6o6  Fharmacognostical  Notes.  {^"^  Dec' isso^™' 
PHARMACOGNOSTICAL  NOTES. 
Strychnos  ganth'ieriana^  Pierre. — Catholic  missionaries  in  Tong-King 
have  directed  attention  to  the  bark  of  a  ch'mbing  shrub  called  by  the 
natives  hoang-nan^  and  used  in  hydrophobia,  against  snake  bites  and  in 
certain  skin  diseases.  The  bark  is  blackish-grey  or  grey-black,  some- 
times brownish,  mostly  covered  with  a  thin  ochre-yellow  tissue,  and 
always  marked  with  longtudinal  ridges.  Internally,  it  shows  a  lighter 
and  a  darker  colored  layer,  and  under  the  microscope  are  seen,  i,  a 
corky  layer;  2,  a  layer  of  parenchyma  with  crystals  of  calcium  oxalate; 
3,  a  pale  colored  line,  consisting  of  thick  walled  stone  cells  filled  with 
a  brown  resinous  matter,  and  4,  a  layer  having  double  the  thickness  of 
the  other  three  layers,  and  radially  striate  by  thin-walled,  roundish 
cells  in  4  or  5  rows,  and  by  vertically  elongated  cells  containing  starch 
granules;  near  the  outer  margin  of  the  inner  layer  are  found  scattered 
groups  of  stone  cells.  The  hoang-nan  bark  resembles  the  bark  of 
Strychnos  nux  vomica  (so-called  false  angustura),  but  is  more  regularly 
curved,  much  thinner,  upon  the  outer  surface  more  verrucose,  and 
upon  transverse  section  shows  more  irregular  striae  and  fewer  stone  cells. 
The  anatomical  structure  of  the  two  barks  and  of  that  of  curare  of 
Rio  negro  is  very  similar,  and  in  the  wood  of  these  plants  are  numer- 
large  pores  visible  upon  the  surface,  and  having  upon  transverse  sec- 
tion an  ellipsoid  shape. 
Hoang-nan  bark  contains  strychnia  and  brucia,  and  is  given  in  doses 
of  about  '02  gram  (\  grain).  A.  decoction,  tincture  and  extract  of  the 
bark  have  been  recommended.  —  Burkhard  Raeber^  in  Schweiz. 
Wochenschr.  f.  Phar.^  ]\i\y  16. 
Strychnos  iriplinervia^  Mart. — According  to  Ladislao  Metto,  this 
Brazilian  plant  is  distinguished  from  Str.  castelnaea  and  Str.  toxifera  by 
being  tree-like  and  not  climbing,  having  smooth  oval  triplinerved  leaves 
and  the  numerous  flowers  in  cymes.  The  extracts  obtained  from 
different  parts  of  this  plant  by  different  methods  varied  considej- 
ably  in  color;  that  from  the  root  was  rich  in  gum  resin,  easilv  emul- 
sionized  and  almost  without  activity  ;  but  the  extracts  of  the  stem-  and 
root-bark  resembled  curare  in  their  action,  and  were  most  active  if 
obtained  from  bark  of  medium  thickness.  Although  weaker  than 
curare,  which  is  prepared  from  several  plants,  it  deserves  attention. — 
Zeitschr.  Oester.  Apoth.  Ver.^  1880,  p.  428,  from  Jour.Phar.  et  Chim. 
The  presence  of  nicot'ia  in  Indian  hemp  was  asserted  by  Preobraschensky 
in  1878.    E.  L.  S^ez^n  has  examined  hemp  leaves  erown  near  Riga, 
