# Indian Medicinal Plants/Natural Order Solanaceæ

N. 0. SOLANACEÆ.
853. Solanum nigrum, Linn, h.f.b.l, iv. 229.
Syn. : — S. rubrum, Miller ; Roxb. 100 S. incertum, DunaL
Sans. : — Kâkamâchi, Kâkamâtas Dhvânksha-mâchi, Jaghana-phala, Kinkivi.
Vern. : — Makoi (H.) ; Kâkamâchi, Tepâri, Gurkâmâi (B.); Kambei ; Kakmach ; Mako (Pb.) ; Sankir (Kangra) ; Munna-takali-pullum (Tam.); Kânchipundu (Tel.); Kâmuni ; Ghâti (Bomb). Kânchi, Ganike (Kan). ​ According to the authors of the Pharmacographia Indica the Sanskrit names are probably applicable to this as well as the next species (S. dulcamara) ; whilst the vernacular names with the exception, perhaps of the Hindi, are only applicable perhaps to S. nigrum.
Habitat : — Common throughout India.
An erect nearly glabrous annual with much branched and somewhat angular stems. Leaves petioled, l-3½in. long, ovate or oblong, sinuate-toothed or lobed, petioles about ¾in. long. Flowers small, drooping, subumbellate on rather stout extra- axillary peduncles ¼-¾in. long ; pedicels 5-8, slender, ⅛in. long. Calyx ⅛in. long, 5-toothed, glabrous or sparsely puberulous ; teeth small, oblong, obtuse. Corolla white, rarely purple, ½in. in diam., divided to below the middle into 5 oblong subacute lobes, glabrous outside. Filaments hairy at the base. Ovary globose, glabrous, style hairy towards the base. Berry ¼in. in diam., supported by the saucer-shaped calyx, black, less often red or yellow, smooth and shining. Seeds yellow, minutely pitted. (Duthie.)
Use : — In Hindu medicine, the berries of this plant are considered tonic, diuretic and useful in anasarca and heart diseases (U. C. Dutt.)
In Bengal, the berries are employed in fever, diarrhœa, eye diseases, hydrophobia, &c. (T. N. Mukerji).
In the U. P., the juice is used in blood-spitting, piles, dysentery, &c.
In Bombay, the juice is given in doses of six to eight ounces in the treatment of chronic enlargement of liver, and is considered a valuable alterative (Dymock).
The juice acts as a hydragogue, cathartic and diuretic (Dymock). The syrup acts as an expectorant and diaphoretic (S. Arjun).
A syrup prepared from the plant is used as a cooling drink in fevers (S. Arjun ). The Chinese employ the juice of the leaves to alleviate the pain in inflammation of the kidneys and bladder and in virulent gonorrhœa (Rumphius.)
Dr. Moodeen Sheriff reports having used with advantage a ​ decoction of the leaves of this plant, and also an aqueous extract prepared from it, the latter in drachm doses thrice daily, in the treatment of dropsical affections. Its action is diuretic and laxative. The juice of the leaves is stated by Dr. Shortt to be an excellent remedy in the aphthae of childhood (Ph. Indic).
In India the juice of S. nigrum is given in doses of from 6 to 8 ounces in the treatment of chronic enlargements of the liver, and is considered a valuable alterative and diuretic. The juice after expression is wanned in an earthen vessel until it loses its green colour and becomes reddish brwn ; when cool it is strained and administered in the morning. It is said to act as a hydrogogue cathartic and diuretic. Mr. M. Sheriff in his Supplement to the Pharmacopœia of India speaks very favourably of it when used in this way. In smaller doses (I to 2 ozs.) it is a valuable alterative in chronic skin diseases, such as psoriasis. In the Concan the young shoots are cooked as a vegetable and given in these diseases. Dr. D. B. Master of Bombay informs us that he has seen them used with great success in psoriasis. Loureiro states that the herb is anodyne, and should be used with caution ; he notices its use externally to allay pain.
It contains an active principle Solanine which has been investigated by Dr. Genenil. It is stated to slow the respiration, and to diminish the sensibility of the bronchial mucous membrane ; but on the digestive organs it acts as an irritant, producing loss of appetite and a tendency to nausea or even vomiting. No effect on the pupil has been observed after its administration, although the pupils of children poisoned by Solatium nigrum has been found dilated. (Med. Chron., p. 135, for 1B86)— Ph. J. 27th Nov. 1886.
854. S. dulcamara, Linn, h.f.b.i., iv. 229.
Vern. : — Ruba barik (Pb.). Inab-es-śalib (Indian Bazars).
Habitat: — Temperate W.Himalaya, from Kashmir to Garwhal, Sikkim and Choongtam.
A glabrous or sparingly pubescent shurb, unarmed. Leaves 3-5im, often cordate — oblong, acute, entire lobed or almost ​ pinnate ; petiole lin. Peduncles ¼-4in. Cymes 2-5in. diam., pedicels ¼-½in. Calyx in fruit almost sauce-shaped, lobes 5in. Flower 1/20in., ovate oblong. Corolla fin. diam. Style glabrous. Berry ¼in. diam., globose. Seeds 1/10in., smooth.
Uses : — Officinal in both British and Indian Pharmacopæias. In India, it is considered alterative, diuretic and diaphoretic ; it is regarded as useful in constitutional syphilitic affections, chronic rheumatism, and especially so in psoriasis, lepra, and other obstinate skin diseases (Watt).
" The dried fruit of S. dulcamara, known as Anab-es-salib in Bombay, comes from Persia/' (Pharmacographia Indica, Vol. H. p. 533).
Upon extraction with alcohol and water, the berries yielded 31.55 p. c. of sugar which appeared to be laevulose. The berries were then dried and extracted with ether, when an oil was obtained, amounting to 9.1569 p. c., After purifying, the oil was viscous and of amber colour. It had the sp. gr. 0.9604, and an acid value of 306. Nitrogen is present in the berries to the extent of 0.934 per cent. Evidence was obtained of the presence of acetic, tartaric, and citric acids. The total alkloid wss 0*15 per cent, and appeared to be solanine. [B. R. Anderson, in Chem- News, 1911 ; abstract in J. Ch. I. for 31-7-1911, p. 921].
855. S. spirale, Roxb. h.f.b.l, iv. 230. Roxb. 255.
Vern. : — Bagna (Silhet) ; Mungus kajur (Patna).
Habitat : — Assam ; Khasia Mountains and East Bengal.
An unarmed glabrous herb or undershrub, 4-12ft. Leases attaining 8-3in., elliptic, entire, acute at both ends, glabrous or scarcely puberulous. Petiole fin. Peduncles extra-axillary ; pedicels long, densely, spirally racemed. Calyx ⅛in., cup-shaped in fruit, saucer-shaped, not enlarged. Calyx-teeth minute. Corolla white, ⅔in. diam., deeply lobed. Anthers oblong, scarcely narrowed upwards. Berry ⅓in. diam., globose smooth. Seeds ⅛in. diam., smooth.
Use : — The root is given in Patna as a narcotic and diuretic doses of gr. ¼ to grs. viii. (Irvine).
856. S. verbascifolium, Linn., h.f.b.l, iv. 230.
Vern. ; — Dursul (Nepal.) ; Sivor (Lepcha) ; Asheta (U. P.) ; ​ Chichora (C. P.) ; Kâlâ mewâ., tiari, olâ, kharwine (Pb.) ; Rosagadi mânu (Tel.).
Habitat : — Common throughout India, in the Tropical and Sub-tropical Zone.
Sub-Himalayan tract and outer hills from the Jumna eastward Chutia-Nagpur. Western Peninsula, Burma hills and Ceylon moist regions.
A shrub or small tree, unarmed, 20ft. high ; Trimen says 6-10 ft. Bark grey, smooth. Wood soft, light-yellow (Gamble) The whole plant is covered with a dense yellowish-grey tomentum of scurfy stellate-hairs. Leaves large, 5-9in., lanceolate oval-elliptic or elliptic-lanceolate, rounded or acute at base, acuminate, subacute, tomentum velvety above, very woolly beneath ; petiole ¾-1in., stout. Flowers white or pale-blue, ¾in. across, in compact, dichotomous corymbs. Peduncles 2-4in., stout erect. Calyx cup-shaped, very woolly, segments short, broadly triangular, acute. Corolla woolly without, ½in. diam. ; lobes deep, oval-oblong, subacute. Berry fin. diam., hairy at first, with small scattered stellate hairs, yellow. Calyx enlarged in fruit ; lobes shorter than berry. Seeds minutely dotted.
N. B.— -Wight's figure of this plant (Ic. T. 1398) is not good, says Trimen, Vol III, p. 232 of Fl. Ceylon, Lond 1805.
Use : — It is used medicinally by the natives of India, but its properties are unimportant (Watt.).
857. S. ferox, Linn, h.f.b.i. iv., 233.
Syn. : — S. hirsutum, Roxb. 192.
Vern. : — Râm begoon (B.).
Habitat : — Eastern and Southern India, frequent in the tropical zone ; from Assam to Ceylon and to Tenasserim.
A large herbaceous shrub. Stem stout, very densely covered with long, coarse, stalked, stellate hairs, and armed with numerous straight, slender, fat, shining prickles. The prickles on the leaves abundant ; the longest ½in. Leaves 6-12in,, with broad triangular lin.-deep lobes, usually 2 at a node and unequal, stellately fulvous-woolly beneath, prickly, especially on the nerves ​ beneath. Peduncles usually close below the leaves, short. Racemes densely stellately woolly and with needle-like hairs, not prickly. Flowers large, white. Calyx shortly funnel-shaped, shaggy, with long stellate hair, slightly enlarged in fruit ; segments ovate-acute ¼in., not acuminate. Corolla white, large, 1¼in. diam., very hairy outside; lobes ovate-oblong, acute, ¾-1in. long. Ovary hirsute. Berry yellow, globose 1-1½in. diam.; densely clothed with needle-like hairs, ⅛-1/6in. fulvous, spreading. Fruit pedicels ½-1in. . Calyx-lobes in fruit unaltered, hardly ¼ the length of the berry ; base of the Calyx in fruit very densely clothed with long, yellow, bristly hair. Seeds ⅛in. diam., nearly smooth.
Use : — The berries are used medicinally by the natives, but are not considered of much value (Watt).
858. S. indicum, Linn., h.f.b.i., iv. 234; Roxb. 191.
Sans. : — Vrihati.
Vern. : — Barhanta (H.) ; Byâkura (B.) ; Mulli, papparamulli (Tam.) ; Kuk-mâchi (Tel.) ; Cheru-chunta (Mal.) ; Ringani, dorli (Bomb.) ; Kandyari (Panj.).
Habitat : — Very common throughout tropical India.
An erect under shrub, l-6ft., much- branched, very prickly ; prickles compressed, stout, often recurved. Leaves ovate-sinuate or lobed, 3-6 by l-4in., subentire or pinnatifid, stellately woolly beneath, nerves prickly. Petiole 1in. Peduncles short, often extra-axillary, pedicels ¼-½in., stellately woolly. Racemes many-fid. Flowers blue. Calyx lobes in flower 1/6in., triangular, acute, very woolly, unarmed or with slender, straight spines, Corolla ¾-1in., broadly triangular, tomentose without. Ovary usually glabrous ; style stellately pubescent. Berry yellow, ⅓in. diam., globose, much exceeding the woolly, patent, triangular, oblong Calyx lobes; prickles of the lobes often strengthened in fruit. Seeds ⅛in. diam. and upwards, smooth or very nearly so.
Parts used : — The root ; leaves.
Uses.:—" The root constitutes an igredient of Dasamula, ​ which is used largely in a great variety of diseases. It is regarded as expectorant and useful in cough and catarrhal affections" (Hindu Mat. Med.). It is prescribed by the Indian doctors, in cases of dysuria and inchuria, in the quantity of half a tea-cupful twice daily. Horsefield reports that the root taken internally manifests strongly exciting qualites. It is employed in difficult parturition and in toothache. It is also used in fevers, worm complaints, and colic (Sakharam Arjun).
Used in skin diseases of children (Ibbetson's Gujrat). The juice of the leaves, with fresh juice of the ginger, is administered to stop vomiting. The leaves and fruit, rubbed up with sugar are used as an external application to itch (Agra Exhibition).
200 grams of the fruits were found to consist of 58 grains of pericarps and 142 grams of seeds. These were powdered and examined separately, and had the following composition-
| | Pericarps. | Seeds. |
| Ethereal extract | 0.9 | 13.5 |
| Alcoholic | 5.8 | 10.1 |
| Aqueous | 13.8 | 22.9 |
| Mineral matter | 11.2 | 7.7 |
The pericarps contained a yellow wax-like principle melting at 45°, a trace of an alkaloid answering to solanine, and a quantity of ammonia combined as an ammonium salt. The seeds afforded 13.5 per cent of a yellow oil having a specific gravity of .9273. After saponification of the oil by alcoholic potash, the free fatty acids were liberated and found to consist mainly of oleic acids, and on standing in a cool place for several days, some white crystals separated out, having a melting point approximating that of myristic acid. An alkaloid was present in the seeds which could not be referred satisfactorily to solanine, and it was associated with a glucosidal principle giving a purple-coloured solution with sulphuric acid. The seeds like the pericarps contained an ammonium salt, and both portions of the fruit gave off strongly alkaline fumes on burning, and in which ammonia was easily detected. The fruit when dried and kept for some time are almost tasteless compared with their bitterness and acridity when fresh, and it would consequently appear that the alkaloids solanine and solanidine, become decomposed with the production of ammonia and other substances. (Pharmacographia Indica, II. 556-557).
859. S. Melongena, Linn., h.f.b.l, iv. 235 Roxb. 190.
Vern. :— Baingan (Hind.); Begun (Beng.) ; Bengan (Pb.) ; Wangi (Dec): Kuthirekai (Tam .) : Vanga-ehiri-vangu (Tel.) Kha-yan (Burm.) ; Baigana, vânge (Bomb.). ​ Habitat; — Generally cultivated in India.
A prickly, herbaceous annual, 2-8ft. ; sometimes nearly unarmed. Leaves 3-6 by 2-4in., ovate, sinuate or lobed, stellately woolly beneath, prickly. Petiole lin., peduncles mostly extra-axillary, often paired, one becoming a perfect flower, the other a short raceme of male flowers ; or the raceme may be considered sessile with the lowest flower only perfect. Calyx-lobes lanceolate, in flower ¼-½in, elliptic or oblong-linear. Corolla blue, l-l¼in. diam., shortly lobed, hairy on the plaits without. Style stellately pubescent, or glabrous. Berry l-9in., glabrous, exceeding the Calyx-lobes in cultivation, ellipsoid or elongate white, yellow, dark-purple, crimson or white, with tooth crimson, vertical stripes. Calyx-lobes fleshy and enlarged, in fruit often prickly. Fruit luscious, edible.
Many distinct forms or races are recognized according to the shape or colour of the fruit. The plant is more or less prickly according to the nature of the soil. In rich garden soil the prickles almost or entirely disappear. When cultivated as a field crop it becomes rather prickly, and very much so as an escape, under which conditions the peduncles bear 3-4 small and usually roundish fruits. Prain mentions two varieties ; 1. Esculenta (S. longum, Roxb.), a stout prickly herb with the fruit always cylindrical, and, according to Roxburgh, a distinct species ; and 2. Insana (S] insanum, Roxb.) which is a very prickly herb found in a semi-wild state near villages. Its fruit is quite round, and the fruiting peduncles usually bear more than one (Duthie.)
Parts used : — The leaves and seeds.
Use : — The seeds are used as a stimulant and the leaves as a narcotic (Atkinson.) The seeds are apt to lead to dyspepsia and constipation (Stewart).
860. S. xanthocarpum, Schrad. and Wendl. H.F.B.I., iv. 236.
Syn:---S. Jacquini, Willd. Roxb. 191.
Sans : — Kanta-kâri, nidigdhika.
Vern. : — Katîlâ, katai (Hind.); Kantakâri (Beng.) ; Warûmba, mahorî (Pb.) ; Chuudun-ghatrie, kandan-kattiri (Tam.) ; Van-Nellagulla (Kan.) kuda (Tel.); Bhûringni (Bom.); Kandui (Chipat) (Pb.) ; Rât-kât-Janum (Chutia Nagpur).
Habitat :— Common throughout India ; from the Punjab and Assam to Ceylon and Malacca. ​ A very prickly, diffuse herb, l-4ft-diam., bright-green mature, nearly glabrous. Leaves 4-5in. by 2-3in., ovate, or elliptic, sinuate or sub-pinnatifld, glabrescent, very prickly spines, ½in., straight ; petiole lin. Peduncles short, mostly extra-axillary. Cymes lateral, few-fid. Flowers blue, few, all perfect. Pedicels and Calyx stellately pubescent, or at length glabrous. Calyx in flower 1/5in., lobes ovate oblong usually prickly, hardly enlarged in fruit. Corolla lin. diam., pubescent without ; lobes shallow. Berry yellow or whitish and green-blotched, ½-¾in. diam. globose, glabrous, much exceeding the Calyx-lobes. Seeds 1/12in diam., glabrous.
Uses : — " The root is much esteemed as an expectorant, and is used in cough, asthma, catarrhal fever and pain in the chest. Kantikâri is used in medicine in various forms, such as decoction, electuary, ghrita, &c. A decoction of the root is given with the addition of long pepper and honey, in cough and catarrh, and with the rock salt and assafœtida in spasmodic cough " (Hindu Mat. Med.).
The roots beaten up and mixed up with wine are given to check vomiting. The juice of the berry is also useful in sore-throat (Agra Exhibition),
The root is largely employed in catarrhal and febrile affections, having expectorant, diuretic and other properties assigned to it. The stems, flowers and fruit, according to Dr. Wilson (Calcutta Med. Phys. Trans. Vol. 11., p. 406), are bitter and carminative, and are prescribed in those forms of the burning of the feet (Ignipeditis) which are attended with a vesicular, watery eruption. Fumigations with the vapour of the burning seeds of this plant are in high repute in the cure of toothache. It acts as a powerful sialogogue, and by this means probably relief is obtained (Ph, Ind.).
In the Concan 2 tolas of the juice of the fresh plant, with 2 tolas of Hemidesmus juice, are given in whey as diuretic, and the root with chiretta and ginger is given in decoction as a febrifuge. Dr. Peters, of the Bombay Medical Service, informs us that in Bengal the plant is much used as a diuretic in dropsy.
In the Pan jab hills, the expressed juice of the leaves is given ​ with black pepper, in rheumatism. The leaves are also applied locally, to relieve pain (B. D. Basu). A decoction of the plant is used in cases of gonorrhoea.
" The bud and flower, with salt (solution) good for watery eyes" (J. J. Wood's Plants of Chutia Nagpur, p. 122).
The fruit of this plant were found on analysis to have a similar composition to those of the S. indicum, except that in this case the fruits were examined in a fresh condition, and the solanine reactions of the alkaloid and the almost entire absence of ammonia were noticed. The dried leaves left 20.74 per cent, of ash when burnt, and contained traces of an alkaloid, and an astringent organic acid giving a green precipitate with ferric salts. (Pharmacographia Indica II, 559.)
861. S. trilobatum, Linn, h.f.b.i., iv. 236; Roxb. 192.
Sans. : — Alarka.
Vern. : — Toodavullay (Tam.) ; Moond-la-moosteh ; Oochinta kura (Tel.) : Motaringani mula (M.) ; Nabhi-ánkuri (Uriya).
Habitat : — W. Deccan Peninsula ; from the Concan south-wards and frequent, every common on waste ground, in dry regions.
A small under-shrub, subscandent by its numerous hooked prickles. Stems 6-12ft., slender, with long divaricate branches, with a few stellate hairs on the young shoots, otherwise nearly glabrous, provided with many flattened, hooked, decurved, very sharp prickles. Leaves ¾-1½in., irregularly 3-5-lobed, rotund, ovate or ovate elliptic in outline, obtuse, glabrous, often with 2 or 3 small curved prickles in the midrib; base not cordate. Petiole as long as the leaf or half as long, prickly. Peduncles short, mostly extra-axillary short, 1-3-fid, pedicels ⅓-1½in., with very strong, short, recurved prickles. Flowers large, on long divaricate or rehexed glabrous pedicels, says Trimen, rich violet-purple. Cymes racemose, short, 3-9-flowered, nearly sessile, Calyx small, slightly stellate, hairy, segments lanceolate acute, hardly elongate in fruit. Corolla 1¼-1½in. diam., stellate pubescent without, lobes very deep, oblong oval, obtuse, usually reflexed. Berry ⅓in., smooth, scarlet, globose, much exceeding the Calyx-lobes. Seeds ⅛in., smooth, or very nearly so. Berries edible. ​ Uses:— The root and leaves are bitter and prescribed in consumptive cases in the form of electuary, decoction and powder. The berries and flowers are given in cough (Ainslie).
862. S. gracilipes, Dcne, h.f.b.i., iv, 237.
Vern. : — Howâ, marghî pal, kauri bûti, kandiari (Pb.).
An undershrub, with prickles, short, conical, subrecurved, minutely stellately pubescent. Leaves 1½in. diam., obtuse, rarely lobed, usually shallowly cordate, ovate or orbicular, sinuate, often subcordate, not prickly. Petiole ¾in. Peduncles very short or 0, axillary or pedicels ½-1½in., 3 together, subterminal or very short lateral spurs. Calyx-lobes 1/5in., linear ; in fruit ⅓in. Corolla ⅔in. diam.., deeply lobed. Berry ¼in. diam., globose, glabrous, exceeding the sub-linear sepals. Seeds ⅛in. diam., smooth.
Uses : — The fruit is said to be collected by the hakims to be applied to otitis (Dr. Stewart). The leaves are also officinal.
863. Physalis minima, Linn, h.f.b.i., iv. 238 ; Roxb. 189.
Vern. : — Habbi kaknaj (Pb.) ; Buntepuriya (B.) ; Toolati-pati (H.), Thanmori ; Nanvachi-wel (Bomb.) ; Kupanti (Tel.).
Habitat : —Throughout India.
An herbaceous, pubescent annual. Leaves 2in., ovate, sinuate, angular or scarcely lobed. Petiole lin. ; pedicels ¼-½in. Stem erect 6-18 in. height ; flowers solitary, on long slender deflexed pedicels. Calyx at flower time ⅛-1/6in. ; lobes lanceolate, half the length of the Calyx, often hirsute, sometimes glabrescent. Corolla clear yellow, ¼in. Calyx ½- lin., ovoid or subglobose, 5-10 ribbed. Berry ½in. diam. Seeds very many, 1/12in. diam., discord, reticulated, scarcely scabrous.
Uses : — The fruit is considered tonic, diuretic, and purgative, in the Punjab. (Dr. Stewart). Used for horses and gonorrhœa in the Gujrat district of the Punjab (Ibbetson). In the Concan the plant is made into a paste with rice water and applied to restore flaccid breasts, in accordance with the doctrine of signatures (Dymock). ​
Var. indica. h.f.b.i. iv. 238.
Vern: — Phopetie ; Chirboti or Chirbutti ; Kapparphodi (M.).
Habitat :— Throughout India.
The leaves and fruiting calyx are glabrescent, and the latter is distinctly 5-angular. The corolla has no basal spots.
Uses : — It is considered to be tonic, diuretic and purgative, and is an ingredient in a medicinal oil which is given for spleen, the other ingredients are Pokarmul. Hing, Hirda, Long pepper, Bidalawan (Black salt), Sendhav (Rock salt), Javakshara (ash of potash), ginger, and melted butter. (Dymoek).
CAPSICUM, LINN.
This genus contains the various forms of Chillies and Red and Yellow Peppers so widely cultivated in India and other tropical countries. It is indigenous in S. America and is believed to have been introduced into India about the middle of the seventeenh century . The very large number of cultivated forms, many of which were previously recognized as distinct species, have b y recent authors been reduced to the two original Linnean species : C. annunm and C. frutescens, the one an annual and the other a perennial. Moreover, there is some probability that these two may have originated from a single very variable S. American species ; for, as Prain remarks, the forms of C. annuum are often not truly annual in the tropics, and in temperate regions the perennial' tropical forms rarely persist for more than one season. — (Duthie.).
864. C. frutescens, Linn, h.f.b.i., iv. 239 Roxb. 193.
Eng. : — Spur Pepper, Cayenne Pepper.
Vern. :— Lâl or gâch-marich, lâl lankâ marich, lankâ (B.) ; Lâl or gâch-mirich, lal-mircha (H.) ; Kursâni (Himalaya); laâl- mirchi (Bom) ; Mirchi (Guz.) ; Tambhuda mîrchingay, mirchi (Mar,) ; Mullâ-ghâi (Tam.) ; Mirâpa-kâia, golakonda, mirapah, sima, sudi-mirapa-kaia (Tel.) ; Ladu mira, chabai, kappal-melaka, chabe-Iombok, ladamera, ladamera china (Mal.) ; Menashinâ kâyi (Kan.)
Habitat : — Cultivated throughout India.
A perennial herb, universally cultivated throughout India for its fruit, known as the Chilli. Leaves entire or repand ; ​ pedicels solitary. Flowers white, fruit a berry often 3 by lin., tapering at the end, pendent, elongate oblong, often curved, red, orange, white, purple or yellow. Seeds numerous, discoid. Embryo peripheric.
Uses:— Chillies are used in native practice in typhus, intermittent fevers and dropsy, also in gout, dyspepsia and cholera. Externally, they are used as rubefacient and, internally, used as stomachic (Atkinson).
" A dose of ten grains of finely powdered capsicum seed, given with an ounce of hot water, two or three times a day, sometimes shows wonderful effects in cases of delirium tremens " (Surg.-Major Gray, Lahore).
Its other uses are nearly the same as those of the following one, for which it might be used as a substitute.
865, C. minimum, Roxb. h.f.b.l, iv. 239 Roxb 193.
Vern.: — Gâch marich (H.) ; Dhan lancâ-marich, lâl morich (B.) ; Lâl-mirich, marchâ (Guz.); Mirchi, lâl mirch (Duk.) ; Usi-mulaghaî (Tam.) ; Sudmirapa kaia (Tel.) ; Chalie, lodchina (Mal.) ; Kappal-melaka (Malabar).
Habitat : — Cultivated throughout India.
Throughout India extensively cultivated. Pedicels mostly 2-3 together. Berry small, often 1½ by ½in., red, suberect, elongate-oblong (Bird's eye chillee of the English denizen.)
Uses : — "Acts as an acid stimulant, and externally as a rubefacient, used in putrid sore-throat and scarlatina ; also in ordinary sore-throat, hoarseness, dyspepsia, and yellow fever ; and in diarrhoea occasionally ; also in piles " (Baden-Powell).
Braconnot obtained from capsicum, capsicin, a soft, non-crystalline compound with a pungent taste, and from this capsicum-red. Witting and Tresh maintain that the active constituent is a crystalline substance termed capsaicin. Pubst found a trace of an alkaloid ; he considers capsaicin to be an amorphous acid ; and he detected considerable amounts of free oleic, stearic, and palmitic acids in the fruit. He concludes that the red colour of the fruit is probably carotin.
The whole fruit (1) was found to contain 90.25 per cent, of dry matter, (2) ​ the fruit husk 85.86 percent., (3) the seed 90.4, and (4) the placenta 87.34 per cent. The dry matter has the following composition :
| Sl. No. | Ash. | Ether extract. | Nitrogenous matter. | Non-nitrogenous extract. | Crude fibre. | Nitrogen. |
| 1. | 6.76 | 10.69 | 19.77 | 39.82 | 22.95 | 3.16 |
| 2. | 5.66 | 5.14 | 14.31 | 49.07 | 25.83 | 2.29 |
| 3. | 4.35 | 27.95 | 17.22 | 33.07 | 17.36 | 2.93 |
| 4. | 11.30 | 7.07 | 28.54 | 39.88 | 13.48 | 4.57 |
| Sl. No. | Nitrogen as ammonia. | Nitrogen as amides. | Proteid Nitrogen. |
| 1. | 0.217 | 0.093 | 2.321 |
| 2. | 0.195 | 0.130 | 1.792 |
| 3. | 0.061 | 0.061 | 2.938 |
| 4. | 0.240 | 0.280 | 2.403 |
The following ash analyses are given of (1) the whole fruit, (2) the husks, and (3) the seed.
| Sl.No. | K$_2$O | Na$_2$O | MgO | CaO | Al$_2$O$_3$ |
| 1. | 55.60 | 4.42 | 6.22 | 4.80 | trace |
| 2. | 52.47 | 13.16 | 5.04 | 5.08 | 0.22 |
| 3. | 40.12 | 2.50 | 10.43 | 3.46 | -- |
| Sl.No. | Fe$_2$O$_3$ | SiO$_2$ | Cl | SO$_3$ | P$_2$O$_5$ |
| 1. | 1.44 | 2.04 | 3.88 | 6.44 | 16.82 |
| 2. | 1.69 | 1.90 | 1.44 | 4.58 | 14.59 |
| 3. | 0.81 | 1.70 | 2.65 | 4.97 | 33.95 |
As regards the manufactured products, the ordinary kinds are made by grinding the whole fruit the stem being frequently included ; they have a pale brick-red color. The best preparations are made with the husks and seeds only. To detect adulteration, microscopic examination is necessary, as well as estimation of the ash. The pure ash is usually white or slightly greenish, and dissolves almost entirely in dilute acids. — J. Ch., S. LXIV. pt. II. (1893) p. 546.
The oil extracted by ether from the seeds of capsicum becomes green when kept in a vacuum over sulphuric acid. Its sp. gr= 0.91095 at 15° ; iodine number, 119.5 ; Köttsdorfer number=187.2. It contains C= 76.35, H= 11.35 per cent. The mean of two determinations of free fatty acids (mainly palmitic, with some stearic and oleic acids) in the oil was 2.75 per cent., or 0.64 and 0.70 per cent, in the fresh and dried seeds respectively. The glycerides calculated as olein (which was the chief constituent) amounted to 24.06 per cent, in the dry seeds. When the oil is long exposed to air, an intense green colour is produced owing to the presence of a small quantity of chlorophyll.
In separating the free fatty acids from the glycerides by extracting once or twice with light petroleum, it was noticed that the acids had a sharp, burning taste, due to the presence of an active substance which was separated in small quantity. This forms white crystals, very readily soluble in chloroform and ether, rather soluble in light petroleum, sparingly soluble in absolute ​ alcohol, and insoluble in water. It has an acid reaction, dissolves in alkaline solutions, but is precipitated by carbonic anhydride. It has an extremely burning taste, and, when heated, gives off vapours which violently attack the mucous membrane.
The average amount of lecithin in the dried seeds was found to be 1.82 per cent., when determined directly by Schulze and Steiger's method.
Fresh analyses of the seeds were made, as before, by Henneberg's method, but the results do not differ much from those previously obtained, except in the case of nitrogen-free extract (29.64) and the crude fibre (21.23 per cent, on dry matter). The crude fibre was redetermined by Schulze's method ; the average result was 30.50 per cent. The nitrogen-free extract then amounts to 20.19 percent, consisting in part only of carbohydrates. There seems to be only a trace of a true carbohydrate (cither dextrose or a substance which, when hydrolysed, gives dextrose) ; pentoses are present in greater amount, whilst galactose, mannose, starch, and cane sugar, etc., could not be detected.
By means of 1.5 per cent aqueous potash, a new carbohydrate, termed capsicum seed mucilage, was extracted from the seeds. It is insoluble in water, merely swelling. With iodine, a green coloration is produced which rapidly becomes blue. Zinc chloride and potassium iodide give no reaction. After boiling with acids, it readily reduces Fehling's solution. It contains pentose and probably galactose groups.
The pure ash of the placenta has the following percentage composition.
| K$_2$O | Na$_2$O | CaO | MgO | Fe$_2$O$_3$ | P$_2$O | SO$_3$ | SiO$_2$ | Cl |
| 66.06 | 4.44 | 4.70 | 3.97 | 0.88 | 8.75 | 8.32 | 3.72 | 2.89 |
Alumina and manganese were found in traces in the ash.— J. Ch. S. LXX. pt. II. p. 209-210. (1896).
866. Withania somnifera, Dunal. h.f.b.i., iv. 239.
Syn. : — Physalis flexuosa, Linn. Roxb. 189.
Sans. : — Ashvagandhâ.
Vern. : — Asgand (H.) ; Amkoolang (Tam.) ; Peneroo (Tel.) ; Pevetti (Mal.); Nati-ki-asgand (Deccan) ; Amuk-kura-virai (Tam.) ; Bunera-gadda-vittulu (Tel.) ; Bayman (Sind).
Habitat : — Throughout drier, subtropical India ; frequent in the West and Hindustan, rare in Lower Bengal.
An unarmed, erect shrub, attains 5ft., often semi-shrubby at base ; root long, tapering. Stems branched, covered with ​ fine, nearly stellate, pubescence. Branches round. Leaves 2-4in., 3-5, says Brandis, subacute, ovate, suddenly tapering at base, entire, shining and apparently glabrous, but really with minute stellate or scaly hair, rather thick, veins pellucid. Petiole l-l½in. long. Flowers hermaphrodite, rather small or short, pubescent, pedicels usually about 5in., in umbellate cymes. Pedicels 0-¼in. Calyx campanulate ; in flower ¼in. ; in fruit ¾in., stellate pubescent, segments linear triangular, recurved at apex. Corolla ¼-in. long, greenish or lurid yellow, lobes lanceolate, erect, but recurved in upper part, pubescent outside. Stamens 5, inserted on Corolla-tube ; filaments linear, anthers level with the stigma. Ovary glabrous; style as the stamens, Fruit- Calyx inflated, papery, over ½in., globose, slightly 5-angled. Fruit ⅓-¼in, diam. Seeds ½in. diam., smooth, compressed.
In the "Materia Medica of Western India" an opinion is expressed that the commercial article cannot be the root of W, somnifera. This opinion was founded upon a comparison of the drug with the root of that plaint as found in the salt marshes near Bombay, where it acquires a twisted, woody, form, entirely different to the tapering, starchy root which it has when growing in sweet soil. Young roots obtained from Satara exactly corresponded with the drug of commerce. Another point of difference is the red colour of the inner bark in the Bombay roots, which was not observed in those from the Deccan. The foliage, flowers and fruit of both plants appear to be identical. (Pharmacographia Indica, II. 568.)
Uses : — The root is regarded as tonic, alterative, and aphrodisiac, and is used in consumption, emaciation of children, debility from old age, rheumatism, &c. (Dutt). It has also narcotic and diuretic properties. The root sold in the bazars of South India resembles Gentian root in external appearance. The ground root and bruised leaves are employed as a local application to carbuncles, ulcers, and painful swellings (Pharm. Ind.). The root is also said to have deobstruent properties. The leaves are very bitter, and are given in infusion in fevers. The fruit is diuretic. The Telinga physicians suppose the roots to be alexipharmic (Roxburgh!.
" The authors of the Bombay Flora say that the seeds are employed to coagulate milk like those of W. coagulans. We have tried the experiment and find them to have some coagulating power, ​ " The plant is very common along the shores of the Mediterranean, where it has always been reputed to be hypnotic. The properties of W. somnifera have recently been investigated by Dr. Trebut with regard to its reputation for hypnotic properties ; he states that he has obtained an alkaloid from it which has hypnotic action and does not produce mydriases. P. L. Simmonds (Amer. Journ. Pharm., Feb., 1891) states that the plant is employed at the Civil Hospital. Alger, as a sedative and hypnotic." Pharmacographia Indica, II. 567).
In the Punjab, used for lumber pains and considered aphrodisiac. In Sind, used to cause abortion.
The seeds act as diuretic and hypnotic (Irvine). The late Dr. Burton Brown of Lahore recorded a fatal case of poisoning by the seeds of this plant. Rajputs regard the root as useful in rheumatism and dyspepsia.
Dr. Lai Mohan Ghosal concludes his paper on the Physiclogical Study of the properties of this drug as follows : —
1. The drug has two principles— one a bitter crystalline principle and the other an alkaloidal body.
2. The drug has got a sedative action on the nerves ; the sedative effect is probably due to the action of the bitter principle which when injected into a guineapig caused a sort of sedative action. This is also verified by the convulsion and coma caused by the injection of the alkaloid.
3. The drug although acts as a sedative has got no depressant action on the heart at the same time. (Food and Drugs, Vol. I. p. 127).
Messrs. F. B. Power and A. H. Sal way summarize the results of their analysis of this drug as follows : —
Preliminary tests, conducted with both portions of the plant, indicated the presence of an alkaloid.
I. Constituents of the Root. — An alcoholic extract of the root, when distilled with steam, yielded a very small amount of an essential oil. The portion of the extract which was soluble in water contained, besides indefinite, amorphous substances, a quantity of sugar, which yielded d-phenylglucosazone (m. p. 210°).
The portion of the extract which was insoluble in water consisted chiefly of a black resin, and amounted to about 2.7 per cent, of the weight of the root, From this resin the following definite substances were isolated: hentriacontane, C$_{31}$H$_{64}$: ; a phytosterol, C$_{27}$H$_{46}$0, (m. p. 135-136°); a mixture of fatty ​ acids, consisting of palmitic, stearic, cerotic, oleic, and linolic acids ; ipuranol, C$_{23}$H$_{38}$O$_2$(0H)$_2$ ; a new monohydric alcohol, withaniol, C$_{25}$H$_{33}$O$_4$ , OH, decomposing at 305°, and having [a]$_D$+ 91.2 ; and an amorphous alkaloidal principle, which, on treatment with alkalis, yielded a crystalline base, C$_{12}$H$_{16}$N$_2$ (m. p. 116°).
II. Constituents of the Leaves and Stems.— An alcoholic extract of this material, when submitted to distillation with steam, yielded a very small amount of an essential oil. The portion of the extract which was soluble in water contained, besides tannin and colouring matter, a sugar yielding d-phenylglucosazone (m. p. 205°), and a considerable quantity of potassium nitrate.
The portion of the extract which was insoluble in water consisted chiefly of resinous material, and was obtained in the form of a dark green powder. This resin was found to contain a number of substances which had also been isolated from the root of the plant, such as hentriacontane, a phytosterol, C$_{27}$H$_{46}$O (m. p. 133°), a mixture of fatty acids, and ipuranol. In addition to these, however, it yielded the following compounds : a new monohydric alcohol, somnirol, C$_{32}$H$_{43}$O$_6$, OH, decomposing at 205° and having [a]$_D$+34.8 ; a new dihydric alcohol, somnitol, C$_{33}$H$_{44}$O$_5$(OH)$_2$, decomposing at about 250°, and having [a]$_D$+2l.2°; and an acidic, hydrolytic product, withanio acid, C$_{29}$H$_{45}$O$_6$C0$_2$H (m. p. 226°), the methyl ester of which decomposed at 255°.
In as much as the Withania somnifera, unlike some other solanaceous plants, had been found to contain no mydriatic alkaloid, it was deemed of interest to ascertain whether the sedative or hypnotic properties attributed to it could be confirmed. For this purpose, some tests were kindly conducted for us at the Wellcome Physiological Research Laboratories by Drs. H.H. Dale and P. P. Laidlaw, to whom our thanks are due. It was thus ascertained that alcoholic extracts, representing about 7 grams of the root and 3 grams of the leaves and stems respectively, when administered to a dog had no perceptible effect. The hypodermic injection of the alkaloidal principle obtained from the root likewise produced in a dog no symptom of narcosis or other definite result. J. Ch. S. 1911. pp. 506 507).
867. W. Coagulans, Dunal. h.f.b.i., iv. 240.
Vern : — Akri, Punír-ke-bij (Hind.) ; Habbul-kâknaje-Hindi (Arab.); Tukhme-kaknaje-Hindi (Pers.) ; Ashvagandhâ (Beng.) ; Amukhurá-virai(Tam) ; Pannêru-gadda-vittulu (Tel.); Kakanája, káknaj (Bom.) ; Spinbajja, Shâpiang, Khum-a-zare ; Makha-zura ; Panir, Khamjira, Kutilaúa (Pb.) ; Punirband, Punir-jafota (Sind).
Habitat : — Punjab and Sind ; and the Sutledge valley.
A somewhat grey, rigid, small shrub. Leaves densely clothed with minute, grey, stellate tomentum. Blade l-2in., oblong, ​ obtuse, ovate-lanceolate or oblanceolate, attenuate at base ; petiole indistinct, or ¼-⅓in. long. Flowers polygamo, diœcious. Flowering Calyx 1/5in. ; in fruit ⅔in., stellate, nearly leathery, closely surrounding the berry. Corolla ½in., lurid yellow, stellately mealy without. Male flower ; filaments linear, anthers subexsert. Ovary ellipsoid, style 0. Hermaphrodite flowers ;— - anthers sub-sessile, perfect near the base of the Corolla tube. Ovary globose ; style linear, stigma level with mouth of the tube. Berry and seeds nearly as in W. somnifera. This plant has been found in the act of passing from dimorphism to diœcism (C. B. Clarke)
Uses : — The ripe fruits are used as an emetic. The dried fruits, sold as Punir-ja-fota in Sind, are employed in dyspepsia and flatulent colic, and other intestinal affections. They are prescribed in infusion, either alone or conjoined with the leaves and twigs of Rhazya striata, D., an excellent bitter tonic. The dried fruit is used for coagulating milk in the process of cheese manufacture (Ph. Ind}
The ripe fruits are supposed to possess anodyne or sedative properties. Honnigberger says that the bitter leaves are given as a febrifuge by the Luhanees (Stewart).
It is alterative, diuretic and believed to be useful in chronic liver complaints (Dymock).
In Bombay it is usually confounded with the fruit of Physalis Alkekengi, Wild., imported from Persia, the Hab-el- kákuaj or Káknaj of the Arabians, which is described by Ibn Sina as an alterative similar to Dulcamara, and especially useful in skin diseases. The berries of both plants have a reputation as blood purifiers. Recently, from experiments made by Sir J. D. Hooker at Kew, it has been ascertained that 1 oz. of the fruit of Withania coagulans and 1 quart of boiling water make a decoction, one tablespoonful of which will coagulate a gallon of warm milk in about half an hour. Experiments of a similar nature have been made on the Kilkerran Estate, the property of Sir James Fergusson, late Governor of Bombay ; four ounces of the fruit were allowed to simmer for 12 hours in 1½ pint of water, and half the liquid ​ was then added to 55 gallons of milk ; the milk curdled in an hour and a half, affording a firm curd free from taste and smell ; of this a cheese was made which proved to be excellent (Dymock).
Chemical composition.— The following information is extracted from a report upon the " rennet " ferment contained in the seeds, by Mr. Sheridan Lea : —
" Taking equal weights of the seeds, I extracted them for 24 hours with equal volumes of (1) water, (2) 5 per cent, sodic choride, (3) 2 percent, hydro-chloric acid, (4) 3 per cent, sodic carbonate. Equal volumes of each of the above were added in an acid, alkaline, and neutral condition, to equal volumes of milk, and heated in a water-bath at 38° C. The milk was rapidly coagulated by the salt and sodic carbonate extracts, much less rapidly by the other two ; of the four, the salt extract was far the most rapid in its action. All subsequent experiments have shown that a 5 per cent, solution of sodic chloride is the most efficient in the extraction of the active principle from the seeds.
There is no doubt that the substance which possesses the coagulating power is a ferment closely resembling animal rennet.
I.— A portion of the 5 per cent, sodic chloride extract loses its activity if boiled for a minute or two.
II. — The active principle is soluble in glycerine, and can be extracted from the seeds by this means ; the extract possesses strong coagulating powers even in small amounts.
III.— Alcohol precipitates the ferment body from its solutions ; and the precipitate, after washing with alcohol, maybe dissolved up again without having lost its coagulating powers.
IV.— The active principle of the seeds will cause the coagulation of milk when present in very small quantities, the addition of more of the ferment simply increasing the rapidity of the change.
V.— The coagulation is not due to the formation of acid by the ferment. If some of the active extract be made neutral or alkaline, and added to neutral milk, a normal clot is formed, and the reaction of the clot remains neutral or faintly alkaline.
VI, The clot formed by the action of the ferment is a true clot, resembling in appearance and properties that formed by animal rennet, and it is not a mere precipitate.
The question of preparing an extract which should be capable of being kept for a considerable time is perhaps of importance. Ordinary commercial rennet usually contains a large amount of sodic chloride and some alcohol. One specimen I analysed contained 19 per cent, of common salt, and 4 per cent, of alcohol. I have, therefore, added to the 5 per cent, chloride extract mentioned above enough salt to raise the percentage of this to 15 per cent., and also alcohol up to 4 per cent. The activity of the extract is not appreciably altered by this, and such a preparation corresponds very closely in activity with a commercial solution of animal rennet with which I compared it. The possibility of making extracts which may be expected to ​ keep, is thus indicated, but, of course, time alone will show whether the activity of the ferment is impaired to any important extent by such keeping.
I may add, in conclusion, that I have coagulated a considerable volume of milk with an extract such as I have described, and prepared a cheese from the curds. I have also given a portion of the extract to a professional cheese-maker, who has used it as a substitute for animal rennet in the preparation of a cheese. The product thus obtained, and the statements of the person who has made the experiment for me, led me to suppose that extracts of the seeds of Withania can be used as an adequate and successful substitute for animal rennet. "
An attempt has been made by Mr. D. S.Kemp, of Bombay, to preserve the ferment by means of sugar, but with only partial success (Dymock).
868, Lycium europœum Linn, h.f.b.l, iv. 240.
Vern.: — Kangú, kúngu, ganger mrál, chirchitta (Pb. and Hind.) ; Achmehudi (Merwara) ; Gangas, ganger (Sind).
Sindh, Panjab, Marwara, Gujrat.
Habitat : --Western India.
A thorny nearly, glabrous, shrub. Branches grey. Leaves ½-lin., lanceolate or oblanceolate, linear-oblong, flowers solitary ; pedicels shorter than or equalling the Calyx ; rarely longer. Calyx ⅛in., often sub-bilabiate, 5-lobed irregularly, teeth rarely less than 5. Corolla ½in., from purple to nearly white ; tube cylindric, widening upwards, lobes not half so long as the tube. Stamens exsert or subincluded ; filaments glabrous at their base. Berry 1/6in. diam., yellow or red globose, many-seeded, edible.
Use : — The berries are used as aphrodisiac (Stewart).
869. Atropa Belladonna, Linn, h.f.b.l, iv. 241.
Vern. : — Sug-ungoor, Ungoor shefa (H.) ; Súchi (Pb.) ; Girbuti (Bomb).
Habitat: — Western Himalaya, Kashmir to Simla, Caucasus and North Persia, Baluchistan. I have seen it in Quetta (K. R. K.).
An erect, glandular, pubescent, or nearly glabrous, herb 2-3ft. Leaves stalked, ovate-lanceolate, 4-8in., entire, long pointed, upper ones usually with a much smaller leaf springing from ​ the same point. Flower pale, purple, tinged with yellow or green, ¾in. diam., single or drooping, usually axillary stalks. Calyx lobed nearly to the base. Segments leaf-like. Corolla bell-shaped ; lobes 5, short, broad, spreading. Base of filaments hairy, dilated, covering the ovary. Ovary 2-celled. Style longer than the Corolla; stigma green. Berry globose, ¾in. diam., purple black, surrounded at base by the enlarged spreading Calyx-leaves, a little more acuminate in the Himalayan plant than in the European.
Use : — Officinal in both Pharmacopæias.
The following report has been received from the Economic Botanist to the Botanical Survey of India, to whom sun-dried roots of Atropa Belladonna, grown at the Kutchery garden, Naini Tal, were submitted : —
"... The roots consisted of two kinds, vis., from one-year-old plants and from two-year-old plants, and were registered respectively No. 34375 and No. 34376. The alkaloid was estimated in each sample of root and it was found to occur to the extent of 0.4 per cent, in that from the one-year-old plants and 45 per cent, in that from the two-year-old plants. Belladonna roots obtained from Europe and used in British medicinal preparation contains from .2 to .6 per cent, of total alkaloids. The roots grown in Naini Tal are therefore of good average quality and are suitable for use in the Medical Store Departments of India."
Considering the fact that the soil in which these plants were grown cannot by any means be regarded as good, the report that the roots are of good average quality is most encouraging, and fully justifies the experiments being made on a more extensive scale.
In better soil, which is easily obtainable in the Raragarh neighbourhood, I believe that far heavier yields and a considerably higher percentage of alkaloid will be obtained.
The Naini Tal results worked out as follows : —
    Belladonna roots— 1 year old ... 3,570 lbs. per acre (alkaloid 0.4 per cent).
    Do. do. 2 year old ...3,545 ,, „ (alkaloid 0.45 per cent).
From the above it will be noticed that although the percentage of alkaloid was far greater in the two-year old roots the quantity harvested was actually less. The reason for this I am unable at present to explain beyond the fact that it was probably due to the plants having been grown in poor soil.
A point that should not be lost sight of is the ease with which this drug can be grown and the imperviousuess of the crop to insect pests and animal life. A good stock of acclimatized seed has been saved from both Naini Tal and Douglas Dale grown plants. The roots of the Douglas Dale grown plants rot during the rains, but seed, which is of a lighter colour than that produced in Naini Tal, has been saved.
Belladonna root is at present obtained from England by the Medical Stores ​ Department at a cost of about four pence per pound, so that there is every prospect of Belladonna being grown profitably in Kumaun. -The Tropical Agriculturist, from the Annual Reports, Kumaun Government Gardens. Indian Forester, April 1914.
870. Datura stramonium, Linn, h.f.b.i., iv. 242.
Vern. :— Sâdâ dhûtúrá (B.) ; Umatai (Tam.) ; Ummetta (Tel.)
Habitat : — Simla on waste ground. Temperate Himalaya, from Kashmir to Sikkim. Nearly throughout the globe, in temperate and warm climates.
An annual, erect, coarse, nearly glabrous, herb; 2-4ft. Leaves stalked, ovate, about 7 by 4in., coarsely and irregularly lobed and toothed. Flowers white, single, on short, usually axillary, stalks. Calyx tubular, 1-l¾in., 4-5-toothed, 5-ribbed. Corolla funnel-shaped, 3-6in. long ; limb spreading, l-3in. across, 5-lobed, folding at the angles, lobes ending in narrow points. Stamens included. Ovary 4-lobed, 2-celled, covered with short, soft points. Stigma 2-lobed, oblong. Capsule ovoid, about 1½ by lin., covered with rigid sharp prickles, surrounded at base by the enlarged reflexed lower part of Calyx, ultimately 4-celled in the lower portion, opening nearly to the base by 4 valves. Seeds reniform, wrinkled.
Uses : — Officinal in both Pharmacopæias.
The British Medical Journal for May 16, 1903 contains an article on " Datura poisoning in the Federated Malay States, " by Mr. John D. Gimlette, in which regarding its uses by natives of those states, he says : —
" The leaves are almost universally used in the treatment of asthma, but it is significant to note that Datura is not often given internally by natives. The Malays mix leaves with wine or powdered rice and saffron, and apply them externally for various pains and swellings. They will heat them over a torch until smoked, and then apply them as a poultice over the spleen in intermittent fever. The root is powdered and applied to the gums in order to relieve the pain of toothache. The flowers are dried and roughly powdered with or without the leaves and rolled into cigarettes for the relief of asthma."
Var. :— Tatula: h.f.b.i. iv. 242. ​ Flowers purple without and within. Found throughout India.
Use : — The young fruits, sold as Gharbhuli in Bombay, and Maratia múghú in Madras, are said to be sedative and slightly intoxicating (Ainslie).
{{smaller|Hyoscyamine is the predominant alkaloid accompanied in most cases by scopolamine, present in the leaves, seeds, roots, fruit and stems. No atropine can be detected ; but there is evidence of the presence of a third alkaloid in the roots.
Indian plant is quite equal to the European one with regard to total content of alkaloids, the figures obtained (referred to dry material) being: — seeds, 0.186; fruits, o.46; leaves, 0.41-0.45 ; stems, 0.25-0.26 ; and roots, 0.214 per cent.— [Bull. Imp. Inst. 1911.]
The following is the composition of the oil obtained from the seeds: — palmitic acid, 10 p. c; daturic acid (normal heptadecylic acid) 2.5 ; oleic acid 62 ; linolic acid, 15 ; unsaponifiable, 1 ; and glycerol, 9.6 per cent. The oil also contains small quantities of acids of higher molecular weight than those mentioned, but not stearic acid. Daturic acid is more soluble in alcohol than palmitic acid. -J. Ch. I. May 31, 1912, p. 500.
By distilling the leaves with superheated steam, 0.045 per cent of a dark-brown oil with a strong tobacco-like odour was obtained. The oil had an acid reaction and solidified at 20°C; its sp. gr. was 0.9440 at 30°C. After purification in ethereal solution with animal charcoal, it had the acid value 52.4 ; "Saponification value 9.57." After saponification, an alcohol with a strong tobacco-like odour was obtained by distillation with steam.— J. Ch. I. 15. 12. 1910, p. 1408.
D. Holde extracted 167 per cent, of oil from the air-dried seeds of Datura Stramonium by meane of benzene. The alkaloid, daturine was apparently not extracted by the solvent, or at least could not be detected in the oil. The oil thus obtained was green to yellowish— brown in colour and had a characteristic odour. On standing it yielded a dark flocculent resin-like deposit. The filtered oil had an efflux velocity in Engler's apparatus nine times less than that of water at 20°C. Its specific gravity at 15°C. was 0.9175. When cooled to 0°C. it began to gelatinise ; at— 15 C C. it became viscous, and thick at — 15 C C. It dried forming a firm skin, when heated in a thin layer for 13 hours at 50°C. whilst at the ordinary temperature it was still liquid after 23 days, and only showed signs of drying after 35 days. Its iodine value was 113, and its saponification value, 186. The fatty acids were judged to contain solid unsaturated readily oxidisable acids as well as solid saturated acids. The iodine value of the liquid acids was exceptionally low. The solid fatty acids fractionally precipitated by means of magnesium acetate, yielded, in addition to daturic acid, C$_{17}$H$_{34}$O$_2$ (m. pt. 55°C.) an acid of molecular weight 261, and in. pt. 60°-62 c C, (palmitic acid, molecular weight 256, and m. pt. 62°C), and an acid melting at 53 -54°B., and having a molecular weight of over 286. J. Ch. I. Dec. 15, 1902 p. 1459. ​
871. D. fastuosa, Linn, h.f.b.i., iv. 242 ; Roxb. 188.
Vern. : — Kâlâ dhatúrá (Beng., Dec, and Hind.) ; Jouz-masleasvad (Arab.); Taturahe-siyâh (Pers.); Karu-umate (Tam.) ; Nalla-ummetta (Tel.) ; Pad-daing-phu, padáyinkhátta (Burm.)-
Habitat : — A weed throughout India, in waste places.
An annual herb. Stem l-2ft. high, stout, somewhat zigzag, rather succulent, polished and shining, but slightly rough, with very minute scattered hairs, divaricately branched, marked with scars of fallen leaves. Leaves alternate, 3-6in., triangular ovate, rounded and generally very unequal- sided at base, acute, entire or more often with a few large coarse acute teeth or lobes, apparently glabrous, but with a very minute mealy pubescence on both sides, dull glaucous-green above, paler beneath, veins pellucid. Petiole l-2in. Flower white or rarely purple, very large, on very short stout stalk from the node, but not axillary erect. Calyx 3in., very minutely adpressed, pubescent, segments ½in., triangular, acuminate acute. Corolla-tube over 7in., gradually widening upwards, limb 4in. diam., lobes with the plait or midrib terminating in a short, linear, acute tail, pubescent on back. Stamens about as long as Corolla-tube, anthers nearly ¾in. Ovary papillose, style over Bin. Capsule nodding, on curved pedicel, l½in., supported base on reflexed base of Calyx, flesh v green, covered with numerous, scattered, short, straight, sharp prickles. Seeds very numerous, closely packed, nearly smooth, pale brown (Trimen).
Uses : — The seeds constitute a favourite poison for criminal purposes. The seeds and their preparations are generally employed by the Indian road poisoners not for the purpose of destroying life, but for stupefying their victims with the view of committing theft. Death may follow as a consequence of over-dose (Kanai Lai De). (See Chevers' Jurisprudence). They are also used to render liquor more intoxicating, being burned upon charcoal with vessels inverted to catch the smoke. The seeds are also used in the form of a powder for the same purpose, being more powerful in this form. When full of smoke the liquor is thrown into the vessel and the mouth ​ covered over for a night. It seems remarkable that when thus burned the smoke should retain the same poisonous and intoxicating properties. A few seeds with a aqarqarhâ (Anacyclus pyrethrum) root and cloves are chewed as an aphrodisiac (Dr. Emerson).
The seeds, leaves and fresh juice are narcotic, anodyne and antispasmodic. They are more powerful than those of D. alba, both of which, however, are used in the treatment of mania, epilepsy and obstinate headache. An alkaloid, Daturine, is useful as a substitute for Belladonna, and is prepared from the seeds (Kanai Lai De Bahadur).
Dr. Oswald reports having seen great and immediate relief follow smoking a small quantity of the leaves of this species in cases of asthma (Ph. Ind.).
" In painful swellings I apply the juice of fresh leaves, or make a poultice of them. The fresh juice in ophthalmic pain I find very useful ; it checks the inflammation, if there be any" (D. Basu). In ear-ache, the fresh juice of the leaves is useful, a drop or two poured inside the ear (T. N. Ghose). In Mysore, the juice of the leaves is given once daily with curdled milk for gonorrhœa (North).
Scopolamine is the predominant alkaloid in the twigs and leaves, and the sole alkaloid in the fruits and roots of this plant grown in Assam. The results with the Indian plants resembled those obtained with European plants.
[Bull. Imp. Ins. 1911.]
The seeds contain about 10.9 per cent of fat and 0.149 of hyoscyamine.—
J. Ch. S. 1899 A. I. 829.
872. D. alba, Nees. h.f.b.i., iv. 243. Roxb. 188
Vern. : — Safed-dhatura (H.) ; Dhuturâ (B.) ; Dhotara (Mar.) ; Dholo dhaturo (Guz.) ; Umattai (Tam.) ; Ummetta, dhutturaámu (Tel.) ; Unmatte-gidá (Kan.) ; Ummatta, ummam (Mal.)
Habitat : — Throughout India.
Flowers white or nearly so. Trimen observes thus : — " Linæns referred the Indian and Ceylon plant to his D. Metel, but the two species are scarcely separable, " Vol III, p. 239. London 1895. ​ Uses:— In Hindu medicine, the root of D. alba is boiled in milk, and this milk is administered with clarified butter and treacle in insanity. The seeds, leaves and roots are considered useful in insanity, fever, with catarrhal and cerebral complications, diarrhœa, skin diseases, lice, &c. (Dutt).
It is officinal in the Pharmacopeia of India.
Epithems of the braised leaves, or embrocations formed by macerating the bruised seeds in any bland oil, are often very effectual in allaying the pain in rheumatic swellings, nodes, boils, and tumours (Ph. Ind.).
873. D. Metel, Linn, h.f.b.l, iv. 243.
Vern. : — Dhutura (B.).
Habitat :--W. Himalaya and Mts. of W. Deccan Peninsula.
Use : — Used like the preceding species.
Datura Metel contains scopolamine (hyoscine) as almost the only constituent of alkaloidal nature. The leaves contain 0.55, the seeds 0.50, per cent of scopalamine. — J. Ch, S. 1905 A. I. 717.
The seed contains both hyoscyamine and scopolamine. — J. Ch. I 15. 2. 1911, p. 152.
The Indian plant (seeds and leaves) contains considerably less alkaloid than the European plant (0.23-0.25 as compared with 0.50-0.55) ; in one sample scopolamine was the predominant alkaloid as in the European plant, but another sample contained more hyoxyamine than scopolamine.— [Bull. Imp. Inst. 1911].
In his " Poisonous Plants of Bombay," Lieut.-Colonel Kirtikar writes : —
"The active principle of the plant is an alkaloid once known as Daturine. The seed contains it in larger proportions than any other part of the plant weight for weight. The alkaloid was also known at one time as Daturia. Sohn says that commercial Daturine is frequently a mixture of Hyoscyamine and Atropine or the former solely. Datura stramonium, he says, also contains Stramonine which is an alkaloid like Hyoscyamine and Atropine, but it is not bitter. Hyoscyamine has a sharp and disagreeable odour; Atropine has a disagreeable metallic taste.* Erhirdt and Poehl dispute the identity of Atropine and Daturine, says Sohn. Professor Dragendorff says † that " according to the more recent researches of Ladenburg, henbane contains two
† Plant Analysis— English Translation by Greenish, p. 60, 1884, London, ​alkaloids, one of which Hyoscyamine, is isomeric with Atropine, and identical with Daturine and Duboisine." Ladenburg distinguishes Hyoscyamine from Atropine by the melting-points of the alkaloids, and their gold-salts. Professor Schmiedeberg of the University of Strassburg says that Atropine occurs in Daturine of the Thorn-apple ; Hyoscyamine, which is isomeric with Atropine is also said to be contained in the Thorn apple. But he doubts the identity of Duboisine with Hyoscyamine. Dymock and his collaborateurs who have carefully examined the plant, say that Prof. E. .Schmidt and Mr. Schute have found, as the result of their researches, that the seeds of D. stramonium contain much Hyoscyamine, with small quantities of Atropine and Hyoscine (Apoth. Ztg., 1890, 511). Stramonine is not mentioned along with these. But in Dy mock's Ph. Indica it is stated that M. Gerard has prepared a new fat acid, Daturic acid, from the seeds, which yield 25 per cent, oil when extracted by ether. Purified with petroleum, this oil is of a peculiar greenish-yellow colour. M. Gerard places Daturic acid between Palmitic and Stearic acids. They have analogous properties. Daturic acid crystallizes by cold from 85 per cent, alcohol giving groups of fine needles. It is fairly soluble in cold alcohol and very soluble in ether and benzene. * * *
Dr. Murrell says that according to the old classification the active principles were as follows :-
1. Belladonna contained Atropine.
2. Hyoscyamus— Hyosciamine and Hyoscine.
3. Stramonium— Daturine.
II A Manual of Pharmacology and Therapeutics. Pages 430—452, London. 1896.
"Ladenburg," adds Dr. Murrell, " has re-investigated the matter and says there are only three natural mydriatic alkaloids, They are as follows : —
1. Atropine— which occurs in Atropa belladonna, and in Datura stramonium. (I may add in the Indian Datura, varieties and species of all Datura plants. K, R. K.)
2. Hyoscyamine— which occurs in Belladonna, Datura, Hyoscyamus, and Duboisia mjroporoides.
3. Hyoscine— which occurs in Hyoscyamus.
Duboisine is identical with Hyoscyamine ; and Daturine is a mixture of Atropine and Hyoscyamine.
N. B.— l am all at sea here, for Sohn, whom I have quoted above, says that the Datura stramonium contains Atropine, Hyoscyamine, Hyoscine, and Stramonine. The reader may accept the views of any of the pharmacologists I have cited above.
Dr. Murrell says that Atropine. Hyoscyamine, and Hyoscine are isomeric, ​ each answerable to the formula C$^{17}$H$^{23}$NO$^3$. They can all three be resolved thus : —
1. Atropine yields tropic acid and tropine (base) ;
2. Hyoscyamine yields the same, i.e, tropic acid, and tropine (base) ;
3. Hyoscine yields tropic acid, and psendo-tropine,
Note here, that in chemical parlance, Atropine is a compound of a base called Tropine and Tropic acid, Ladenburg calls the compound Tropeine."
874. Scopolia lurida, Dunal. h.f.b.i., iv 243.
Syn. : — Physalis Stramorrifolia, Wall.
Habitat: --Central Himalaya, Nepal and Sikkim.
An erect, glabrescent herb. Branches 3-6ft., sparingly divided, rusty-tomentose when young, later pubernlous or glabrate. Leaves 8 by 3 in., acute at both ends, ovate lanceolate, ultimately glabrate ; petiole ½in., peduncles lin. Calyx in flower ⅔in,, in fruit attaining to 2 by 1¼in., lobes short, irregular. Fruit Calyx rather reticulated. Corolla 1¼ by ¾in., lurid yellow or greenish purple. Ovary 2 celled, 1-celled near the top. Capsule ¾in., lid 1-celled.
Use : — A tincture of the leaves, in the proportion of one ounce to eight ounces of alcohol, administered produces dilatation of the pupil. The subject demands further investigation (Ph. Ind.)
It has been examined by Siebert. (Archiv. der Pharm. Feb. 20, 1890, p. 145.) Prom flowering plants he reports that he obtained, by fractional precipitation of an acidulated liquid with gold chloride, a " not inconsiderable quantity of hyoscyamine," but no atropine or hyoscine, while from plants collected when the seed had ripened, only a very small quantity of atropine could be isolated under the same conditions and no hyoscyamine. The failure to detect hyoscine is thought to be possibly due to insufficiency of the material used. These results seem to indicate that the degree of development of the plant may have an important relation to the quantity and nature of the alkaloids occurring in it. (Pharm. Journ. Mar. 1st, 1890, p. 709.)
875. Physochlaina prœalta, Hook. f. h.f.b.i., iv. 244.
Habitat:— N. Kashmir and Western Tibet.
Vern. : — Sholar, bajar-bang, nandru, dandarwa, lang thang, khardag (,Pb). ​ An erect, nearly glabrous, herb. Stems 2-4ft., corymbose upwards. Leaves 4-6 by 3in., irregular, ovate-oblong, sinnate, base cuneate or cordate on the same branch. Petiole l-4in., corymb 2-8in. diam., compound, lax, viscid, pubescent. Flowers all pedicelled ; pedicels ¼-1½in. Calyx in flower ⅓in., lobes ⅛in. lanceolate ; in fruit 1¾ by ⅓in., striate. Corolla 1¼ by 1/5in., tubular, funnel-shaped in the majority of wild examples, sometimes shorter (C. B. Clarke), in the cultivated examples wider, subcampanulate. Stamens and styles equalling the Corolla, or ⅓in. longer, distinctly exserted in all wild examples. Capsule ½in. diam. Seeds 1/12in. diam., scorbiculate-reticulate.
Uses: — " In the hills the leaves are applied to boils, and are also said to be poisonous, the month swelling from their touch, and the head and throat being affected when they are eaten. A man was poisonously affected by eating the plant gathered in the Lahoul habitat, and the Negi of Lahoul, when at Leh in 1867, suffered from its narcotic effects for two or three days, some of its leaves having been gathered by mistake with his ság. At the same time, they can hardly be very poisonous to all animals, for in Lahoul they are browsed by cattle. In a recent communication to the Agri-Horticultural Society of India, Dr. Christison of Edinburgh states that this has the same property of dilating the pupils as Belladonna" (Stewart).
876. Hyoscyamus niger, Linn, h.f.b.i., iv. 244.
Vern. : — Bazrul ; Khorasani ajowan (B. and H.) ; Kurashani Yomam (Tam.) ; Kurásani-vamam (Tel.).
Habitat : — Temperate Western Himalaya, from Kashmir to Garwhal.
An erect, coarse herb, pubescent and more or less hairy. Leaves cauline, sessile, ovate or oblong, sinnate or lobed 5 by 2in. Flowers subsessile. Lower pedicels in fruit scarcely ⅛in. Calyx in flower ⅔in., softly hairy, teeth mucronate, short, triangular, somewhat rigid, the fruit 1 by ½in., subcontracted in the middle. Corolla purple in the base, lin., lurid green, ​ reticulate, nerved, purple. Capsule ½in. diam. Seeds 1/24in diam. (C. B. Clarke).
Officinal in both Pharmacopeias.
The Chemical results agreed with those obtained with the European plant. Leaves, 0.062 ; seeds, 0.081 per cent, of total alkaloid.— [Bull. Imp. Inst. 1911].
The seeds yield about 35 per cent. of oil, which is yellow, slightly fluorescent, somewhat viscous, and dries readily.
877. H. muticus, Linn, h.f.b.l, iv. 245.
Syns. : — H. insanus, Stocks.
Habitat : — West Punjab and Seinede.
Erect coarse herbs. Stem l-3ft. Leaves 9-4in., pubescent or somewhat woolly. Cauline leaves petioled, ovate or oblong, entire toothed. Petioles ¼-3in. Lower flowers pedicelled. Lower pedicels in fruit ¼-lin. Calyx striate pubescent, ⅔in., in fruit 1 by ½in., funnel-shaped, ribbed, somewhat reticulate, villous or ultimatel glabrous. Calyx-teeth short-triangular, not acute in fruit, Corolla 1-1½in., 'lurid yellow or nearly white. Capsale ¼in. diam. Seeds 1/24in. diam.
Uses : — A common plant of Baúchistan, where it is known by the name of Kohí bung or Mountain Hemp. Its powerfully poisonous properties are well known, and it is stated to be smoked in small quantities by debauched faquirs, and to be used also for criminal purposes. The chief symptoms produced by it are dryness and constriction of the throat, and furious delirium (Stocks in Hooker's Journ. of Bot., 1852. vol. iv., p. 178).
The alkaloid in this is chiefly, if not entirely, hyoscyamine, which possesses mydriatic properties which can be very easily isolated.
Similar to atropine is another well known mydriatic alkaloid of wide use, viz. : — hyoscyamine— which is obtainable from the Hyoscyumus niger— the henbane of the English country lane. The writer recently had occasion to analyse sample of Indian Hyoscsamus (probably the Hyoscyamus muticus —an allied species of the genus Hyoscyamus) grown in the Punjab where large quantities of the plant occur in the wild state along the river sides. The assay showed the dried plant to contain the very high amount of 0.827 per cent, of mydriatic alkaloids. This is very much richer than the English ​ henbane, in fact it is nearly ten times as strong. .Specimens of Indian henbane have been known to contain as much as 128 per cent, of alkaloid and unlike the English variety Hyoscyamus niger which contains the alkaloids hyoscyamine hyoscine, and scopolamine the Indian variety muticus is said to contain only hyoscyamine. As a source of this important alkaloid hyoscyamine Indian Hyoscyamus should receive the attention of the manufacturer of fine chemicals and drugs.
For the information of those readers of the Journal who are interested in the chemistry of this subject or the manufature of hyoscyamine, below are given the details of the method of assay used, which is a modification of that devised by Rupp. Pharm. Zeit. 1908, 738 ; Chem. Zeit. Rep. 1908, 32. 529 ; Pharm. J. Russ 1911, 138; J. Pharm. Chem. 1911, 3,551). The method can be used for assaying extracts of belladonna also.
Twenty-five grams of the powdered leaf are extracted with 300 cc. hot alcohol Sp. Gr. 0.829 in a Soxhlet tube (4 times was found sufficient to exhaust the leaves and obtain a washing free from alkaloids). The alcoholic extract is evaporated until a sticky brown mass is obtained. This is weighed and the weight noted. Six grams of the extract so obtained is weighed into a stoppered flask. About 5 cc. of water, 90 grams of ether and one gram of ammonium hydrate are then added and the mixture shaken for 15 minutes. After separation 60 grams of the clear ethereal layer is filtered off and the solvent evaporated. The residue is then treated with 5 grams of ether and again evaporated to dryness. This is repeated three times, each time with 5 grams ether. The residue is then dissolved in 5 grams of alcohol 70 per cent, and the solution transferred to a graduated 100 cc. flask.
The first flask is washed out with another 5 cc. of alcohol 70 per cent, and then with water. To the bulked washings is added 20 grams of sodium chloride and 20 cc. of N/100 HCL are added with sufficient water to bring the whole contents up to 100 cc. After thorough agitation the solution is filtered. 50 cc. of the filtrate is transferred to a stoppered flask. 30 cc. of ether and 5 drops of Iodeosine indicator are added. The excess of hydrochloric acid is then determined by titration with N/100 KOH in the usual manner.
In the meantime a blank experiment with the same reagents but without any extract of the leaves, is performed to obtain the correcting factor for reagent impurities, and this is deducted from the above titration figure. This precaution is absolutely necessary as a correction of upwards of 2 cc. of N/100 HCL is frequently found.
Each cc. of N/100 HCL used by the alkaloids = 0.00289 of mixed alkaloids as hyoscyamine.
This is not the first time that Indian Hyoscyamus has been examined, for Dunstan and Brown examined a specimen (J. C. S. 1899, 75,72), but only 01 per cent, of alkaloid was then recorded. It is possible that more than one variety of Hyoscyamus exist and that the alkaloidal contents of the varieties differ considerably. It is also more than likely that the amount of active principle present will depend upon the age and condition of the plant, for Godamer (Arch. Pharm. 1898. 28), has shown that in Hyoscyamus muticus the ​ stalk contains 0.49 per cent., the leaf 0*9 pep cent., and the seed capsule 0.585 per cent, of alkaloid.
Previous to the outbreak of the present war not only was a large proportion of the drug grown in Germany but German chemists practically held a monopoly for the manufacture of the alkaloid.
If then the supply of this substance falls short of the demand, English manufacturing chemists can obtain an adequate supply of the raw material from Northern India, for the plant can be exported in the dry state without impairing its value for alkaloidal manufacture.— J. H. Barnes.) The Agricultural Journal of India, January, 1916 pp. 86-88.
878. H. reticulatus, Linn.
Vern. : — Khorasani Ajowan (H.).
Habitat. : —Baluchistan. It grows abundantly in Quetta.
It differs from the species mentioned above in having a prickly stem, flowering bordering on purple and a black seed.
Use : — It is used like other species of Hyoscyamus, for it contains Hyoscyamine.
Seeds, 0.082; whole plant (1), 0.240, (2) 0.116 per cent, of total alkaloid. Hyoxyamine was the only alkaloid that was identified.— [Bull. Imp. Inst. 1911].
879. Nicotiana Tabacum, Linn, h.f.b.i., iv. 245.
Vern. : — Tamâkú (Hind.) ; Tanbak (Arab.) ; Tanbâku (Pers.) ; Támák (Beng.) ; Támrakúta (Sans.) ; Tamákú, tamáqú (Dec); Pugai-ilai (Tam.) ; Pogáku, dhúmrapatramu (Tel.) ; Puka-yila, pokala (Mal.) ; Hôgesappu (Kan .) ; Tamáku (Guz.) ; Dungazha, dimkola (Cingh.) ; Sé (Burm.) ; Tambâkhu (Bom.).
Habitat : — Cultivated throughout India.
Erect, viscidly-pubescent herbs, shrubs or trees. Leaves sinuate entire, large, oblong, elliptic ; base cuneate, corymb compound, ultimate branches short. Panicles terminal, or racemes compound subterminal. Calyx ovoid or tubular, 5-fid. Calyx-teeth triangular-lanceolate. Corolla linear funnel-shaped. Corolla lobes 5, in duplicate in bud. Stamens attached in the lower part of the Corolla-tube, filaments filiform ; anther ovate, dehiscing longitudinally. Ovary 2-celled ; style filiform, stigma shortly 2-fid. Capsule ¾in. 2-rarely sub-4 celled, 2-valved to the ​middle, valves often again splitting. Seeds very many, small, scarcely compressed. Embryo nearly straight.
Officinal in both Pharmacopeias.
The seeds of tobacco yield on pressing 9 to 10 per cent., and by extraction, 30 to 32 per cent of a greenish-yellow oil. It is said to have strong drying powers. The fatty acids are stated to consist of 25 per cent, of oleic acid, 15 per cent, of linolic acid. 32 per cent of palmitic acid, and a small quantity of stearic acid.
880. N. rustica, Linn, h.f.b.i., iv. 245.
Vern. : — Chilássî tamâku, kukkar, tamâkû (Pb. and Hind.).
Habitat : — A native of Mexico, cultivated in Europe, Asia, Africa and America.
It differs from N. Tabacum in its smaller stature, its sub-orbicular leathery leaves, and in the greenish-yellow flowers, the segments of which are much shorter.
Used like the preceding.
* ↑ Elements of Pharmacology, Dixon's English Translation. Edinburgh 1887.
* ↑ Pharmacographia Indica, p. 588, Vol. II., 1891, Bombay, by Dymock, Warden and Hooper.
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