Botanical Description.—A vigorous plant with scandent stem 2–4 meters long, the more recent growth woolly. Leaves opposite, entire, 5–12 centimeters long and 2–6 broad, oval or rounded. Petiole striated and short. Flowers in umbelliferous cymes, compound, axillary, solitary and alternate, with woolly peduncles; hermaphrodite, regular, small, of a pale green color inside and a light purple outside. Calyx gamosepalous, with 5 lobules. Corolla gamopetalous, 5 oval, twisted lobules. Staminal crown composed of 5 fleshy scales, joined to the staminal tube. Stamens 5, inserted on the throat of the corolla, filaments joined to form a very short tube with anthers straight, short and crowned by a membranous bilocular appendix. The gynœcium consists of 2 unilocular ovaries each containing an indefinite number of ovules. Style with a pentagonal stigma which bears in each angle a glandular body. Fruits compound with two separate follicles, large, lanceolate, smooth, 8–10 centimeters long and 5 in circumference. Each encloses a seed, hairy, albuminous with straight embryo and flattened cotyledons.
Habitat.—Mountains of San Mateo.
Loganiaceæ.
Logania Family.
Strychnos Ignatii, Berg. (S. Philippensis, Blanco; Ignatia amara, L.; Ignatia Philippinea, Lour.)
Nom. Vulg.—Pepita Fruta, Sp.-Fil.; Pepita sa katbalog̃an, Kabalog̃an, Tag., Pam.; Pangaguason, Aguason, Kanlara, Mananaog, Dankagi, Katalog̃a, Igasud, Vis.; St. Ignatius Bean, Eng.
Uses.—The part of the plant employed is the seed, known in addition to the above common names as Pepita de San Ignacio and Pepita de Cabalonga (for katbolog̃an). The natives handle it with the greatest imprudence, selling everywhere in the markets and in the Chinese shops, called tindag̃-bayag̃. It is not only a remedy among them, but a sort of panacea, to which they attribute, among other virtues, that of expelling evil spirits, simply worn about the neck. They grate it with a piece of earthen pot, mix with a little “tuba” vinegar and apply it to the temples for headache. In bites of poisonous animals they advise the application of the powdered seed over the wound, a treatment which instead of being beneficent might easily be harmful to the patient. Before proceeding further, let us give the chemical composition of the seeds in order that their uses may be the better understood.
Strychnine is found in them in the proportion of ½–1½ and brucine ½%–1.4%. Flückiger and Hanbury by drying it over sulphuric acid and burning it with “cal sòdica” obtained 1.78% of nitrogen which represents 10% of albuminoid material. Strychnine and brucine exist in combination with igasuric acid discovered by Ludwig in 1873. The proportion of both the alkaloids is greater than in the seeds of nux vomica which contain only .25–.50% strychnine and .12–.05% brucin, although some authors give it as high as 1.01%. Strychnine can be obtained more readily and in larger proportions from St. Ignatius bean, but it is generally obtained from nux vomica seeds on account of the cheapness of the latter.
It is more energetic than nux vomica and its use in medicine should be condemned, preference, however, being given to the official preparations among which the best known is that commonly called “Bitter Drops of Beaumé,” of which the following is the composition:
| Grated St. Ignatius’ beans | 500 grams. |
| Potassium carbonate | 5 grams. |
| Soot (?) | 1 gram. |
| 60% alcohol | 1,000 grams. |