The leaves are the medicinal parts. They have a bitter, somewhat harsh taste, but no odor, and yield their virtues to water or alcohol. An amorphous, non-hygroscopic, intensely bitter mass resulted upon evaporation of the solvent, partially soluble in water, and completely soluble in alcohol and ether. It could not be obtained in the crystallized state. By the same process the author isolated from the berries a crystallizable, very bitter principle, soluble in ether, water, and alcohol.
Acids precipitate it from aqueous solution.
The fruit contains tannin. The leaves contained 4.5 per cent of ash. Action, Medical Uses, and Dosage. The infusion has also proved beneficial in icterus, pleuritis, catarrh, variola, arthritis , etc. According to Dr. Rousseau, ilicin acts decidedly upon the spleen, liver, and pancreas, producing a sedative effect, and is a cheap substitute for quinine.