NationalLibraryOfScotland/medical-history-of-british-india huggingface dataset:
PREFACE.
vii
No. 586.
(MEMORANDUM.)
Forwarded to Honorary Surgeon Mohideen Sheriff Khan Bahadur,
for favour of compliance.
The copies should be forwarded to this office for transmission to
Government.
(By order.)
FORT ST. GEORGE,
2nd Feb. 1888.
(Signed)
C. M. THOMPSON, Surgeon,
Secy., Surgeon-Genl. with, Govt. of Madras.
In obedience to the above orders 16 forms of this Materia
Medica were forwarded to Calcutta (in triplicate) through the
office of the head of my department, and soon after this the
book came to a stand-still, owing to my retirement from the
service, as I shall explain presently.
As the medicinal properties of the drugs mentioned in
this book are solely from my own experience and knowledge,
and not gleaned or borrowed from any other work, English
or Native, the greatest thing I was in need of in writing it,
was the trial of those drugs in various diseases. I was amply
supplied with this need by my being attached to the Tri-
plicane Dispensary, where I had every morning to prescribe
for about 100 out-patients, and was thus enabled to select
some cases every day for trial. This was the chief resource
I depended upon in writing a book of this nature, and its
deprivation in consequence of my retirement from the service
on the 7th July 1889 is very deplorable and a death-blow to
my undertaking.
The delay of six or seven years in writing this book
might appear to be great or unusual at first sight, but it is
not really so when we consider that it is chiefly based upon
actual trials of drugs, as I have just explained. In the first
place, the physiological actions and therapeutic uses of medi-
cines being the most important and essential points in a
Materia Medica, I did not, as a rule, express my opinion on
those properties before I had previously employed the drugs
for a long time or on a sufficiently large number of patients ;
secondly, all the diseases in which it is desirable to try drugs
do not occur always, nor whenever we want them, but we
must wait with patience and seize the opportunity of their
occurrence to carry out the trial of that drug. Beside, the
nature of some diseases is such that I was unable to form any
viii
PREFACE.
opinion as to the efficacy or otherwise of the drugs tried in
them until the trial of each was continued for a few years, at
least. Epilepsy and Hysteria are examples of such diseases,
whose fits do not always occur frequently, but generally at the
long intervals of months and years.
Another circumstance which added to this delay was my
own health, which was somewhat impaired after I commenced
to write this work, and I was laid up twice with paralysis
during its progress.
It is true that my retirement from the service leaves more
time at my disposal than before, but it will be clear from the
nature of this work that I have been in much greater need of
patients for trial of drugs than mere time for writing it.
Being thus unable to go on further with this Materia
Medica, it is certainly very painful to me to see the work, in
the preparation of which I worked so hard for several years
and spared no time or money, and which was also expected
to be a permanent monument of my professional labours and
researches, terminated so abruptly and abortively. There
is, however, no other alternative, and it is quite beyond my
power to attempt to complete it.
I brought these unavoidable circumstances to the notice
of Dr. W. F. deFabeck, the present Surgeon-General with the
Government of Madras, with a request to be permitted to
publish the pages already printed, which are about one-
third of the book, as its first volume. At his kind recom-
mendation, the Government have graciously pleased to grant
my wishes and issue the necessary orders to the Superin-
tendent of the Government Press for the publication of
Volume I of the Materia Medica of Madras (cide GOO., No.
194, dated 10th March 1891).
With a view to make this book correspond as much as
possible with the Pharmacopœia of India, I have followed
the arrangement of drugs adopted in the latter work.
They are first divided into three groups in accordance with
the number of the Natural Kingdoms, and then the vege-
table articles, which are by far the largest in their number,
are not arranged alphabetically, but according to the natural.
orders of the plants producing them. The medicinal pro-
ducts of each plant, with their preparations, &c., are also
placed under the same plants. The advantage of this simple
arrangement is that all the plants belonging to a natural.
order are treated together with their respective products, &c.,
under that order only, and there is no need to look for then,
PREFACE.
or for anything else connected with them, in any other part
of the work.
Of the drugs included in this work, those that are distin-
guished by an asterisk (*) are official in the Pharmacopaœia
of India; those by a dagger (†) are non-official in the same
work; those by a double dagger (‡) are new drugs introduced
by myself; and those by a paragraph () are English or
foreign drugs now cultivated on the N ίlgiris.
The numbers of articles in this work correspond with those
of the drugs I forwarded to the Calcutta International Exhi-
bition, 1883-84, but there are many medicines to which no
numbers are prefixed. Though the latter form no part of my
collection sent to Calcutta, yet they were found so useful
in my subsequent experience and trials that I thought it,
very necessary to include them in my Materia Medica, but
have given them no numbers by way of distinction. Accord-
ing to this arrangement, the last number in the book (221)
is much less than the total number of drugs which are
actually treated in it.
The method of transliteration used in this work for ex-
pressing the vernacular synonyms in English character is the
same which was adopted in my Supplement to the Pharma -
copœia of India, pages 287 to 322. The diacritical marks in
this method are only three and of the simplest kind, viz.,
accents, dots and an alteration of type. The accents are
employed for the long vowels to distinguish them from the
short. The dots are either above or below the letters, and
in a number varying from one to three, and thus a letter
in English is made to represent more than two or three
alphabets in native languages. By alteration of type is meant
that when two or more English letters are required to repre-
sent a single native character in any word, they should be
distinguished by Italics if other letters in the same word are
printed in the Roman or English and vice versâ. The letters
in the altered type are to show that they stand together for
one native character and require to be pronounced simul-
taneously.
I was just beginning to write upon the leguminous plants
when the preparation of this work received a check, and
though it was very desirable to finish, at least, the plants in
the natural order of Leguminosæ, I much regret to say that I
was unable to accomplish even this, for the reasons already
explained.
B
x
PREFACE.
In conclusion I beg to state that I shall ever feel grateful
to the Government of Madras for their generosity in ordering
the publication of this work at their own cost, and am very
thankful to the Madras Working Committee, Calcutta Inter-
national Exhibition, 1883-84, for their kind recommendation
to the above effect.
I owe my best thanks to Dr. G. Bidie, ALB. and C.I.E.,
the late Surgeon-General with the Government of Madras,
for his kindness in many respects. The fact of his being the
Vice-President and Secretary to the above Committee, in
addition to his charge of the Government Central Museum in
Madras, was greatly to my own advantage, and it was through
his kindness I had an access not only to all the books in the
Museum, but also to every article necessary for packing and
despatching my collection of drugs to Calcutta. I am also
much indebted to Dr. W. F. deFabeck, the present Surgeon-
General with the Government of Madras, for his kindness in
recommending the publication of this volume to Government.
I am very thankful to Mr. W . F. Dique and T. Abbey
Naidoo, the Curator and the Herbarium-keeper, respectively,
in the Government Central Museum, for their kind assistance
in packing and despatching the above collection. I must
express my thanks again to Abboy Naidoo for his kind
and great assistance in preparing almost all the indices in
this book,
It now remains for me to say that I am very thankful to
the Superintendent and other officers of the Government
Press, who were always kind and willing, and did all in their
power to expedite the work, though its progress was often
disturbed.
MOMDEEN SHERIFF KHAN BAHADUR.
MADRAS,
January 1891.
Owing to the death of Dr. Mohideen Sheriff on the 21st February
1891, the Government of Madras has accepted with pleasure the offer
of Mr. David Hooper, Government Quinologist, Ootacamund, to edit
and complete the Materia Media(' of ilfadras (G.O., No, 371, dated
9th May 1891, Public Department).
CONTENTS.
PREFACE
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PAGE
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VEGETABLE KINGDOM
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1
INDEX OF
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BOTANICAL AND SCIENTIFIC NAMES . .
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ENGLISH SYNONYMS . . .
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GERMAN
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FRENCH
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HINDUSTANI Do.
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DUKHNI
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TAMIL
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TELUGU
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MALYALIM DO.
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CANARESE DO.
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PERSIAN
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SANSCRIT DO.
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GUZRATTI DO.
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MAHRATTI DO. , ..
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BURMESE DO.
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CINGALESE DO
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MATERIA MEDICA OF MADRAS.
VEGETABLE KINGDOM.
RANUNCULACEÆ.
Aconitum ferox, Wall. 1, 2, 3 and 4.
Ha bitat.—Himalayas.
Part Used.—The root.
Synonyms.—Indian aconite root, Eng. Racine d'aconite d'Inde,
Fr. Bachnág, Duk. and Hind. Vasha-návi, Tam. Vasanábhi Tel.
Bísh, Arab. and Beng.B í s h - n á g ,
P e r s .
V a l s a n á b h i , M a l y a l . V a s a -
nábhi, Can. Vachnág, Gus. Vachanábhi, Cing.
Local Sources.—Met with in every large bazaar of India.
Price.— Wholesale, Rs. 6 per maund ; retail or bazaar, As. 12 per
pound.
Physiological Action.—The white and the reddish-brown varieties
of the Indian aconite root, which I shall describe presently, can be
used internally. They are a good nervine and alterative tonic and
sedative in medicinal doses, but a very virulent poison in larger ones.
The former is somewhat milder and more uniform in its action than
the latter. The activity of aconite root is due to a mixture of alkaloids,
the chief of which is aconitine.
1. Therapeutic Uses.—Very useful in diabetes mellitus and insipidus,
spermatorrhœa, incontinence of urine, paralysis, and some neuralgic
affections ; also, to a less extent, in leprosy and some other skin
diseases.
Preparations.—They are best used in the form of powder with some
inert or farinaceous substance as follows :
—
Take of the white variety of the Indian aconite root in powder one
ounce, arrowroot or wheat flour seven ounces. Mix them thoroughly,
pass the powder through a fine sieve, rub it lightly in a mortar, and
keep it in a bottle. The powder of the reddish-brown variety is to be
prepared in precisely the same manner as the above. The roots can
also be employed in the form of tincture, but the powders I have just
described were so cheap and convenient, and proved so useful that 1
did not think it necessary to resort to any other form.
Dose.—Of the powder of the white variety, from two to eight
grains, gradually increased, three times in the twenty-four hours ; the
average and usual dose being four grains. Of the powder of the
reddish-brown variety, from two to six grains, gradually increased,
three times in the twenty-four hours; the average and usual dose being
three grains. Eight grains of each powder contain one grain of the
A
4
MATERIA MEDICA
and cuts easily. It is brown internally, and, as its name implies, is
slightly but distinctly sweet instead of' bitter. The sweetness makes
no difference in the tingling and other sensations, which are so pecu--
liar to all aconite roots
.
With regard to the smaller kind of aconite roots, they are those
whos e l e ngt h i s i nva r i a bl y be l ow one i nc h a nd a ha l f . The y ma y be
sub-divided into the poisonous and non-poisonous varieties. The poi
- s o n o u sa r e di s t i ngui s he d by t he a c r i di t y a nd t i ngl i ng s e ns a t i on of t he i r
taste, and still retain the name of Bī s h o r B a c h n á g . Such small
var i et i es of Bī s har e s ai d t o exi s t i n s ome par t s of Upper I ndi a, but
I never saw any of them here. All other smaller roots are, with the
exception of the root of Aconitum ferox (Nos. 5, 6 and 7) , the non--
poisonous varieties, well-known in India and many other parts of Asia
under the Arabic name of Jadvár. (See Nos. 9 and 10) .
* Aconitum heterophyllum, Wall. 5, 6 and 7.
Habitat.— Himalayas.
Part Used.—The root.
Synonyms. —Viláyatí-vajje-turkí, Duk. Atís, Hind. Shímai-ativa
-dayam, Tam. Síma-ati-vasa, Tel.
Local Sources.—Sold in many large bazaars of India.
Price.—Wholesale, Rs. 70 per maund ; retail or bazaar, Rs. 1¼ Per
pound.
Physiological Actions. —Antiperiodic, antipyretic, and tonic.
Active Principle.— An alkaloid of intensely bitter taste, discovered by
Mr. Broughton, and named atisine.
Therapeutic Uses .—Useful in intermittent and simple continued
fevers, and in some forms of dyspepsia and debility.
Preparations .— Simple powder.
Dose.—As an antiperiodic, from one to two drachms ; as an anti
-pyretic, from forty grains to a drachm and a half ; and as a tonic, from
ten to thirty grains.
European Drugs for which it may be substituted.— For the alkaloids
of cinchona as an antiperiodic ; for Pulv. Jacobi vera, Pulv. antimon.
and Liq. ammon. acet., as an antipyretic ; and for gentian and calumba,
as a tonic.
Remarks.—This drug occurs in the bazaars of Madras under the
Persian name of Vajje-turkī f r o m t i m e i m m e m o r i a l , b u t w a s n o t k n o w n
as the root of A. heterophyllumu n t i l a b o u t 1 4 y e a r s a g o . I n 1 8 6 9 ,
while engaged in examining the bazaar medicines for the preparation
o f t h e S u p p l e m e n t t o t h e P h a r m a c o p œ i a o f I n d i a , I m e t w i t h t h i s r o o t
and suspected it to be the produce of the above plant. I made myself
sure on this point afterwards by comparing it to the Atís of Calcutta
and Bombay. (See Supplement to the Pharmacopœia of India, p . 2 8 . )
This drug is generally imported to Madras from Bombay and some-
-times from Calcutta. When a large quantity of it is examined,
there are generally two or three kinds of roots, differing distinctly
from each other in one or two points. The first and most common
Price.—Wholesale, Rs. 2½ per maund; retail or bazaar, As. 2 per
pound.
Physiological Actions.—Stomachic, carminative, stimulant, tonic, feb-
rifuge, and anthelmintic.
Therapeutic Uses. —Have been found serviceable in some forms
of dyspepsia and debility, and also in some slight cases of fever in
children. While taking this medicine for one of the above diseases,
some children have been observed to pass out round worms.
Preparations.—Powder and Tincture; the latter being prepared in
the usual way with two and a half ounces of the powdered seeds to one
pint of rectified spirit.
Dose.—Of the powder, from half a drachm to two drachms; and
of the tincture, from one to two fluid drachms.
European Drugs for which they may be substituted.—01. menth
æ p i p e r . , c a s c a r i l l a b a r k a n d s a n t o n i n .
Remarks.—The nigella seeds bear a great resemblance to a coarse
gun-powder, being small, triangular, and of a dark-brown color
externally. They are pale-white internally, slightly bitter and aro-
matic in taste, and possess a peculiar and agreeable aromatic odour.
Their active principle is an essential oil. They are used by Muham-
madans both in medicine and cookery.
Aconitum. Sp. of. 9 and 10.
Habitat.—Himalayas.
Part Used.—The root.
Synonym.—Jadvár, Arab.
Local Sources.—The true jadvár is not found in the bazaars of
Madras at present. It is generally sent for from Calcutta, Bombay, or
Hyderabad.
Price.—Extremely dear at Madras, but much cheaper in the other
cities I have just named. The bazaar price at Calcutta is As. 12, at
Bombay Rs. 1½, and at Hyderabad Rs. 2 per pound, respectively.
Physiological Actions and Therapeutic Uses.—It is supposed to be the
best antidote for aconite root and some other vegetable poisons, and
enjoys the greatest repute as a nervine tonic and aphrodisiac. It is
frequently resorted to by the Hakíms in many diseases of the brain, as
paralysis, epilepsy, &c. ; but I can say nothing about its medicinal
value from my own experience, being unable to employ it in my practice
in consequence of its dearness and scarcity.
Preparations and Doses.—It is generally used in substance in the
form of a draught with some syrup, &c. ; and its dose marked in some
native medical works is about a drachm (?).
Remarks.—As already explained under A conitnm ferox, all the
roots of non-poisonous species of Aconitum, whose length is invariably
below or not more than one inch and a half, are the costly drugs
known as Jadvár in India and many other parts of Asia, except the
root of Aconitum heterophyllum. As Jadvàr is well known to grow
7
OF MADRAS.
on the Himalayas and in the localities where Aconitum ferox and
other species of Aconitum are found, it may be much cheaper and
more easily procurable in Northern Hindústan ; but it is extremely
dear and scarce in Southern India. In fact, the real drug is seldom or
never found in Madras, and what is occasionally offered for sale here
as Jaduár are some false or artificial roots, kept in oil under the pretence
of preserving them from decay and insects. The fraud, however, is
easily exposed, the false roots being generally more or less smooth and
shining, and quite devoid of the natural shrivelled and shrunken
appearance of the true Jadcár. The Native medical works speak of
four or five varieties of this drug ; but I have seen only two, which are
as follows : -
(a) The variety of Jadvár which is comparatively cheap and easily
procurable at Calcutta (No. 9) is a tuberous root, varying in length
from three-fourths of an inch to one and a half inches, and of about the
same circumference at its base ; conical, not round, but much shrivelled,
shrunken, and depressed irregularly ; brown externally and internally ;
cuts easily and smoothly, being somewhat soft in texture ; and though
distinctly bitter, it generally imparts a slight sweetish taste at first.
It is quite free from acrid and tingling sensations when chewed.
(b) The second is the variety obtained from Hyderabad (No. 10).
This root differs from the preceding variety chiefly in its size, taste,
and texture, which is smaller, purely bitter, and much harder, respec-
tively.
The root under examination has more names than one, but all the
synonyms, except Jadcár, are not confined to it, and they, therefore,
should not be relied upon in dealing with this drug.
MAGNOLIACEÆ.
Illicium verum. Hook, 11.
Habitat.—China and Cochin-China.
Parts Used.—The fruit and essential oil.
Synonyms.—Star- anise, Eng. Badiane, Anisétoilé, Fr. Sternanis,
Ger. Anas-phal, Duk. Anás-phal, Hind. Annashuppu, Tam. Aná-
sapuvvu, Tel. Bádiyáne -khtatái, Arab. Ráziyánahe -khatáí, Pers.
Local Sources.—Common in all the large bazaars of India.
Price.—Wholesale, Rs. 5 per maund ; retail or bazaar, As. 4 per
pound.
Physiological Actions.—Stomachic, carminative, and stimulant tonic.
Therapeutic Uses.—Useful in some mild cases of dyspepsia and
debility.
Preparations. —Powder and. Volatile Oil.
Dose.—Of the powder, from ten to fifteen grains ; and of the oil,
from four to ten drops.
European. Drugs for which they may be substituted.—For 01. menth.
piper., and the oil of Pimpinella anisum.
Remarks.—This is a very handsome drug and bears a great resem-
blance to a star in its form, hence its English synonym, star-anise.
8
MATERTA MEDICA
The volatile oil obtained from this fruit forms the Oil of Anise of
commerce, which is an important drug; but I have used the fruit
itself in powder in many ordinary cases of dyspepsia and debility with
pretty good results. It is generally imported to Madras from Calcutta.
Michelia Champaca, Linn. 12 and 13.
Habitat.—Cochin-China, Java, and many parts of India.
Parts Used.—The flowers (No. 12) and bark (No. 13).
Synonyms.—Of the flowers—Champé-ké-phú, Hind. and Duk.
Shampangi-pú, Tam. Sampangi-puvvu, Tel. Chempakap-pú, Malyal.
Sampage-puvvu, Can. Chámpá, Beng. Champaka-pushpam, Sans.
Chámpécha-phúla, Mah. Sáppu, Cing. Of the bark—Champé-kíchhál,
H ind. and Duk. Shampangi-pattai, Tam. Sampangi-patta, Tel.
Local Sources.— The flowers are common in the bazaars of Southern
India, but the bark is neither sold nor could be collected without great
difficulty except on the hills of the Western Coast.
Price.—Of the flowers—Wholesale, Rs. 5 per maund; retail or
bazaar, As. 3 per pound.
Physiological Actions.— The flowers are a very efficient stimulant,
antispasmodic, tonic, stomachic and carminative; and the bark, an
antiperiodic.
Therapeutic Uses.— The flowers are highly useful in all the diseases
and conditions in which Spirit. ammon. arom., Tinct. moschi, Tinct.
cardam. comp. and Tinct. cascarillæ are indicated. The bark has been
found useful in some cases of jungle fever.
Preparations.—Of the flowers—Infusion and Tincture; prepared in
the ordinary way, the proportion of the flowers, in coarse powder,
being two ounces and a half to one pint of boiling water in the former,
and to the same quantity of rectified spirit in the latter. Of the bark
—Decoction; prepared by boiling two ounces and a half of the bark in
two pints of water, till the liquid is reduced to one pint.
Dose.—Of both the Infusion of the flowers and the Decoction of the
bark, from one and a half to three fluid ounces; and of the Tincture of
the flowers, from one to two fluid drachms; three or four times in the
24 hours.
European Drugs ,for which they may be substituted.— The flowers, for
Spirit. ammon. arom., Tinct. moschi, Tinct. cardamomi, comp., and
Tinct. cascarillæ; and the bark, for cinchona and its alkaloids.
Remarks.—I have lately found that the flowers of Michelia Champaca
are not only the best, cheapest and most easily procurable part of
that plant, but also one of the cheapest, commonest and most useful
drugs in this country. Before adopting this drug in my practice, I
made some trials of it on some healthy persons, including myself,
and found its physiological actions to resemble more those of Spirit.
ammon. arom. and other medicines mentioned under the head of
"Therapeutic uses" than any other. The tincture of the flowers
is much more efficient than their decoction, and to ensure the best
effects of the former in severe or special cases, it should be used