Page:Indian Medicinal Plants (Text Part 1).djvu/626

546 (4) It helps diapedesis of red blood corpuscles.

(5) It slighty increases the excretion in the amount of phosphates and uric acid, but the increase is not very material to be taken into practical account.

Regarding its Therapeutic action, he says : —

The drug is a very valuable remedy in heart diseases, specially where a combined tonic and stimulant action is necessary. Thus in mitral disease, specially in later stages when the heart is feeble and flaccid, blood pressure low and the heart dilated, the drug may be administered with admirable effect. In aortic diseases the drug has one defect, namely, it increases the blood pressure, and the diastole is rather prolonged, but the force of contraction and the manner is which the aortic valves meet together may be utilised in these forms of aortic regurgitation that are caused merely by dilatation of the aorta, or in which the valves, although healthy, do not come in firm opposition, or in which the regurgitation is caused by weakness of the heart.

In exhausting diseases weakening the heart and increasing the frequency of the pulse the drug is invaluable, for, it does not exert the poisonous action of digitalis if long continued.

The drug may be used as a good local hæmostatic, but generally its use as a hæmostatic is doubtful on account of the rise of the blood pressure. In inflammations locally and generally it may be used by causing the contraction of the peripheral arterioles, and increasing the diapedesis, and at the same time improving the general circulation, the drug will relieve the inflammatory condition of the part. For this reason Chukradutta recommended it for all sorts of inflammatory conditions, and he goes so far as to say that it heals fractures, etc. For this reason it may be commended in pneumonic inflammations of lung, but directly it has no action on respiratory organs.

We have seen that for local inflammations the drug is very efficacious as in the experiments performed on inflamed eyes. There the inflammation soothed in one day although the eases were mild ones. The drug has been suggested to be lethontryptic, but except increasing slight amount of phosphatic and uric acid excretion this action of the drug is doubtful.

Chemical composition : —

An extract from the bark was prepared by heating 500 grms. of pulverised bark with 2 litres of water until only 500 c. c. of the fluid remained ; the whole thing was then pressed through a fine muslin and the fluid part was again filtered through filter when a clear dark-reddish extract was obtained. The extract is sweetish to the taste, reduces Fehling's solution and assumes a dark black colour on treatment with ferric chloride and is acid to litmus. Part of it was treated with benzene in equal parts (being acidulated first with H2S04 4 ) and a deposit separated out in the immiscible layer; the immiscible layer was then separated by means of separating funnel and benzene was allowed to evaporate. The residue left after evaporation was reddish-brown in colour and amorphous powder ; it was insolube in dilute HC1. but partly soluble in alcohol and ether. It does not give any reaction with Iodine, nor does it reduce Fehling's solution, but when heated with dilute HCI, it reduced Fehling's solution also gave ppt, with Phosphotungstic acid.