Chapter 16

Botanical Description.--A twining shrub, with leaves heart-shaped, ovate, acute, glabrous. Petioles short. Flowers dark reddish-gray, in panicles. Calyx wanting. Corolla globose below, the tube cylindrical, expanding at the top. Anthers 6, in pairs. Filaments, none. Styles 6, very coarse, a membrane at the base including all. Stigmas simple. Seed vessel inferior, 6-ribbed, 6 cells and many winged seeds. The seed vessel after casting the seeds resembles a pair of balance scales with its little plates or pans. Hence the Tagalo name _Timbangan_ meaning "balance."

Habitat.--In Luzon and Panay. Blooms in November.

PIPERACEÆ.

Pepper Family.

_Piper Betle_, L. (_Chavica Betle_ and _C. auriculata_, Miq.; _Piper Betel_, Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.--_Hojas de buyo_, Sp.-Fil.; _Itmó_, Tag.; _Mamin_, Bic.; _Buyo_, _Mamón_, Vis.; _Samat_, Pam.; _Betel Pepper_, Eng.

Uses.--A masticatory, used all over the extreme Orient, is composed of the leaves of this plant, a little slaked oyster-shell lime and a rounded slice of the bonga or areca nut; the Filipinos call this combination _bayo_, though the name is not of native origin; the Tagalos call it _hitsú_. The use of buyo by careless persons is decidedly repugnant, for the mixture of the lime and the pigment of the bonga imparts a blood-red or rather brick-red color to the saliva which they spit in mouthfuls into the streets and other public places with no thought of the feelings of others. Unless the mouth is carefully cleaned the teeth become encrusted with a sort of black enamel and the breath assumes a detestable odor. When used in small quantities and with proper toilet of the mouth, and this is the common practice among the Filipinos, buyo seems to be a very useful preservative of the teeth and a gingival and stomachic tonic. These properties are readily understood when we consider that the lime is antacid, the bonga astringent and tonic and the betel aromatic and stimulant.

The buyo leaf plays a very important part in the therapeutics of the infant of the Philippines: in its indigestions, colics and diarrhoeas the heated leaves are applied to the abdomen previously anointed with hot cocoanut oil. In bronchitis and laryngitis the heated leaves are applied over the chest or neck after rubbing the parts with oil. It undoubtedly produces good effects and the physicians of India recommend it in the same cases and in the same form as in the Philippines. Applied to the breasts of parturient women it dries up the milk and in the same way tends to reduce any glandular enlargement.

Dr. Kleinstück of Java recommends the essence of the leaves in all sorts of catarrhs and as an antiseptic in doses of one drop to 140 of the vehicle. This essence is obtained by distillation; it is dark in color, has an acrid taste and an odor resembling that of tea. Its density is 1.020. The dried leaves contain one-half per cent. of the essence and it is probable that the fresh ones contain a greater proportion.

Botanical Description.--A plant with yellow flowers and scandent stem, climbing straight up trees or artificial supports. Leaves cleft at the base, acute, entire, glabrous, dark green. According to Blanco it is cultivated best in somewhat sandy soil. Pasay, near Manila, and Bauang, in Batangas, furnish a leaf most highly appreciated.

_Piper nigrum_, L.

Nom. Vulg.--_Pimienta_, Sp.; _Paminta_, _Malisa_, Tag.; _Black Pepper_, Eng.

Uses.--The berry-like fruit of the pepper is more extensively used as a condiment in cooking than in the treatment of disease. Used in moderation, however, it is of considerable value as a convenient stomachic and aid to digestion in tropical countries where the digestive functions readily become sluggish. Its abuse may lead to serious consequences, such as inflammation of the gastro-intestinal mucous membrane, of the portal system and the liver itself.

Pepper is used as a febrifuge in the various forms of malarial fevers, in the form of granules of 8 or 10 berries in a cup of brandy and anise (Spanish); this is taken by the patient in one dose at the beginning of the cold stage and followed by large quantities of water to relieve the thirst caused by the pepper. This treatment causes the cold stage to rapidly subside and more rapidly induces and intensifies the sweating stage. It is said that no further attack of fever follows.

Piperin (C_17_H_19_NO_3_) is febrifuge and is given in pill form internally in doses of 30-60 centigrams; the action of the crude drug is evidently due to this neutral principle.

Botanical Description.--The plant is a perennial, climbing shrub. Leaves oval, tapering at both extremities, 7-nerved. Flowers yellow, in a spike. Stigmas 2, bifid. Fruit globose, with one seed.

Habitat.--The dried fruit of the pepper is universally familiar. It was at one time cultivated in the Philippines, especially in Batangas, and Gen. Basco promulgated a series of orders to encourage its cultivation. Padre Gainza, afterward Bishop of Nueva Cáceres, wrote a report about its cultivation, but since then the subject has entirely disappeared from notice.

CHLORANTHACEÆ.

Chloranth Family.

_Chloranthus officinalis_, Bl. (_C. Indicus_, Wight.; _C. inconspicuus_, Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.--Unknown.

Uses.--All parts of the plant are aromatic. The leaves and stems lose this property after drying, but the roots, if properly dried, preserve it for a long time. They have a camphoraceous odor and bitter, aromatic taste, reminding one of that of _Aristolochia Serpentaria_. The mountaineers of Java use an infusion of the powdered root and the bark of the _Cinnamomum Culilowan_ to treat puerperal eclampsia. Combined with carminatives like anise and onion, they use it with some success in virulent small-pox of children. The infusion seems to be efficacious in fevers accompanied by debility and suppression of the function of the skin. It has also been prescribed in the intermittent fevers of Java, mixed with an infusion of the leaves of the _Cedrela Toona_. Blume states that it is one of the most powerful stimulants known.

Botanical Description.--A plant 3-4° high. Stem quadrangular. Leaves opposite, broad, lanceolate, serrate, with stiff-pointed teeth and somewhat scaly beneath. Petioles very short, clasping the stem at their base, with 2 intermediate stipules ending in two awl-shaped points. Flowers compound in axillary spikes, which bear the flowerets in 2 ranks, each flower with a keeled bract. The corolla (if it may be so called) a fleshy, 3-lobed lamina. Perianth wanting. Receptacle dome-shaped. Anthers 4, inserted on the surface of the lamina, 2-valved. Ovary 1-celled, with 1 ovule. Style short. Berry-like fruit, globose, with 1 seed covered by a somewhat brittle membrane.

Habitat.--La Laguna and other provinces of Luzon. Blooms in September.

LAURACEÆ.

Laurel Family.

_Cinnamomum pauciflorum_, Nees. (_Laurus culilaban_, Var., Blanco.)

_C. tamala_, Nees. (_L. culilaban_, Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg. (of both).--_Kalingag_, _Makalingag_, Tag., Vis.; _Kandaroma_, Iloc; _Cassia Lignea_ or _Cassia_, Eng.

Uses.--The bark of both species is known in pharmacy as Chinese cassia or Chinese cinnamon (cassia cinnamon). Indeed it is very like the cinnamon of Ceylon, comes in curled quills, has the same odor and taste though not so delicate; but it is darker in color, with a surface less clean and smooth. Its chemical composition is identical with that of the latter and nowadays it forms an important article of commerce.

Cinnamon renders good service in therapeutics as a stimulant of the digestive tract and a heart tonic. In the atonic diarrhoeas so common in the Philippines a tincture of cinnamon in doses of 8-10 grams a day, or the powder in cases where alcohol was contraindicated, have given me unhoped-for results.

In Spain and the Philippines it is very popular as a condiment in the kitchen of the confectionery and as a flavor for chocolate; in fact in those countries it takes the place of vanilla in France. It enters into the composition of several elixirs and compound tinctures, such as "Botot's Water" (dentifrice), "Elixir of Garus" (tonic stimulant), "Balsam of Fioraventi" (external stimulant), laudanum and the elixir of the Grande Chartreuse (diffusible stimulant).

Lately it has been demonstrated that the essence is a powerful antiseptic, in the presence of which typhoid fever bacilli cannot develop.

Botanical Description.--A tree, 15-20° high. Leaves opposite, lanceolate, 3-nerved, entire, glabrous. Flowers yellow, paniculate, umbellate. Common peduncles very long, those of the flowerets long. Calyx none. Corolla, 6 ovate, hairy petals. Stamens 9; 6 external to the rest and bearing the anthers, 4 on each filament, 2 below the others; the 3 inner stamens bear 2 anthers each.

In the second species the flowers form loose, terminal panicles. Stamens 9; 6 filaments inserted on the receptacle, spatulate, each bearing 4 anthers on the inferior face; the other 3 filaments thick, each bearing 4 anthers. Between the last filaments are 8 nearly globose glandules.

Habitat.--Both species are common in the forests of Luzon. The first species blooms in May, the second in January.

_Cassytha filiformis_, L.

Nom. Vulg.--_Malabohok._

Uses.--This plant has no therapeutical uses in the Philippines. In Senegal it is employed, according to Dujardin-Beaumetz, mixed with lard to treat urethritis; its action is to decrease the ardor urinæ. It is not stated whether this mixture is used internally or externally.

In Cochin China the same writer states that it is used as an antisyphilitic. In India it is used for the piles and as an alterative for bilious disorders. It possibly acts as a circulatory stimulant.

Botanical Description.--A slender, thread-like, cylindrical vine, without leaves, that covers the trees like a mantle, so luxuriant is its growth. Flowers yellow, in axillary spikes. Calyx small, 3 sepals. Corolla, 3 fleshy concave petals. Stamens 12 in 4 verticils, 9 fertile and 3 inner sterile. Ovary 1-celled, 1-ovuled. Style cylindrical. Drupe globose, 1-2'' in diameter, covered by a fleshy envelope, formed by the receptacle. Seeds without albumen.

Habitat.--Luzon, Mindanao, Cebú, on the seashore.

EUPHORBIACEÆ.

Spurge Family.

_Euphorbia pilulifera_, L. (_E. capitata_, Lam.; _E. hirta_, Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.--_Golondrina_, Sp.-Fil.; _Gatasgatas_, _Batobatonis_, _Sayikan_, Tag.; _Buyayawa_, _Tawawa_, _Bowi_, Vis.; _Malismalis_, _Sisiwhan_, _Bolobotones_, _Magatas_, Pam.

Uses.--This plant has a reputation in the Philippines as a hæmostatic of great efficiency, for which purpose the whole plant is crushed and applied as a poultice over the wound. Like all members of this family it abounds in milky juice. We have had no occasion to employ it as a hæmostatic, but do not doubt its action in view of the effect that it exercises on the circulation and the heart when given internally. In toxic doses experiment has demonstrated that it kills animals by suspension of the respiratory movements and those of the heart, which at first beats faster but gradually more slowly. It has no effect upon any other organ and is eliminated by the liver.

Matheson recommends it as an antispasmodic and has employed it also in dyspnoea of cardiac origin. I have used it in both these conditions in Manila with highly satisfactory results. I have found the most convenient form of administration to be the tincture in doses of 15-40 drops a day given in an infusion of althæa every 3 or 4 hours; the vehicle should be used liberally as it diminishes the irritant action of the euphorbia on the stomach. A decoction of 15 grams of the plant to 2 liters of water may be given in doses of from 6 to 12 tablespoonfuls daily. A proper dose of the alcoholic extract is 10 centigrams in 24 hours. Dr. Daruty, of Mauritius, gives the following formula:

_Euphorbia pilulifera_ dried in the shade 30 grams. Water 1 1/2 liters.

Boil till reduced to 1 liter, cool and add:

Rum or cognac 30 grams.

Dose.--1 wineglassful 3 times a day.

This decoction relieves the most obstinate asthma, as well as cough and bronchial irritation. It is necessary to use the entire plant. The decoction is usually given in the morning, fasting, in the middle of the afternoon and at bedtime. In very stubborn cases another dose may be given in the middle of the night. Frequently the relief is immediate and in some cases a liter of the decoction is enough to effect a cure. If the symptoms return, it is easy to abort them; they are less distressing and, according to the statements of patients, the medicine "gives them air."

Dr. Hicks Bunting found, in an analysis of the drug, 60 per cent. of insoluble residue, wax, "caucho," resin, tannin, sugar, albuminoids, oxalate of calcium and other salts.

Dr. Marsset states that the active principle is soluble in water, in dilute alcohol; insoluble in ether, chloroform, bisulphide of carbon, and turpentine, but does not give the reaction.

The toxic dose is 1 gram of dried plant for each kilogram of weight of the animal.

Botanical Description.--A small creeping plant with milky juice. Stem 1-2° high, cylindrical, hairy and reddish in color. Leaves opposite, obliquely ovate, rhomboid, serrate, hairy. Petioles very short. Two pointed stipules at the base. Flowers yellowish in hemispherical umbels of 5 divisions, each subdivided in 2. Involucre universal. Calyx bell-shaped, laciniate, in 5 parts. Corolla, 5 petals, inserted on the divisions of the calyx, fleshy, orbicular, with an orbicular appendix at the base, concave and differing from the corolla in color. Stamens 8, inserted on the base of the calyx; filaments unequal in length, each bearing 2 anthers. Four filaments lacking anthers. Ovary with stalk longer than the flower, curved downward. Styles 3, bifid. Stigmas simple. Seed vessels 3, united, hairy, 3-angled, each bearing 1 red globose seed with a wrinkled surface.

Habitat.--Common in all parts of the islands and well known to the natives. The name by which it is best known in Manila is "golondrina."

_Euphorbia neriifolia_, L. (_E. ligularia_, Roxb.; _E. pentagona_, Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.--_Sorosoro_, _Sorog-sorog_, _Bait_, Tag., Pam.; _Karambauaya_, Iloc.; _Lengua de perro_, Sp.-Fil.

Uses.--The principal medicinal use of this plant in the Philippines is the introduction of the hot juice of its fleshy leaves into the external auditory canal in cases of otorrhoea or of simple earache, whatever its cause.

The root is regarded in India as an antidote for snake bite and, indeed, the plant is sacred to Munsa, the snake divinity. During the months of July and August in some parts of India the natives make offerings of rice, milk and sugar to this sacred tree every Tuesday and Thursday, praying for protection from the bites of serpents.

The leaves contain an abundance of milky juice, acrid and very active, used in the treatment of several skin diseases. Like the species _E. pilulifera_ it possesses antiasthmatic properties; Dr. S. C. Amcobury reports 6 cases treated with satisfactory results. Owing to the acrid quality of the juice great care should be maintained both in its internal and external use. The Sanscrit authors regard it as purgative and usually administer it with other drugs of the same action to increase its effect. Ainslie states that the native herb-doctors of India give the juice in intestinal obstruction and in the oedema of malarial cachexia. The dose is 1.25 grams in 24 hours given in 300 cc. of sweetened water in divided doses. This dose is, in my opinion, dangerous; 40-60 centigrams a day is more prudent.

Botanical Description.--A small tree, from 5 to 6° high. Trunk erect, jointed, 5-sided, at the angles 2 rows of thorns. Leaves spatulate, fleshy. Flowers yellowish. Calyx bell-shaped, 5-lobed. Corolla, numerous imbricated, spatulate petals with ravelled or fringed ends. Stamens in groups. Styles 3. Stigma coarse. Seed vessel, 3 carpels on a stalk.

Habitat.--In all parts of Luzon.

_Euphorbia Tirucalli_, L.

Nom. Vulg.--_Consuelda_, Sp.-Fil.; _Katwit_, _Suelda_, Tag.

Uses.--The milky juice of this species is very caustic. It is used chiefly in India mixed with oil as an embrocation for rheumatism; given internally it is regarded as an antisyphilitic. Dr. J. Shortt states that it is an excellent alterant in syphilis in dose of 30 centigrams, morning and evening. It is further employed in malarial hypertrophy of the spleen, in asthma and as a purgative; in a word the same virtues are attributed to it as to the foregoing species.

Botanical Description.--Small trees, 9-12° high. Trunk erect. Branches cylindrical, stumpy (not tapering), several very small leaves at the ends. Flowers yellowish, in umbels. Calyx, 5 rounded, fleshy sepals. Corolla, 5 groups of woolly hairs on the divisions of the calyx. Stamens 5, inserted on the sepals, with double or irregular anthers. Seed vessel, 3 carpels each with one seed.

Habitat.--Very common, especially in the suburbs of Manila where they serve as hedges.

_Phyllanthus reticulatus_, Müll. (_Cica decandra_, Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.--_Tinatinaan_, _Tintatintahan_, _Malinta_, Tag.; _Sungot-olang_, Vis.

Uses.--The natives eat the little berries of this species, which are dark purple before and black after maturity, and use their juice for ink. The leaves are diuretic and refreshing; the bark alterant. In the bazaars of India the bark is sold commonly in pieces 1° long and as thick as the wrist; its taste is slightly sweet, color dark and the alterative dose of its decoction is 120-150 grams a day. In Concan they make a compound pill of the leaf-juice, powdered cubebs and camphor, to be dissolved in the mouth for ulcerated, bleeding or scorbutic gums. The juice is also given internally for urticaria.

Botanical Description.--Small trees, 12° or more high, with leaves pinnate, oval, entire, alternate, glabrous, downy when young. Common petiole, 2 stipules at the base. Flowers monoecious. Staminate: calyx, 5 colored sepals; no corolla; filaments 4, coarse, somewhat shorter than the calyx, the middle one thicker and 2-parted; anthers 10, 4 on the middle filament and two on each of the others. Pistillate: calyx and corolla same as staminate; nectary, 5 glandules on the base of the ovary. Fruit, a black berry seated within the calyx, crowned with 2 erect styles, 6 or 8 compartments each with a single seed.

Habitat.--Grows everywhere and is well known.

_Phyllanthus Niruri_, L.

_P. urinaria_, L.

Nom. Vulg.--_Hierba de San Pablo, de San Pedro_, Sp.

Uses.--This species is not used medicinally in the Philippines, but in India is given for its diuretic effect and has great repute in the treatment of genito-urinary diseases, dropsy and gonorrhoea. The infusion of the leaves of _P. Niruri_ with Fenugreek seeds is a highly prized remedy for chronic dysentery, mentioned by Ainslie. The leaves are bitter and tonic and in Bombay they are in common use in gonorrhoea to correct the acidity of the urine. Bruised and mixed with salt they make a sort of jelly frequently used as an application for itch; without salt the same is used for contusions.

The dose of the leaf juice of both species, for internal use, is 15 grams a day in divided doses.

A decoction of the entire plant well dried and powdered, is given for jaundice in doses of 5 grams a day.

The milky juice of the stem is useful in the local treatment of ulcers. The bruised root is employed in Concan for neuralgia.

Botanical Description.--_P. Niruri_ is an herb with straight stem. Leaves alternate, pinnate with stylet in place of the odd leaflet. Leaflets nearly oval, glabrous, 2 stipules at the base. Flowers monoecious, greenish, axillary; the staminate growing along the common petiole above the pistillate. Staminate: Calyx, 5 lanceolate, entire sepals; no corolla; 1 filament with 1 anther. Pistillate: Calyx and corolla as above; ovary free, 3 biovulate cells; style with 2 stigma-bearing branches. Fruit capsular, globose.

_P. urinaria_ may be distinguished by its sessile flowers and reddish stem.

Habitat.--Very common in Manila and all over Luzon.

_Jatropha Curcas_, L.

Nom. Vulg.--_Tuba_, Tag.; _Kasla_, Vis.; _Tawatawa_, Iloc. (Seeds called "English Physic Nuts" in India.)

Uses.--The milky juice of the trunk and branches is a drastic purgative, too active for safety as a physic. Mixed with water it is used as a wash for atonic ulcers.

The seeds yield 25-30 per cent. of a yellowish oil, more active than castor oil as a purgative but less certain. Ten or twelve of the former equal in effect 30 to 40 drops of the latter. Its density is 0.919, and it differs from castor oil in being only slightly soluble in absolute alcohol. In some parts of the Philippines it is used for purposes of illumination, and it is exported to Europe to adulterate soaps and candles. It contains a little stearin which begins to be deposited at 9° and is entirely solidified at 0°.

The fruit is strongly purgative, and this action is not due to the oil but to a peculiar resin so active that 3 fruits produce drastic effects. Whatever purgative action the oil possesses is due to the resin which it contains in solution. It seems, therefore, preferable to treat the seeds with alcohol, thus dissolving the resin, and use the tincture thus obtained in place of the oil.

The natives use the plant to intoxicate the fish in ponds and sluggish streams.

The seeds of the species _J. multifida_, L., also called _tuba_ in Tag., and _mana_, are likewise purgative in their action. Dr. Waring saw a case of poisoning with the fruit; the patient, a young man, suffered violent vomiting, intense pain in the stomach and head, and marked prostration. He recovered under the use of lime juice and stimulants.

Botanical Description.--The _J. Curcas_ is a small tree growing as high as 9°. Leaves alternate, cordate, glabrous, 3-5 cut-lobed. Flowers yellowish-green, monoecious, in terminal umbels, staminate and pistillate flowers mingled without order. Staminate: Calyx, 5 unequal sepals; corolla bell-shaped, 5 petals, woolly within, a small notch at the end, bent downward; stamens 10, in 2 whorls of 5. Pistillate: Calyx and corolla as above; several tongue-like staminodes replace the stamens; ovary free, oblong, 3-celled, 1 ovule in each cell; style 3-branched. Seed vessel fleshy, of 3 capsules, each bearing 1 oval, coriaceous seed.

Habitat.--Luzon and Visayas.

_Aleurites Moluccana_, Willd. (_A. triloba_, Forst. and Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.--_Lumbán_, _Kapili_, Tag.; _Belgaum_ or _Indian Walnut_, Indo-Eng.

Uses.--The kernels are rich in oil which is used for illumination and the manufacture of soap. For industrial purposes it is superior to linseed oil, according to the report of the Madras Drug Committee.

Dr. O'Rocke states that in doses of 1-2 ounces it acts as a gentle and sure purgative, producing copious bilious evacuations after 3-6 hours, without causing nausea, colic or other similar effects. The municipal physician of Sampaloc, Señor Xerez, states that he has frequently used this oil in Manila, as a purgative, and he agrees perfectly with Dr. O'Rocke as to its effect.

D. Anacleto del Rosario, the distinguished Filipino chemist, tells me that he once witnessed a case of poisoning by the fruit of the _lumbán_, the patient being a native boy. Doubtless the milky juice, so active in all the Euphorbiaceæ, was the cause of the symptoms. It is true that the kernel causes colic and copious alvine discharges.

Nellino's chemical analysis of the seeds is as follows:

Water 5.25 Fatty matter 62.97 Cellulose 28.99 Mineral matter 2.79

The ashes contain the following matters:

Lime 28.69% Magnesia 6.01% Potash 11.23% Phosphoric acid 20.30%