Dr. Dervegie reports good results in the treatment of eczema, administering the powdered leaf in dozes of 0.10 gram and applying locally the powder or an ointment of the same. The most marked and constant effects of the drug are a considerable increase of the urinary secretion, elevation of the temperature of the skin and profuse diaphoresis.
Dr. Boileau, quoted above, himself contracted leprosy of which he died; he experimented on himself with “hydrocotyle” and on one occasion a dose of 3 grams nearly proved fatal; tetanic symptoms supervened with suffocation, palpitation, epistaxis and rectal hemorrhage, abating finally with profuse sweating and diuresis.
Dr. Lépine, a pharmacist of Pondicherry, has analyzed the plant and isolated a substance that seems to be the active principle; he has named it vallarin, from “vallarai,” the Tamul name of the plant. “Vallarin” is a thick, pale yellow oil of a piquant and persistent taste and an odor peculiar to the plant. It changes under the influence of air, moisture or heat and volatilizes at 120°. It is soluble in alcohol. The plant contains 8/10 to 1% of this oil, a dark resin and a green resin.
The Pharmacopœia of India gives 2 official formulæ, a powder and a cataplasm. The powdered leaf is given internally in doses of 0.30 to 1.50 grams and is applied locally to superficial ulcers.
Botanical Description.—Plant herbaceous with reniform or heart-shaped leaves, forming a sort of funnel, dotted with little hairs, dentate with white tips. Petioles very long, ensheathing each other by 2 wings at their bases. Flowers 3–4, sessile, springing directly from the root, greenish-white, growing in horizontal rows on either side of a short, common peduncle. Common involucre of 2–3 leaflets. Calyx adherent, flattened, faintly toothed. Corolla, 5 small petals, ovate. Stamens 5, equal in height, inserted on the receptacle, alternating with the petals. Filaments short. Anthers globose, cleft at the base in 2 diverging parts. Ovary inferior, cordate, much flattened. Styles 2, short. Stigmas simple. Fruit truncate, oval, downy, indehiscent, marked with furrows, with 2 compartments each containing a seed inserted on the wall.
Habitat.—Grows in shady and moist places. Blooms in July.
Carum copticum, Benth. (C. ajowan, DC.; Ammi copticum, L.; A. glaucifolium, Blanco; Daucus opticus, Pers.; D. anisodorus, Blanco.)
Nom. Vulg.—Lamudio, Damoro, Tag.; Lamudio, Vis.; Caraway, Eng.
Uses.—The fruit, of which both form and taste remind one of anise, is official in the Pharmacopœia of India as a carminative, stimulant and antispasmodic. It is indicated in flatulent colic, atonic dyspepsia and diarrhœa and gives very good results. It has been used in cholera, but is of little value in that disease. In moderate doses it increases salivary and gastric secretion.
The P. of India contains the 2 following official formulæ: Oleum—obtained from the fruit by distillation; is colorless when fresh but soon turns yellow; possesses the odor of the fruit and an acrid, burning taste. Aqua—600 grams of the fruit ground and mixed with 9 liters of water; this is distilled till 4½ liters have gone over, these constituting the “aqua cari.”