Unicorn Root—Aletris Farinosa

Unicorn Root (Aletris farinosa) contains a bitter principle and starch. Remarkable powers as a uterine tonic have been ascribed to it but have not been realized by reliable observers, the drug being practically valueless in these conditions. It enters into the composition of a number of nostrums. As a bitter it is superfluous and it should not be included among non-official drugs.

Wild Yam—Dioscorea Villosa

Wild Yam (Dioscorea villosa) has been little used in medicine. It contains a saponin and an acrid resin, and is said to possess expectorant, diaphoretic and—​in large doses—​emetic properties. It has been recommended as a remedy in biliary colic and in muscular rheumatism. Its value in such conditions has not been verified to an extent entitling it to consideration as a useful remedy.

Wild Indigo—Baptisia Tinctoria

Wild Indigo (Baptisia tinctoria) has been in use—chiefly by the eclectics—​for about three-quarters of a century, but there is no satisfactory evidence that it has any therapeutic value. The following text-books on pharmacology do not even mention wild indigo: Cushny, Brunton, Dixon, Binz, Sollmann. It is not official in the United States or other leading pharmacopeias.

A preparation of wild indigo is advertised with extravagant claims for its therapeutic action, but these claims are not supported by any substantial evidence. Other virtues ascribed to wild indigo are its properties as a cardiac and hepatic stimulant and its value in sepsis, particularly in typhoid fever. It actually has emetic and cathartic properties, but even these are inferior to those possessed by many other drugs.

It is very evident that a drug possessing the extraordinary merits that have been claimed for wild indigo would not have remained unnoticed by the leading authorities on pharmacology and therapeutics, especially after its prolonged use in medicine. Owing, therefore, to the lack of substantial evidence of its usefulness, baptisia is not considered as of sufficient importance to warrant its inclusion in the list of non-official drugs. It is probably entirely superfluous.​—(From The Journal A. M. A., Jan. 22, 1910.)