Chemical examination of kô-sam seeds (Brucea sumatrana, Roxb.) / by Frederick B. Power and Frederic H. Lees.

  • Power, Frederick B. (Frederick Belding), 1853-1927
Date:
[1903.]
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Chemical examination of kô-sam seeds (Brucea sumatrana, Roxb.) / by Frederick B. Power and Frederic H. Lees. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    (2) fever. All the parts of B. sumatrana are esteemed in the East Indies as a stomachic tonic, and are also used for diarrhoea, intermittent fever, and worms.” A species of the botanically closely allied genus Picrasma is referred to in the ‘ Pharmacographia Indica,’ Yol. 1, p. 287> as follows:—“ Picrasma quassioides, Benn., is a small tree or large bush indigenous to the sub-tropical Himalaya and South China. It is recognised by the Indian Pharmacopoeia under the name of Brucea (Nima) quassioides, and the bark, which is very bitter, has been recommended as a febrifuge,” The wood of this plant has been assumed to contain quassin, but no com¬ plete chemical examination has as yet been made of it. During the past few years Ko-sam seeds have been brought somewhat prominently to notice, on account of their reputed value as a remedy in dysentery. Dybowski, in some papers published in the Revue des Cultures Coloniales, Paris (Tome VI., January 5 and April 5, 1900), has particularly called attention to these seeds, and quotes Dr. Mougeot, of Saigon, as having discovered that five or six of the kernels, taken in the morning, crushed with crumb of bread, are a sovereign remedy for the most pernicious dysenteries of tropical countries. Dr. Mougeot has reported that out of 879 cases treated by him, 799 were completely cured in from three to six days, while fifty- seven of these cases required fifteen days. The popular interest in this remedy is shown by the following notice, which appeared in a recent issue of the Rangoon Gazette: —“ The ravages which dysentery caused among Europeans in the Tropics before the disease was as well understood as at present were terrible, and now, although it is affirmed by many medical men that dysentery if taken in time is practically always amenable to treatment, and but seldom fatal even when for a short time neglected, yet the number of deaths caused by it, especially among children, is still very great. It is most certainly good news to hear that a new cure for it has been discovered in the seeds of the Brucea sumatrana, which are said tc be as much a specific for it as quinine is for malaria.” The most extended notices that have thus far appeared relating to the botanical and chemical characters of Ko-sam seeds are contained in a series of papers published in the pre¬ viously mentioned Revue des Cultures Coloniales, Paris, 1900, Nos. 47, 48, and 50, short abstracts of which have been given in the Pharm. Journ., 1900, 64, pp. 463, 687. The authors of the present paper have, nevertheless, deemed it desirable to consult the original publications, in order to ascer-