The bitter principle Acorin was extracted by Faust in 1867, as a semi-fluid, brownish glucoside, containing nitrogen, soluble both in ether and in alcohol, but neither in benzol nor in water. In order to obtain this substance, we precipitated the decoction of 10 lb. of the drug by means of tannic acid, and followed the method commonly practised in the preparation of bitter principles. By finally exhausting the residue with chloroform, we succeeded in obtaining a very bitter, perfectly crystalline body, but in so minute a quantity, that we were unable to investigate its nature.
Uses—Sweet Flag is an aromatic stimulant and tonic, now rarely used in regular medicine. It is sold by the herbalist for flavouring beer, and for masticating to clear the voice. It is said to be also used by snuff manufacturers.
Adulteration—The rhizome of the Yellow Flag, Iris Pseudacorus L., is occasionally mixed with that of the Sweet Flag, from which it may be distinguished by its want of aroma, astringent taste, dark colour, and dissimilar structure.
LILIACEÆ.
ALOË.
Aloes; F. Aloès ou Suc d’Aloès; G. Aloë.
Botanical Origin—Several species of Aloë[2539] furnish a bitter juice which when inspissated forms this drug. These plants are natives of arid, sunny places in Southern and Eastern Africa, whence a few species have been introduced into Northern Africa, Spain,[2540] and the East and West Indies.
The aloes are succulent plants of liliaceous habit with persistent fleshy leaves, usually prickly at the margin, and erect spikes of yellow or red flowers. Many are stemless; others produce stems some feet in height, which are woody and branching. In the remote districts of Namaqua Land and Damara Land in Western South Africa, and in the Transkei Territory and Northern Natal to the eastern, aloes have been discovered which attain 30 to 60 feet in height, with stems as much as 12 feet in circumference.[2541] The following species may be named with more or less of certainty as yielding the drug.[2542]
Aloë socotrina Lam. (A. vera Miller), native of the southern shores of the Red Sea and Indian Ocean, Socotra, and Zanzibar (?). It is the source of the Socotrine and Moka Aloes. A. officinalis Forsk. and A. rubescens DC. are considered to be varieties of this plant. A. abyssinica Lam. may probably contribute to the aloes shipped from the Red Sea.
A. vulgaris Lam. A. perfoliata, var. π. vera Linn., A. barbadensis Mill., a plant of India and of Eastern and Northern Africa, now found also on the shores of Southern Spain, Sicily, Greece, and the Canaries; introduced in the beginning of the 16th century (or earlier) into the West Indies. It affords Barbados and Curaçao Aloes. A. indica Royle, a plant of the North-west Provinces of India, common in Indian gardens, appears to be a slight variety of A. vulgaris Lam. A. litoralis König, said to grow in abundance at Cape Comorin, is unknown to us. Dr. Bidie suggests that it is a form of the preceding, stunted by a poor saline soil and exposure to the sea breeze. Both A. indica and A. litoralis are named in the Pharmacopœia of India.