Infusum Sennae. Infusion of Senna. (Senna, half an ounce; ginger, sliced, thirty grains; boiling distilled water, ten fluid ounces. [Senna, a troy ounce; coriander, bruised, sixty grains; boiling water, a pint. U. S.] Macerate for an hour in a closed vessel, and strain.)

Tinctura Sennae. Tincture of Senna. (Senna, broken small, two ounces and a half; raisins free from seeds, two ounces; caraway and coriander, each half an ounce; proof spirit, one pint.) [Not officinal in U. S. P.]

Syrupus Sennae. Syrup of Senna. (Senna, broken small, sixteen ounces; oil of coriander, three minims; refined sugar, twenty-four ounces; distilled water, five pints, or a sufficiency; rectified spirit, two fluid ounces. Digest the senna in seventy ounces of the water for twenty-four hours; press and strain. Digest the mass in thirty ounces of the water for six hours; press and strain. Evaporate the mixed liquors to ten fluid ounces; and when cold add the rectified spirit, previously mixed with the oil of coriander. Clarify by filtration, and wash what remains on the filter with distilled water, until the washings make up the filtrate to sixteen fluid ounces; then add the sugar, and dissolve by means of a gentle heat.) The product should weigh ten ounces, and should have the sp. gr. 1.31. [Not officinal in U. S. P.] [Extractum Sennae Fluidum. Fluid Extract of Senna. U. S. A pint of fluid extract is obtained from sixteen troy ounces of senna, by percolation with diluted alcohol, evaporation and the addition of eight troy ounces of sugar.]

Therapeutics. Senna is a rather brisk purgative, increasing considerably the peristaltic action, and also to some extent the liquid flow from the intestines; it appears to act chiefly on the small intestines, and less on the colon and rectum than aloes; sometimes nausea and griping are produced if the drug is given alone; it is generally combined with salines, as Epsom salts, or tartrate of potash, and some aromatic; such combination forms the "black draught." Senna is given when constipation is present in dyspepsia, and in almost all febrile and inflammatory diseases; as it is somewhat drastic, it should not be given when the alimentary canal is much affected.

Dose. Of the powdered leaf, 30 gr. to 120 gr. (a bad form). Of the infusion, 1 fl. oz. to 2 fl. oz.; of the tincture, 1 fl. drm. to 1/2 fl. oz.; of the confection, from a tea-spoonful upwards; of the syrup, 1 fl. drm. upwards (generally given to infants). The present syrup is an effectual preparation.

For the Adulterations of Senna, see Description.

Cassia. Cassia Pulp. [Cassia Fistula. Purging Cassia. U. S.] The pulp of the pods of Cassia fistula; Pudding Pipe Tree, or Purging Cassia; Lin. Syst., Decandria monogynia; from the East Indies, or recently extracted from pods imported from the East or West Indies.

Description. The fruit is a cylindrical pod or legume, from 1 to 2 feet long, about the size of the thumb, having three bands extending the whole length, divided internally into numerous cells, spurious dissepiments, each containing a seed, surrounded by a blackish soft pulp, which is the part made use of in medicine. The heavier the pod, the more pulp it contains.

Prop. & Comp. The pulp has a sweetish, rather disagreeable, taste; is of a blackish brown colour, usually containing the seeds and dissepiments; and contains besides sugar, pectin, mucilage, and some principle probably similar to that found in senna.

Cassia is contained in Confectio Sennae.

Therapeutics. A slight laxative, apt to give rise to disturbance of the bowels, producing flatulence; seldom given alone.

Dose. Of the prepared pulp, 120 gr. upwards.

Tamarindus. Tamarind. The pulp of the fruit of Tamarindus indica or Tamarind Tree; [The preserved fruit of Tamarindus Indica. U. S.] Lin. Syst., Monodelphia triandria; growing in the East and West Indies. The East Indian pod is larger than that from the West Indies: at present it chiefly comes from the West Indies. Description. The pods are about 4 or 5 inches long, and 3/4 inch broad, flattened and curved; internally divided into cells containing oval seeds, surrounded by the pulp, which is soft, of a brownish-red colour, and sweet acidulous taste and contains strong fibres; the seeds are brown and shining, and enclosed in mem-branous coats.

Prop. & Comp. It contains sugar, pectin, free citric and tartaric acids, bitartrate of potash, etc. A piece of bright iron left in contact with the pulp for an hour, should not exhibit any deposit of copper.

Off. Prep. Tamarinds are contained in Confectio Sennae.

Therapeutics. Tamarinds act as a very slight laxative, besides which they are refrigerant from the acids they contain, and useful, when infused, as a cooling drink, in febrile affections.

Dose. 1/4 oz. upwards. A whey may be made by boiling the pulp with milk.

Copaiba. Copaiva; Balsam of Copaiva. An oleo-resin flowing from the incised trunk of Copaifera multijuga and other species; the varieties of Copaiva Tree; Lin. Syst., Decandria mono-gynia: growing in the West Indies and tropical parts of America, and obtained chiefly from the province of Para in Brazil.

Copaibae Oleum. Oil of Copaiva. Oil distilled from the oleo-resin.

Description. The oleo-resin is a transparent liquid, about the consistence of thick oil, of a yellow colour, characteristic odour, and slightly acrid, nauseous, terebinthinate taste. The Brazilian variety, which is chiefly met with, is much paler than the West Indian. The volatile oil is a colourless liquid, with the odour and taste of copaiva.

Prop. & Comp. Copaiva consists of about 45 per cent. of resin, and 34 per cent. of the volatile oil, but the proportions vary with age and exposure; its sp. gr. is about 0.95; the resin, copaivic acid (C40 H30 O4), resembles closely common resin or pinic acid, and is crystalline. The volatile oil (C20 H16), except in odour and taste, is closely allied to oil of turpentine. Besides these principles, about l 1/2 or 2 per cent. of a soft brown or resinous matter is contained in copaiva, the nature of which is unknown; it seems to increase in amount as the copaiva becomes old.