Chapter 14

Nom. Vulg.--_Chili picante_, Sp.-Fil.; _Sili_, Tag.; _Capsicum_, _Red Pepper_, etc., Eng.

Uses.--The fruit of this species of pepper plant is called _agí_ in Cuba and Porto Rico; it is in common use as a condiment in the Philippines. As a tonic and stimulant it is a useful article of food in hot countries where the digestive functions become sluggish. Used in moderation it prevents dyspepsia and consequent diarrhoea. It is used as a gargle for hoarseness, decreasing the congestion of the larynx and vocal cords.

Gargle.--

Tincture of capsicum 8 grams. Water 160 grams.

Mix.

Recently capsicum in powder, extract, or tincture, has been recommended internally in the treatment of incipient hemorrhoids. The dose is .50 to 3 grams of the powder in pills or capsules; watery extract, 0.30-0.60; tincture, 10-30 drops.

The _C. annuum_, L., and other varieties of red pepper serve the same uses as the above.

Botanical Description.--Stem 4-angled. Leaves opposite, ovate-lanceolate, entire. Petioles short. Flowers greenish-white in little clusters, drooping. Corolla wheel-shaped. Fruit straight, conical, slender, scarcely 1' long.

Habitat.--Universally common in the islands. Blooms at all times.

_Datura alba_, Nees. (_D. Metel_, Roxb. and Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.--_Talamponay_, Tag., Pam.; _Takbibung_, Vis.; _Dhatura_, Indo-Eng.

Uses.--The applications of this species are identical with those of _D. Stramonium_ and it is official in the Pharmacopoeia of India. It is antispasmodic, narcotic and toxic, and is used quite commonly with criminal intent in India and Indo-China. The cooked and bruised leaves make an efficient poultice in articular rheumatism.

The symptoms of poisoning by "dhatura" are: dilatation of the pupil, general malaise, dryness of the fauces and skin, hallucinations, rapid pulse, coma and death or permanent mania.

The dry leaf is smoked to abort asthma, and though its action is uncertain, it is one of the many remedies that should be tried, which though ineffective in one case may in another afford positive relief in this distressing disease. Not more than 1.50 grams should be smoked in one day and their use should be discontinued if any symptom of intoxication supervenes. The Pharmacopoeia of India contains a tincture made from 75 grams of the ground seeds and 500 grams of alcohol. Dr. Waring states that 20 drops of this tincture are equivalent to 6 centigrams of opium and that in some cases it has given him better narcotic results than the opium. The extract is made from 500 grams of the powdered seeds, 500 cc. ether, 500 cc. alcohol and 500 cc. water. Dose, 5-20 centigrams a day in 4 doses.

The _D. fastuosa_, L., known in Manila by the common name of _Talamponay na itim_, Tag., possesses the same properties as the above. The Filipino physician, Sr. Zamora, successfully employed a poultice of bruised leaves cooked in vinegar and applied to the forehead and backs of the hands to reduce the fever of tuberculous patients.

Neither the leaves nor seeds of these two varieties of _Datura_ have been studied from a chemical standpoint, but there is little doubt that the active principle is the _daturine_ (atropine and hyoscyamine) that exists so abundantly in _D. Stramonium_.

Botanical Description.--Plant 5-6° high, with nodose branches, forked. Leaves ovate, angled, somewhat downy. Flowers large, white, axillary, solitary. Calyx tubular, 5-toothed. Corolla funnel-shaped, the limb 5-angled and 5-folded. Stamens 5, same length as calyx. Anthers long, flattened. Stigma thick, oblong, divisible in 2 leaves. Seed vessel globose, thorny, 4-valved over the base of the calyx. Seeds numerous, flattened, kidney-shaped. (Resembles closely the common Jamestown Weed of America, though much taller with much larger flowers.)

Habitat.--Common on the shores of the sea. The _D. fastuosa_ is differentiated by its violet flowers and double corolla.

_Nicotiana Tabacum, L._

Nom. Vulg.--_Tabaco_, Sp.; _Tobacco_, Eng.

Uses.--Tobacco is a powerful sedative and antispasmodic, but owing to the accidents it may give rise to, its use in therapeutics is very limited. Like all the active Solanaceæ it is effective against neuralgia and spasm of the muscular tissues and is therefore indicated in strangulated hernia and in intestinal obstruction. In these conditions the infusion of 1-5 grams of the dried leaf to 250 grams of water is given by enema. Trousseau advises non-smokers who suffer from chronic constipation to smoke a cigarette fasting, a practice which, according to him, stimulates defecation. For the same condition the people of southern India are accustomed to apply a poultice of the bruised leaves to the anal region.

Tobacco has been used by enema to combat tetanus; Dr. Lesth, of the General Hospital for Europeans, Bombay, claims to have obtained excellent results by applying a poultice over the entire length of the spinal column. Dr. Dymock has confirmed this practice.

A decoction of the leaves is used as a lotion to destroy "pediculi capitis and pubis," and to wash gangrenous ulcers.

The daily increasing practice of smoking, like all other subjects, divides mankind into two camps, one for and one against the habit. Both parties exaggerate their arguments. The abuse of the plant without doubt sets up disturbances of the digestion, the heart and the nervous system. It is furthermore positive that persons of a certain disposition and with certain ailments are injured by even a moderate use of tobacco. The above facts serve as arms for the opponents of the habit; the robust who smoke and drink to excess and meet with an accidental death on a railroad or from an acute disease that overtakes them in the midst of perfect health, serve as arguments for the defenders, to prove the innocence of the custom. The antiseptic qualities of the smoke and of the entire plant also lend the smoker a defensive argument, as he may uphold the habit as hygienic and highly useful in preventing microbic infection. The antiseptic power of tobacco smoke is undoubted, but it is intolerable that a physician under the pretext of avoiding self infection should enter the house of his patient and continue smoking at the bedside.

Chronic nicotine poisoning is the result of a gradual intoxication by the absorption of the active principle of tobacco, the alkaloid nicotine. Excessive smoking conduces to nicotism, more common in Europe than in the tropics, because the natives of Europe smoke the pipe and being confined in closed dwellings, breathe continuously an atmosphere of smoke; in the Philippines, on the contrary, the pipe is almost unknown and owing to the nature of the dwellings the smoking is carried on practically in the open air. An injurious practice of the Filipino smokers is that of "swallowing the smoke," and this is a fitting point to call attention to an error of Dujardin-Beaumetz, who states that "in those who habitually swallow the smoke the nicotine acts directly upon the stomach." The expression "swallow smoke" (tragar el humo) does not mean to force it into the stomach by an act of deglutition, and I am sure no one attempts to dispose of it in that way; but to inspire or breath it into the air passages. It is evident that this latter habit does not involve the stomach, but those who practice it expose themselves more to nicotism than those who keep the smoke in the mouth or expel it through the nose.

The first cigar causes symptoms familiar to nearly everybody; dizziness, malaise, cold sweat, vomiting, diarrhoea, dilatation of the pupils and rapid heart action--an acute intoxication. Chronic intoxication or nicotism manifests itself by disturbances of digestion, vision and especially circulation. It has been assigned as one of the causes of early atheroma and of angina pectoris. It should therefore be proscribed in persons who present symptoms of gastro-intestinal or of heart disease, and in every patient who complains of slight precordial pains, commonly attributed to flatus, but in reality cardiac neuralgia, a fugitive symptom announcing the possibility of that grave accident, angina pectoris, capable of ending the life of the patient with one stroke.

Nicotine (C_10_H_14_N_2_) is an oleaginous liquid heavier than water, colorless, changing to dark yellow on contact with the air. _Nicotianin_ or "camphor of tobacco" is another substance found in the leaves, crystalline, tasteless, with an odor resembling tobacco. Nicotinic acid is a product of the combustion of nicotine.

Botanical Description.--The tobacco plant is so familiar to all Americans that its description here would be superfluous. It grows in all parts of the islands, the best qualities being cultivated in the northern provinces of Luzon, especially Cagayan and La Isabela.

SCROPHULARIACEÆ.

Figwort Family.

_Limnophila menthastrum,_ Benth. (_Tala odorata_, Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.--_Tala_, _Taramhampam_, Tag.; _Talatala_, Pam.; _Taratara_, Iloc.

Uses.--An infusion of the leaves is given as a diuretic and digestive tonic. The plant is aromatic. It is seldom used, but is given for the same troubles and in the same doses as chamomile and _Eupatorium Ayapana_.

Botanical Description.--A plant 1° high, with leaves opposite, lanceolate, ovate, serrate, hairy, many small pits on the lower face. Flowers rose color, solitary, sessile. Calyx, 5 sharp teeth. Corolla tubular, curved, compressed, downy within, limb cleft in 4 unequal lobes. Stamens didynamous. Ovary conical. Style shorter than the stamens. Stigma 3-lobuled. Seed vessel, 2 multiovulate chambers.

Habitat.--Known universally. Blooms in June.

BIGNONIACEÆ.

Bignonia Family.

_Oroxylum Indicum_, Vent. (_Bignonia Indica_, L.; _B. quadripinnata_, Blanco; _Colosanthes Indica_, Bl.)

Nom. Vulg.--_Pinkapinkahan_, _Pinkapinka_, _Taghilaw_, _Abangabang_, Tag.; _Abangabang_, Vis.

Uses.--The Hindoos consider the trunk bark an astringent and tonic and use it commonly in diarrhoea and dysentery. In Bombay it has a wide use in veterinary practice as an application for the sore backs of the domestic cattle. Sarangadhara recommends for diarrhoea and dysentery the infusion of the roasted bark mixed with infusion of _Bombax malabaricum_.

Dr. Evers experimented with the powder and an infusion of the bark obtaining a strong diaphoretic action. He obtained the same effect with baths containing the bark and reported successful results in thus treating 24 cases of rheumatism. The dose of the powder was 0.30-1 gram a day in 3 doses; the infusion (30 grams bark to 300 boiling water), 90 grams a day in 3 doses. Combined with opium it had more pronounced diaphoretic effects than the compounds of opium and ipecac. The plant possesses no febrifuge properties.

Botanical Description.--A tree, 5-6 meters high, trunk straight, hollow, the hollow space containing many thin partitions covered with small points; branches opposite. Leaves 4 times odd pinnate. Leaflets obliquely ovate, acute, entire, glabrous. Flowers in racemes with long, primary peduncles, large, fleshy, lurid, violet color, odor mawkish. Calyx inferior, cylindrical, monophyllous, entire. Corolla much longer than calyx, fleshy, bell-shaped, 5-lobed. Stamens 5, all fertile, fixed on the corolla, nearly equal in height. Style longer than stamens, flattened. Stigma cleft in 2 flat leaves. Silique or pod about 3° long and 2' wide, flattened, borders grooved and curved downward, containing a great number of seeds encircled by a broad, flat, imbricated wing.

Habitat.--Common in many parts of Luzon, in Mindanao, Cebú and Paragua.

PEDALIACEÆ.

Pedalium Family.

_Sesamum Indicum_, L.

Nom. Vulg.--_Ajonjoli_, Sp.; _Lingá_, Tag.; _Longá_, Vis.; _Langis_, Pam.; _Sesamé_, Indo-Eng. (_Benné Oil_, _Til Oil_, _Jinjili Oil_.)

Uses.--The leaves are emollient and in the Philippines, India and the Southern States of North America they are commonly used to make poultices, as a substitute for linseed.

The decoction is prescribed internally as an emmenagogue and demulcent and externally as a lotion. It has the reputation of stimulating the growth of the hair and is used for this purpose quite commonly by the women of India.

The seeds are emollient, laxative, diuretic and emmenagogue; they contain an oil to which we shall refer presently. In some countries they form an article of diet; in the Philippines they are much used as a condiment. Waring reports good results in amenorrhoea, adding a handful of the bruised seeds to a hot sitz-bath. Two or 3 dessert-spoonfuls of the seeds eaten fasting and washed down with a glass of water, are very efficient in chronic constipation, both by their mechanical effect and the oil they contain; being non-irritant they are especially indicated in cases of constipation with hemorrhoids.

The seeds contain up to 45% of oil known in the Philippines under the name of _lana_, an Ilocano word meaning "oil." It is bright yellow, viscid, does not easily become rancid and is used for illuminating purposes in some Philippine provinces. In Japan and among the poor of India it serves as a food; in the latter country it is also very commonly used as a cosmetic, perfumed with various essences and used to anoint the hair and the body after the bath. In America it is given in place of castor oil in doses of 30-60 grams. In pharmacy it may be properly substituted for olive oil, especially in Linimentum Calcis prepared for burns.

Botanical Description.--A plant 2-4° high, stem straight, square, grooved. Leaves trifoliate. Leaflets lanceolate, serrate, slightly downy. Common petiole long; secondary petiole very short. Flowers pinkish white, in spikes, each flower bearing 2 small glands. Calyx with 2 bracts at the base, top-shaped, monophyllous, 5 lanceolate teeth. Corolla large, 5-lobed, bell-shaped, expanded in the middle where it is spattered with small spots. Stamens didynamous. Anthers long. Ovary downy, quadrangular. Style same length as stamens. Stigma bifid. Seed vessel quadrangular, elongated, 4 opposite grooves, 4 chambers each containing many small ovoid seeds.

Habitat.--Universal. Blooms in October.

ACANTHACEÆ.

Acanthus Family.

_Acanthus ilicifolius, L._

Nom. Vulg.--_Diliwariw_, _Dolo-ariw_, _Tinglog_, _Lagiwlagiw_, Tag.; _Titiw_, Vis.; _Dulawari_, Pam.

Uses.--We are not familiar with the medicinal uses of this plant in the Philippines, but believe that its sole use is in the soap-making industry; the ash of the plant is rich in soda and potash salts and lye is prepared from it.

In Goa the leaves, rich in mucilage, are used locally in fomentations for rheumatism and neuralgia. Rheede mentions as useful the application of the bruised sprouts to snake bites. Bontius attributes expectorant properties to the plant. The natives of Siam and Cochin China use it as a cordial and as a medicine for paralysis and asthma.

In Concan the sweetened decoction of the plant with a little cumin seed is given for dyspepsia with pyrosis.

Botanical Description.--A plant about 3° high, stem straight, beset with sharp eminences. Leaves opposite, membranaceous, lanceolate, pinnatifid, large teeth ending in prickles. Petioles very short, 2 thorns at the base. Flowers purplish white in spikes. Calyx double; the outer one of 2 parts, the inner 4. Corolla bell-shaped, lower lip broad, keeled, fleshy, notched above. Upper lip wanting, a notch in its place. Stamens 4, didynamous. Ovary superior, conical. Style of equal length with stamens. Stigma bifid. Seed vessels 2-celled, each cell with 2 heart-shaped, flattened, rough seeds.

Habitat.--Very common in regions inundated by salt water.

_Barleria Prionitis, L._ (_Barreliera Prionitis_, Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.--_Kokongmanok_, _Kulanta_, Tag.

Uses.--This plant is not used medicinally in the Philippines. The natives of Bombay are accustomed to use its juice to anoint the soles of their feet during the rainy season in order to toughen the skin and prevent fissures due to prolonged maceration.

The leaf juice is bitter and acid; it is a favorite with the natives of India in the treatment of the catarrhal fevers common among their children, administered in doses of 2 tablespoonfuls a day mixed with sweetened water.

In Concan the dry bark is given for whooping-cough and the juice of the fresh bark in doses of 2 "tolas" (7.60 grams) for anasarca. Dr. Bidie states that the action is diaphoretic and expectorant.

Botanical Description.--A plant 2-3° high, stem creeping, the ends rising; enlarged at the joints, glabrous. Leaves smooth, opposite, lanceolate, finely serrate, fringed, somewhat downy below, glabrous above. Petioles short, 4 axillary spines. Flowers straw-color, axillary, sessile, solitary. Calyx deeply cleft in 4 parts, ovate, ending in spines. Corolla funnel-shaped, tube short, throat nude, limb 5-lobed. Stamens 4, didynamous. Ovary 2-celled. Style same length as stamens. Seed-vessel ovate, flattened and sharp-pointed, 2-celled, each cell with a flat, heart-shaped seed.

Habitat.--In Guadalupe, Mandaloyon and San Juan del Monte. Blooms in April.

_Justicia Gendarussa_, L. (_Gandarussa vulgaris_, Nees.; _Dianthera subserrata_, Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.--_Kapanitulot_, Tag.; _Bunlaw_, Vis.

Uses.--In the Philippines this plant has the same applications as the _Lagundi_ or _Vitex_, soon to be described. In India they give a decoction of the leaves for chronic rheumatism, the action probably being diaphoretic. The juice is employed for the coughs of childhood and externally as a resolvent for enlarged cervical glands. The bark of the young branches has a purplish color; in Java it is considered a good emetic.

Botanical Description.--A shrub 5-6° high, stem straight, branches smooth, obscurely 4-angled. Stems and leaves violet color, emitting a disagreeable odor (Blanco). Leaves opposite, lanceolate, acute, glabrous, obtusely serrate. Flowers terminal, white-green, in racemes of 3 sessile flowers with lanceolate bracts. Calyx, 5 long teeth. Corolla, short tube, 2-lipped, upper lip notched, lower lip broad with palate, ending in 3 lobules. Seed vessel with 4 seeds in its lower part.

Habitat.--Luzon, Mindanao, Panay.

_Adhatoda vasica_, Nees. (_Justicia Adhatoda_, L.)

Nom. Vulg.--(?)

Uses.--The Filipinos are but slightly familiar with this plant and it has no place in their therapeutical armamentarium. In India, however, it is very common and enjoys much reputation in the treatment of catarrhs, the grip, asthma and non-febrile, especially chronic, bronchial affections. The flowers, leaves and roots, but especially the flowers, possess antispasmodic properties and are prescribed in certain forms of asthma; they are bitter and slightly aromatic, and are given in infusion or electuary.

Drs. Jackson and Dott have testified from their own experience to the usefulness of the drug in chronic bronchitis, asthma and afebrile catarrh. Dr. Watt states that the natives of Bengal find relief for asthma in smoking the leaves. In Bombay its expectorant action is commonly known and its juice is used, mixed with borax and honey.

The dose of the aqueous extract made by evaporating the juice of the leaves, is .25-1 gram. The tincture is preferable, made by dissolving this extract in alcohol; dose 2-4 grams. Its efficiency is increased by the addition of pepper seeds (Waring). The Sanscrit writers recommend for cough, 3.80 grams of the leaf juice with honey. "It is very desirable that further trials be made to test the value of this remedy."--Pharmacopoeia of India.

Botanical Description.--A shrub with straight, smooth, ashy-gray trunk. Branches of same color but smoother. Leaves opposite, lanceolate, acute, smooth on both faces, 12-15 cm. long by 3-4 broad, petioles short. Flowers irregular and hermaphrodite in axillary spikes with long peduncles, opposite, large, white, covered with rusty spots, the lower part of the 2 lips purple. Calyx gamosepalous, regular, five deep clefts. Corolla gamopetalous, irregular, short tube, limb 2-lipped, the lower lip ending in a spur. Ovary free, 2-celled, each cell containing 2 ovules. Style filiform, long, inserted in a sort of canal formed by the upper lip of the corolla. Stigma bilobulate. Seed vessel depressed, 4 flattened, lenticular seeds.

Habitat.--Luzon and Panay.

_Rhinacanthus communis_, Nees. (_Justicia nasuta_, L.)

Nom. Vulg.--_Tagaktagak_, Tag.; _Nagamulli_, Indo-Eng.

Uses.--The plant has much reputation in India in the treatment of skin diseases, and indeed its efficiency is great in the stubborn _Tinea circinata tropica_, known throughout the Orient as "dhobie-itch." In this disease it is applied for several days to the affected part in the form of a paste composed of the bruised leaves, the juice of the leaves and lemon juice. The fresh root also may be employed. The Hindoo physicians state that the root decoction in milk is aphrodisiac; the root is also regarded as an antidote for the bite of the "cobra da cabelho," but its virtue is purely imaginary. Of late years the plant has been used in Europe under the name of "tong-pang-chong," to treat chronic eczema.

Liborius made an analysis of the root in the laboratory of Dorpat, separating 13.51% ash and 1.87% _rhinocanthin_, as well as other ingredients. Rhinocanthin (C_14_H_18_O_4_) is supposed to be the active principle of the root. It is analogous to quinon and resembles in many particulars chrysophanic and frangulic acids. It forms a resinous, amorphous mass, cherry red, odorless and tasteless, slightly soluble in water, forming a mildly alkaline solution in alcohol. It does not yield glucose when boiled with dilute hydrochloric acid. Liborius believes that it exists only in the intercellular spaces of the "root bark."

Botanical Description.--A shrub, about 4° high, stem ash-colored, no spines. Leaves lanceolate, undulate, downy. Flowers white in spikes. Calyx gamosepalous, 5-toothed. Corolla long, filiform, limb 4-lobed, the 3 lower lobes ovate, the upper pointed. Stamens 2. Ovary free, 2 biovulate locules. Style simple. Stigma bifid. Seed vessel club-shaped, 4 seeds in the upper part.

Habitat.--Common in the gardens of Manila.

VERBENACEÆ.

Vervain Family.

_Lippia nodiflora_, Rich. (_Verbena nodiflora_, L.; _V. capitata_, Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.--_Tsatsatsatsahan_, _Chachachachahan_, Tag.

Uses.--The Filipinos drink an infusion of the leaves in place of tea, the long Tagalog name meaning "resembling tea." In India they drink the hot infusion to aid digestion. In some places the decoction of the leaves is given internally as an emollient and diuretic for gonorrhoea.

Botanical Description.--A small plant with creeping stem taking root where it touches the ground, obscurely angular, covered with short down. Leaves opposite, smooth, clasping the stem, inversely ovate, serrate only above, slightly downy. Flowers white, slightly purplish, axillary on a common peduncle, in a rough conical head. Corolla somewhat bowed, funnel-form, gaping, throat narrow, limb 4-lobed, one lobe shorter than the rest. Stamens 4, 2 longer. Filament almost wanting. Anthers 4, fertile. Ovary superior, style very short. Stigma semi-globose. Fruit, 2 seeds covered by the pellicle of the ovary.

Habitat.--Very common in the rice fields.

_Tectona grandis_, L.

Nom. Vulg.--_Teca_, Sp.; _Tikla_, Tag.; _Dalondón_, _Yate_, _Kalayati_, Vis.; _Teak Tree_, Eng.

Uses.--The powdered wood made into a paste with water is undoubtedly a useful application in acute dermatitis, especially that due to contact with the caustic oleo-resin of the cashew nut (_Anacardium_). A decoction of the powder gives good results as a gargle for aphthæ, gingivitis, and other inflammations within the buccal cavity. In India they give internally 6-12 grams as a vermifuge, and for dyspepsia with "heartburn."