PUMPKIN  SEEDS — PEPO,  U.  S.  P. 
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seeds,  as  the  latter  are  said  to  diminish  the  papillary  secretions. 
Of  late  years  it  has  deservedly  engaged  the  attention  of  numer- 
ous practitioners,  as  a  remedy  in  taenia.  As  it  has  not  yet  been 
thoroughly  examined,  I  hereby  desire  to  contribute  to  the  inves- 
tigations already  made,  and  I  think  that  my  experiments  will  con- 
clusively show  to  what  it  owes  its  virtues  as  a  therapeutic  agent. 
The  seeds  are  the  officinal  portion,  and  to  these  my  inquiries 
have  been  alone  directed,  although  the  pulp  has  been  used  with 
asserted  benefit  for  the  above  complaint. 
Experiment  1st.  One  hundred  grains  of  the  seeds  yielded 
twenty-five  grains  of  external  coating,  and  seventy-five  grains  of 
an  oily  kernel. 
Experiment  2d.  Sixteen  troy-ounces  were  treated  with 
one  pound  of  ether  by  percolation.  The  percolate  thus  obtained 
yielded  about  five  ounces  of  a  viscid  fixed  oil  of  an  olive  green 
color,  changing  to  a  yellowish  color  on  standing.  Its  taste  re- 
sembles that  of  olive  oil  with  a  slight  odor  of  the  seeds,  insolu- 
ble in  alcohol,  soluble  in  chloroform.  I  next  treated  the  drug 
remaining  in  the  percolator  with  95°  alcohol,  exhausting  it 
thoroughly.  The  percolate  was  of  a  pea-green  color,  and  when 
rubbed  upon  the  hands  developed  the  odor  of  the  seeds  in  a  strong 
degree.  JFrom  this  I  recovered  the  alcohol  by  distillation,  re- 
ducing the  product  to  the  average  strength  of  fluid  extracts. 
The  distillate  gave  no  signs  of  anything  but  pure  alcohol,  which 
leads  me  to  suppose  that  the  odorous  principle  is  not  volatile. 
I  next  treated  four  troy-ounces  of  the  seeds  with  alcohol  by 
maceration,  filtered  the  resulting  tincture,  and  added  to  it 
an  equal  weight  of  water,  which  threw  down  a  light  pre- 
cipitate. The  latter  I  allowed  to  subside  and  collected  it 
upon  a  paper  filter,  dissolved  the  product  in  a  fresh  portion 
of  alcohol,  filtered  and  evaporated,  which  yielded  a  sub- 
stance of  a  soft  resinous  appearance,  incapable  of  becoming 
hard,  but  rather  possessing  the  properties  of  an  oleoresin.  It 
possessed  in  a  strong  degree  the  odor  of  the  seeds,  and  was  to 
the  taste  aromatic,  leaving  a  slight  sense  of  acrimony  upon  the 
palate.  It  is  soluble  in  ether  and  chloroform,  but  alcohol  dis- 
solves it  with  greater  readiness.  I  believe  it  is  the  principle  to 
which  the  drug  owes  its  efficacy,  and  propose  for  its  name  Cu- 
