Chapter 7

The fleshy part, called the fruit, is edible but contains a certain quantity of cardol not only evidenced by the odor but by the smarting of the mouth and throat after eating. It is very juicy and the expressed liquid is fermented in Bombay and distilled to make a very weak alcohol which sells for the very low price of 4 annas (5 cents gold) a gallon. This alcohol is again distilled and a stronger obtained which sells for 1 1/2 rupees a gallon. The Portuguese of India make a sort of wine from the fermented juice of the fruit, which, like the weak alcohol we have mentioned, is a well-known diuretic and is used as a liniment.

The gum resin of the trunk contains 90% of anacardic acid and 10% cardol. Wood soaked in it is preserved from the ravages of insects, especially of white ants, for which purpose it is used by bookbinders also. Therapeutically it is used externally in leprosy, old ulcers and to destroy corns, but on account of its rubefacient and vesicant qualities it is necessary to use it cautiously.

Botanical Description.--A tree, 18° high, with leaves cuneiform, glabrous, stiff, short-petioled. Flowers polygamous in terminal panicles. Calyx with 5 erect segments, imbricated, caducous. Corolla, 5 linear, lanceolate petals, curved and imbricated. Stamens 8-10, all fertile. Filaments united to one another and to the disc. Ovary heart-shaped. Style filiform and eccentric. Stigma defective. Ovule solitary. Fruit a reniform nut enclosed in a pulpy pyriform body, formed by the matured disc and extremity of the peduncle. Seed reniform, testa membranous.

Habitat.--Common throughout the Archipelago. Blooms in February.

_Odina Wodier_, Roxb.

Nom. Vulg.--_Amugis_, Tag. and Vis.

Uses.--The bark is very astringent and in decoction is used for chronic ulcers. In India Dr. Kirkpatrick has used it as a lotion in impetigo. It has also given good results as a gargle in affections of the pharynx and buccal cavity.

The trunk exudes a gum called in India "kanni ki gond," an article of commerce. It is almost odorless and has a disagreeable taste. It is only partially soluble in water, forming a viscid mucilage. It is used in the treatment of contusions and sprains and is edible when mixed with cocoanut milk.

Botanical Description.--A tree, with leaves bunched at the extremities of the branches, oblong, oval, acuminate, odd-pinnate, 3-4 pairs of opposite leaflets. Flowers greenish-white, polygamous, in terminal panicles. Calyx gamosepalous, 4 rounded lobules. Corolla, 4 imbricated petals. Stamens 8, free. Ovary 4-parted. Pistillate flowers; ovary sessile, oblong, unilocular. Style 4-parted, thick. Drupe oblong, compressed, unicellular. Testa hard, with 1 non-albuminous kernel.

Habitat.--San Mateo.

MORINGEÆ.

_Moringa pterygosperma_, Gaertn. (_M. oleifera_, Lamk.; _M. poligona_, DC.; _Guilandina Moringa_, Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.--_Malungay_, _Kamalungay_, _Kalungay_, Tag.; _Dool_, _Malungit_, Vis. and Pam.; _Horse Radish Tree_, Indo-Eng.

Uses.--The root is vesicant and the Filipinos bruise it and use it for sinapisms. I have often observed, however, that it is quite painful used in this way. Dr. Waitz states that it is a good plan to add a few drops of the root juice to mustard sinapisms, a proceeding which seems to me superfluous, especially in the case of children as he advises it.

The Bengal pharmacopoeia contains the following official preparations:

_Compound Spirit_.--

Small pieces of moringa root } Orange peel } aa 600 grams. Nutmeg 20 grams. Spirit of wine 4 1/2 liters. Water 1 liter.

Mix and distil 4 liters.

Dose.--8-30 cc. as a stimulant and diuretic.

_Compound Infusion_.--

Moringa root, small pieces, bruised } Mustard seed } aa 30 grams. Boiling water 1/2 liter. Let stand 2 hours, filter and add compound spirit. 30 grams.

Dose.--30-60 grams a day, as a strong stimulant.

The expressed seeds yield a fixed oil, which is irritating and in my opinion should not be used internally.

The green pods, the flowers and the tender shoots of the leaves are eaten stewed. The juice of the leaves is given internally in India, as an emetic, in doses of 30 grams.

Botanical Description.--A well-known tree, 5-6 meters high. Leaves 3-pinnate, their terminal divisions odd-pinnate. Leaflets oval, glabrous, entire. Calyx, 5 unequal petaloid segments, imbricated, caducous. Corolla white, 5 unequal petals. Stamens inserted on the border of a disc, unequal, 5 opposite the petals bearing anthers, 5 alternate without anthers. Anthers dorsal, unilocular. Ovary pedunculate, lanceolate, unilocular, with many ovules in 2 series, inserted on the parietal placentæ. Fruit a pod terminating in a beak, 3-valved. Seeds numerous, very large, winged, embedded in a spongy substance.

Habitat.--Common throughout the islands. Blooms in November.

LEGUMINOSÆ. (PAPILIONACEÆ.)

Pulse Family.

_Agati grandiflora_, Desv. (_Sesbania grandiflora_, Pers.)

Nom. Vulg.--_Katuray_, Tag.

Uses.--The flowers are edible. They and the leaves are purgative and are given in decoction for this purpose, 30-40 grams to 200 of water. The juice of the flowers is a popular remedy in India, for migraine and coryza. The trunk bark is bitter and tonic.

Botanical Description.--A tree, 4-6 meters high, with drooping limbs; leaves long, very narrow, abruptly pinnate; many caducous leaflets, linear, elliptical. Flowers large, white, fragrant, in axillary racemes. Calyx bell-shaped with two indistinct lips. Corolla papilionaceous, white. Standard oval, a slight notch at the apex. Wings almost as large as the keel which is strongly arched. Stamens 10, diadelphous. Anthers uniform. Style and stamens equally long. Stigma a small head. Pod 1-2° long, linear, 4-sided, containing many oval seeds, separated by filamentous partitions.

Habitat.--Grows in all sections of Luzon and Panay.

_Abrus precatorius_, L.

Nom. Vulg.--_Saga_, _Sagamamin_, _Bangati_, Tag.; _Bangati Gikosgikos_, Vis.; _Kanaasaga_, Pam.; _Bugayon_, Iloc.; _Jequiriti_, _Prayerbeads_, Eng.

Uses.--The part of the plant most important in therapeutics is the seed, the size of a small pea, bright red with a black spot, hard and shining. The Filipino children use them to make rosaries and other decorations. In the distant past the Filipinos used these seeds to weigh gold, a practice followed even to-day by the Hindoos. The famous Susrutas, author of the "Ayur Veda," recommends them internally for nervous diseases; modern therapeutics, however, limits their use to one disease, though that is frequent and stubborn enough, namely chronic granular conjunctivitis.

Some physicians state that these seeds are poisonous and others the contrary, but the fact that they are used as food among the poor classes of Egypt, demonstrates their harmlessness in the digestive tract at least; when introduced into the circulation they undoubtedly exercise a toxic effect. We have already mentioned that their use is limited nowadays to the therapeutics of the eye; the decoction of the seeds known in Europe under the name of "Jaqueriti"--so named in Brazil--produces a purulent inflammation of the healthy conjunctiva and it is precisely this counter-irritant effect which makes it useful in chronic granular conjunctivitis, the persistence of which has defied the most heroic measures of therapeutics. The French oculist, Dr. de Wecker, was the first to employ jequirity for this purpose, in the form of a 24 hours' maceration of the seeds, 10 grams to 500 grams of water. It is necessary to use a product recently prepared and with this several applications a day are made. It is now known that the inflammation of the healthy conjunctiva is not caused by germ-life contained in the solution but by an inorganic ferment discovered by Bruylans and Venneman and named jequiritin; they state that it is produced during the germination of the seeds or of the cells in the powdered seeds. Warden and Waddell, of Calcutta, have isolated an essential oil, an acid named "ábric" and an amorphous substance called abrin, obtained by precipitation with alcohol from a watery infusion of the pulverized seeds. Its action is identical with that of "jequiritin."

The infusion appears to possess considerable value as a stimulating application to indolent ulcers.

The root is a good substitute for licorice, is emollient and has an agreeable taste. The extract is useful in catarrhal diseases of the bronchi and in dysuria. The leaves contain the same properties as the root and an extract prepared from them is used as a substitute for licorice.

Botanical Description.--A vine, with leaves opposite, abruptly pinnate, a stylet taking the place of the terminal leaflet. Leaflets linear, entire, glabrous, tipped with a small point. Common petiole with 2 awl-shaped stipules at the base. Flowers in small racemes. Calyx gamosepalous, caducous, 4-5 short teeth. Corolla papilionaceous, wings horizontal. Stamens 9, monadelphous with bilocular anthers. Style very short. Stigma globose. Pod 4-5 cm. long, truncate at the ends, with 5-6 red seeds, each with a black spot.

Habitat.--Common in all mountainous regions of the islands. Grows near houses and roads.

_Mucuna pruriens_, DC. (_M. prurita_, Hook.; _M. utilis_, Wall.; _Dolichos pruriens_, L.; _Carpopogon pruriens_, Roxb.)

Nom. Vulg.--_Nipay_, _Lipay_, Vis.

Uses.--The pods are official as an anthelmintic in the Pharmacopoeia of India. They are used in the form of an electuary triturated to the proper consistency with honey or syrup. The dose for adults is one soupspoonful, and for children a teaspoonful, given every morning for 3-4 consecutive days. The last day a purge is given to expel the lumbricoids.

Botanical Description.--A vine with ternate leaves. Flowers red, keel larger than the standard and wings. Pods about as thick as the little finger, lacking transverse grooves, curved in the form of the letter f, covered with bright red down, which causes an unendurable itching. They are divided into 3 or 4 oblique cells each containing a brown, shiny seed.

Habitat.--Luzon and Panay.

_Erythrina Indica_, Lam. (_E. corallodendron_, L.; _E. carnea_, Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.--_Dapdap_, _Kasindik_, Tag.; _Dapdap_, _Kabrab_, Vis.; _Dapdap_, _Sulbang_, Pam.; _Indian Coral Tree_, Eng.

Uses.--This tree is well known on account of the beauty of its crimson flowers. The decoction of the leaves is a useful cleansing and deodorizing application for ulcers. The bruised leaves are used locally in painful affections of the joints and to abort syphilitic buboes and abscesses of all kinds. The juice of the tender leaves is used in Concan to destroy maggots in ulcers, and the powder has a similar use. A decoction is used locally in ophthalmia.

The root and the leaves are used as a febrifuge in the Philippines and in India, according to Wight. In Brazil the bark is given in small repeated doses as a hypnotic and in the Philippines as a diuretic and purgative; a decoction of the leaves is similarly used. The bark contains an alkaloid discovered by Rochefontaine and Rey, called _erythrin_, which acts upon the central nervous system, diminishing its normal functions even to the point of abolishment, without modifying motor excitability or muscular contractility. W. Young isolated a glucoside, _migarrhin_, similar to saponin, but possessing the additional property of dilating the pupil.

In bronchitis with dyspnoea the following infusion of bark is very useful:

Fresh bark, } Freshly bruised leaves, } aa 2 grams. Water 1,500 grams.

Boil till reduced one-half, filter and add:

Simple syrup 200 grams.

Dose: Wineglassful every two hours.

Botanical Description.--A large tree, 20° high, thorny, with ternate leaves. Leaflets rhomboid, broad, entire, glabrous. Secondary petioles: that of the middle leaflet long, bearing 2 glands, those of the others short, bearing 1 gland each. The leaves fall at the end of the rainy season and the flowers bloom. They are a handsome scarlet color, large, in terminal racemes. Calyx half-cylindrical, oblique, truncate, entire. Corolla papilionaceous; standard elongated, lanceolate. Wings short. Keel very short, 2-lobuled. Stamens diadelphous. Anthers large. Ovary woolly. Stigma thick. Pod curved, rounded, furrowed in parts corresponding to the seeds which are numerous, oval, pointed at the ends.

Habitat.--Common throughout the islands. Blooms in February.

_Clitoria ternatea,_ L.

Nom. Vulg.--_Kolokanting_, _Pakingang_, Tag.; _Kolokating_, Vis.; _Butterfly-pea_, Eng.

Uses.--The pounded seeds mixed with oil are used locally for painful joints. They possess purgative and emetic properties and Dr. J. Shartt has employed a mixture of the powdered roasted seeds, 8 grams, with double the quantity of acid tartrate of potassium. Its action is gentle, but sure. The alcoholic extract of the root, a soft, brown, resinous substance with an odor recalling that of jalap, is a very active cathartic, producing sharp effects in doses of 30-60 centigrams; in fact it produces such severe tenesmus that its use in such doses should not be recommended.

The root bark is used internally in an infusion (4-8 grams to 1 liter of water) as an emollient in irritability of the bladder and urethra and has been recommended for such a purpose by Mooden Sheriff. It is a diuretic which frequently acts as a purgative, a fact that is not surprising in view of the above-mentioned properties of the alcoholic extract.

The roasted seeds used as a purgative are so trustworthy that they deserve the further attention of physicians.

Botanical Description.--A vine very well known by its blue flowers. Leaves alternate with 3 pairs of oval leaflets. Stipules persistent. Flowers axillary, solitary, 1-1 1/2' in long diameter. Calyx in 5 acute divisions, the two upper ones smaller. Corolla papilionaceous. Standard open, notched at the end. Keel shorter than the wings and covered by them. Stamens 10, 9 united and 1 free. Stigma downy, thick. Pod full of short hairs, with more than 6 surrounded with a tow-like substance, reniform, with black spots.

Habitat.--Common along the roads and in gardens. Flowers in July and November.

_1. Pterocarpus santalinus_, L. [5]

Nom. Vulg.--_Narra_, _Naga_, Tag.; _Apalit_, _Daytanag_, Pam.; _Red Saunders_ or _Red Sandalwood Tree_, Eng.

_2. P. Indicus,_ Willd. (_P. pallidus_, Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.--_Asana_, Tag.; _Naga_, Vis.

_3. P. erinaceus_, Poir. (_P. echinatus_, Pers. & DC.)

Nom. Vulg.--_Asana_, _Narra_, Tag.

Uses.--The wood of the first is the so-called "red sandalwood." It is used for building purposes and, in medicine, as an astringent. In decoction it is used as a gargle for sore throat. The second is also an excellent building material and is used medicinally for its astringent properties. A decoction of sufficient strength to color the water a light blue is used as a mouth wash in toothache and has some reputation as a solvent of vesical calculi. All three species yield a resin known in pharmacy under the name of "kino." The true gum kino is really produced by the _P. marsupium_, Roxb., but the Philippine product, especially that of the second and third species, has for a long time been exported to Europe under the name of "red astringent gum" or "kino." This name is given to the sap of these trees dried without the aid of artificial heat. The bark is the part which produces it and the following extractive process is employed in Madras: a vertical incision is made in the trunk and lateral incisions perpendicular to it and a receptacle is placed at the foot of the tree. This soon fills and when the gum is sufficiently dried by air and sun it is packed in boxes and exported.

In respect to appearance, solubility and chemical composition, Flückiger and Hanbury were unable to discover any difference between the kino of _P. marsupium_, Roxb., and that of _P. erinaceus_, Poir. It is therefore interesting to consider a product that is identical with that described in the pharmacopoeias as produced by the _P. marsupium_, Roxb., though the latter does not grow in the Philippines.

Kino is at present used but little in therapeutics and its action is analogous to that of tannin and catechu. It is given internally for its astringent effect in chronic diarrhoea, leucorrhoea, blenorrhoea and hemorrhages. The dose of the powder is 1-4 grams, and of the alcoholic tincture, containing 20 parts kino to 100 of alcohol, 5-10 grams. In prolapse of the rectum and anal fissure the following solution is used by enema:

Kino 3 grams. Water 500 grams.

For vaginal injections a solution of 20 to 250 water.

Botanical Description.--The "pterocarpus," L., is a tree of the first order with odd-pinnate leaves. Leaflets alternate and coriaceous. Flowers yellow, in racemes, with caducous bracts and bractlets. Calyx turbinate, with short teeth. Petals exserted, markedly unguiculate. Standard and wings curled. Keel obtuse with its petals slightly or not at all coherent. The staminal tube, cleft above and below or above only. Stamens superior, often almost, and at times entirely, free. Anthers versatile. Ovary pedunculate, with 2 ovules. Style curved. Stigma terminal. Pod orbicular, smooth or spiny, usually containing one seed, encircled by a broad, rigid wing, the point curved downward.

Habitat.--In the mountains of Luzon, Panay and Mindoro. Blooms in March.

_Pongamia glabra_, Vent. (_Robinia mitis_, L.; _Gadelupa maculata_, Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.--_Balikbalik_, Tag.; _Butong_, Vis.

Uses.--The oil expressed from the seeds is used in India for lighting purposes, and in addition is of notable therapeutic value. It is an excellent local remedy for the itch, for herpes and especially for pityriasis versicolor, used alone or emulsified with lemon juice. In stubborn cases Dymock recommends the addition of oil of _hydrocarpus_, camphor and powdered sulphur. Dr. Gibson states that he knows of no plant in the vegetable kingdom possessing more notable curative properties in itch, herpes and other cutaneous diseases than the plant under consideration. It is also used as an embrocation in articular rheumatism.

The powdered leaves mixed with common salt and pepper are given internally with a little milk, as a remedy for leprosy.

The juice of the root makes a useful wash for gangrenous ulcers and a good injection for fistula.

Botanical Description.--A tree, 18° high, with leaves opposite, odd-pinnate. Leaflets in 3 pairs, ovate, lanceolate, entire, glabrous and membranaceous. Flowers slightly spotted, racemose. Calyx bell-shaped, with 5 scarcely visible toothlets. Corolla papilionaceous, petals equal, clawed. Standard with 2 callosities athwart the base. Stamens 10, diadelphous. Pod with one seed, which is flat, smooth, veined, bright red.

Habitat.--Luzon and Panay. Blooms in October.

LEGUMINOSÆ.

Brasiletto Family.

_Cæsalpinia Bonducella_, Flem. (_Guilandina Bonducella_, L.)

Nom. Vulg.--_Bayag-Kambing_, _Kalambibit_, Tag.; _Dalugdug_, Vis.; _Fever Nut_, _Physic Nut_, _Bonduc Seeds_, Indo-Eng.

Uses.--The seed is the part of the plant employed and is official in the Pharmacopoeia of India. It is used as a tonic and antiperiodic in intermittent fevers and in general where tonic treatment is indicated. It has given good results in the malarial fevers of India, according to English physicians. The Pharmacopoeia of India contains the following preparation under the name of "Compound Powder of Bonduc" (Pulvis bonducellæ compositus).

Seeds of Bonduc, powdered 30 grams. Pepper 30 grams.

Mix and keep in a well-corked flask.

Dose.--1-2 grams 3 times a day.

In the Philippines the powdered seed is given in affections of the digestive tract, especially in diarrhoea and feeble digestion. The same name of Bonduc is given to the seeds of another species that grows in the Philippines, _C. Bonduc_, Roxb.; _Kamot-Kabag_, _Bayan-Kambing_, Tag. The seeds are identical in chemical composition and therapeutic indication.

The two principal substances contained in the seeds are an oil, 24% and a resin, 1.88%. The former is straw-colored and slightly bitter by virtue of the presence of a resin that may be precipitated by alcohol. The resin or bitter principle exists as an amorphous powder, white, bitter, not acrid, soluble in chloroform, alcohol, acetone, crystallizable acetic acid, fixed and essential oils; slightly soluble in ether and bisulphide of carbon, insoluble in water and petroleum ether. The alkalies do not affect it. It melts at 140°, decomposing and leaving only a carbon. Its discoverers, Heckel and Schlagdenhauffen, have given it the name _bonducin_ (C_14_H_15_O_5_). Hydrochloric acid colors it red; sulphuric acid, a maranthin red in half an hour.

Bonducin seems to be the active principle of the seeds and is given internally in doses of 10-20 centigrams; according to Dr. Isnard, of Marseilles, this dose has given as good results in fevers as the same quantity of quinine.

Botanical Description.--A shrub with prostrate stem bristling with thorns. Leaves twice abruptly pinnate, a thorn taking the place of the terminal leaflet. Leaflets in 10-14 pairs, ovate, expanded, with a spine at the apex. Common petioles thorny, with 4 leaf-like stipules at the base. Flowers yellow, in racemes. Calyx 5-parted, curved downward. Corolla inserted on the calyx, 5 petals, 4 nearly equal, the uppermost broader and shorter. Stamens 10. Filaments very unequal in height, inserted on the calyx, united and woolly at the base. Pistil very short. Stigma thick. Pod rhomboidal before maturity, prickly, containing 2 semi-globose seeds with testa hard, mottled and tough.

The other species, _C. Bonduc_, Roxb., is distinguished by leaflets unequal at the base, by the absence of stipules, and by the bright orange yellow seeds.

Habitat.--Common in Luzon, Panay and Joló. Blooms in December.

_Cæsalpinia Sappan_, L.

Nom. Vulg.--_Sibukao_, _Sapag_, Tag.; _Palo del Brasil_, Sp.; _Sappan Wood_, Eng.

Uses.--The decoction of Sibukao is given in hemorrhages, especially of the lungs. It is probably the red color of this decoction which originated the idea of giving it to check bleeding, and this is the practice of the native Filipino doctors, as well as of the Arabs and Hindoos. The natives of Cochin China, reasoning in an opposite manner, prescribe it as emmenagogue. Some authors recommend Sibukao as a substitute for logwood. The decoction is administered in chronic diarrhoea, especially that of children. A few cases of phlebitis have been reported as occasioned by its use. The extract is made as follows:

Sibukao in small pieces 500 grams. Boiling water 4 1/2 liters.

Macerate for 24 hours, boil until reduced by half, filter and evaporate the filtrate to a syrupy consistency. Do not use iron vessels.

Sibukao contains much tannin and gallic acid, and a peculiar substance which distinguishes it from logwood, _brasilin_ (C_22_H_20_O_7_), which gives a red color to alkaline solutions instead of blue or purple. It is a crystalline pigment which may be considered a compound of hematoxylon and fenol.