitioner  who  will  give  it  a  fair  trial  in 
mammary  cancer.  There  seems  to  be  sufficient  evidence  that  the 
root,  besides  possessing  emetic,  cathartic,  and  cholagogue  properties, 
acts  as  a  discutient  for  tumors.  That  it  deserves  a  careful  investiga- 
tion as  to  its  chemical  constituents  is  evident  from  the  way  in  which 
they  act,  especially  the  saponin,  which  may  possess  special  haemolytic 
actions.  Any  remedy  which  promises  the  possibility  of  relief  for 
any  form  of  cancer  is  certainly  worthy  of  trial. 
THE  CULTIVATION  OF  BUCHU* 
The  cultivation  of  buchu  in  South  Africa  is  dealt  with  in  the 
Imperial  Institute  Bulletin  (Vol.  xvii,  No.  4),  in  the  course  of 
which  the  measures  taken  to  prevent  the  wholesale  destruction  of 
*  From  The  Chemist  and  Druggist,  Nov.  13,  1920. 
