Guaiacum

“ LIGNUM GUAIACI.
Lignum sanctum; Guaiacum Wood, Lignum Vitæ; F. Bois de Gaïac; G. Guaiakholz, Pockholz.
Botanical Origin—This wood is furnished by two West Indian species of Guaiacum, namely:—
1. G. officinale L., a middle-sized or low evergreen tree, with light blue flowers, parapinnate leaves having ovate, very obtuse leaflets in 2, less often in 3 pairs, and 2-celled fruits. It grows in Cuba, Jamaica (abundantly on the arid plains of the south side of the island) , Les Gonaives in the N.W. of Hayti (plentiful) , St. Domingo, Martinique, St. ”

“ Writing of Chronic Rheumatism the author says:—“ ... The more stimulating diaphoretics and diuretics prove serviceable. Among these the preparations of guaiacum deserve the confidence [125] they have long enjoyed. The virtue of the powder (sic) known as the Chelsea Pensioner is chiefly due to the guaiacum and sulphur it contains.” ”

“ I may say the same of the decoction of China roots, sassafras, sarsaparilla, guaiacum: China, saith Manardus, makes a good colour in the face, takes away melancholy, and all infirmities proceeding from cold, even so sarsaparilla provokes sweat mightily, guaiacum dries, Claudinus, consult. 89. & 46. Montanus, Capivaccius, consult. 188. Scoltzii, make frequent and good use of guaiacum and China, [4322] “so that the liver be not incensed,” good for such as are cold, as most melancholy men are, but by no means to be mentioned in hot. ”

“ Insoluble in water; soluble in alcohol and ether; it unites with the caustic alkalies, forming alkaline guaiacates (guaiacum soaps) ; air and light turn it green; gluten, mucilage of gum Arabic, &c., turn it blue; nitric acid and chlorine turn it successively green, blue, and brown; tincture of guaiacin, added to hydrocyanic acid and sulphate of copper, produces an intense blue colour. (Pagenstecher.) A delicate photographic paper may be formed by washing unsized paper with an alcoholic solution of guaiacum resin, and afterwards with one of neutral acetate of lead. ”

“ This is a solution of the guaiac in the aromatic spirit of ammonia, and is consequently more stimulating than the preceding one, and more efficacious as a sudorific: after arterial action is properly reduced, it is certainly one of our best remedies in rheumatism. Dose, fʒj to fʒij, at bed time, and its effects should be promoted by some warm beverage. It is worthy of remark, that nitrous acid and the spirit of nitric æther occasion an extraordinary decomposition of these tinctures, separating the guaiacum into coagulated masses, and imparting to the whole an intense bluish green colour. ”

“ So again, Diaphoretics, Diuretics, and many other remedies, suffer a diminution in their effects, whenever they stimulate the stomach or bowels to excess. Guaiacum thus loses its anti-arthritic, Squill its diuretic, and Antimony and Ipecacuan their diaphoretic, virtues; the action of these substances may therefore require correction, and a medicine must be selected capable of fulfilling that intention. Opium has very extensive powers as a corrigent. ”

“ Carb.) , Guaiacol Carbonate, U.S.P.
White, nearly odorless and nearly tasteless powder. Soluble in alcohol (1:60) and in ether (1:18) ; insoluble in water.
Action and Uses: Being insoluble in water, it is less disagreeable and less irritating than guaiacol, but liberates this substance in the intestines. Used as intestinal antiseptic and against bronchitis.
Dosage: 1 Gm. or 15 grains (U.S.P.) . in powders or cachets.
Guaiacum (Guaiac.) , Guaiac, U.S.P. (Guaiac Resin) .
Action and Uses: Formerly used as an “alterative,” against syphilis, chronic rheumatism and gout ”

“ Guaiacum resin differs pharmacologically from other resins in being less irritant, so that it is absorbed from the bowel and exerts remote stimulant actions, notably upon the skin and kidneys. It affects the bronchi but slightly, since it contains no volatile oil.
The drug is useful both in acute and chronic sore throat, the mixture, according to Sir Lauder Brunton, being more effective than the tincture. The aperient action, which it exerts less markedly than other members of its class, renders it useful in the treatment of chronic constipation. ”

“ In the old pharmacy the products of destructive distillation of guaiacum wood were known as Oleum ligni sancti. It must have consisted of the substances which we mention further on in the following article.
Description—The wood (always known in commerce as Lignum Vitæ) as imported consists of pieces of the stem and thick branches, usually stripped of bark, and often weighing a hundredweight each. It is remarkably heavy and compact. Its sp. gr. which exceeds that of most woods is about 1·3. ”

“ Castile soap, 40 gr.; water, q. s. to form a mass. For 48 pills. An excellent remedy in costiveness, with loss of tone of the bowels.—Dose, 2 to 4, at bedtime.
Pills, of Gu′aiacum (Compound) . Syn. Pilulæ1310 guaiaci compositæ, L. Prep. 1. Powdered resin of guaiacum, 1 dr.; oxysulphide of antimony, 40 gr.; oil of cajeput, 12 drops; extract of gentian, q. s. to form a mass. For 4-gr. pills.—Dose, 3 to 6, thrice daily; in gout, rheumatism, secondary syphilis, various obstinate cutaneous affections, &c.
2. (St B. Hosp.) Guaiacum, 30 gr.; ipecacuanha and opium, of each 3 gr.; syrup, q. s. ”

“ For dropsical and rheumatic patients who became the subjects of the Sweating Sickness, he prescribed a beverage of Guaiacum; he also recommended as a sudorific, the China root, which was at that time much in use. When the perspiration broke out, he positively prohibited the urging it beyond the proper point; all medicines were thence laid aside, and he trusted to aromatic vinegar and gentle succussion alone for keeping off the lethargy, without considering, with Damianus, that more severe measures were essential [459] . ”

“ Take 1 pound of beeswax, 1 pound of rosin, 1 pound of tallow; put all into a pan and heat until the ingredients are melted, after cooling it will be ready for use. When using put a coat of the cement over the grafted part, thick enough to prevent the rain and air from penetrating.
GUAIACUM, AMMONIATED TINCTURE.
Take 4 ounces powdered gum guaiacum, 11⁄2 pints spirits of amonia, put them together and let the mixture stand for fourteen days, when it will be ready for use. Shake the bottle occasionally. This is a celebrated remedy in the treatment of chronic rheumatism. ”

“ They are occasionally adulterated with boxwood shavings. Lignum vitae is imported chiefly from St Domingo, the Bahamas and Jamaica.
The bark was formerly used in medicine; it contains much calcium oxalate, and yields on incineration 23% of ash. Guaiacum resin, the guaiaci resina of pharmacopoeias, is obtained from the wood as an exudation from natural fissures or from incisions; by heating billets about 3 ft. in length, bored to permit of the outflow of the resin; or by boiling chips and raspings in water to which salt has been added to raise the temperature of ebullition. ”

“ The bitterness is the best criterion of its medicinal activity.
A number of years ago, Dr. A. T. Thomson, proposed the tincture of Guaiacum as a test for the goodness of Colchicum. Ten grains of the bulb were rubbed in a mortar, with sixteen minims of distilled vinegar, and immediately afterwards sixteen minims of the tincture of guaiacum were added. When the bulb was good, a beautiful cerulean color, according to Dr. Thomson, was produced. Having ascertained that several specimens which he knew to be good failed in giving this char­ac­ter­is­tic color, Dr. ”

“ The wood is very hard, light red in color, with a thick bright clear yellow sapwood.
TEXAS PORLIERIA (Guayacan)
(Porlieria angustifolia [Engelm.] A. Gray) or soap bush, an evergreen of southern and western Texas, is usually a shrub, but occasionally reaches 8 inches in diameter and 30 feet in height. It is a source of early spring honey in the Rio Grande Valley. Its wood is heavy, hard, and exceptionally durable. Guayacan, sometimes called guaiacum, is the hardest wood in Texas and the United States. The lignum-vitae of commerce is produced from another species. ”

“ Pulverized cinnamon, cloves, and gum guaiacum, each one ounce, good brandy one quart, given in two tea-spoonsful to a table-spoonful every fifteen or twenty minutes to an adult."
"The patient should be well covered with warm clothing, and bottles of hot water, bricks and stones placed around his body. This course is almost sure to be followed [p.155] by a moderate moisture of the skin, which should be kept up for eight or ten hours; to do which, I give ptisans of catnip or spearmint, and apply hot tincture of Cayenne by flannel cloths over the abdomen ”

“ Some recommend the gum guaiacum as a specific in this disease. Half a dram of the gum in powder 269may be made into an electuary with the rob of elderberries, or the jelly of currants for a dose, and repeated occasionally [107] .
Blistering upon the neck or behind the ears in violent inflammations of the throat is very beneficial; and in bad cases it will be necessary to lay a blistering-plaster quite across the throat, so as to reach from ear to ear. After the plasters are taken off, the parts ought to be kept running by the application of issue ointment, till the inflammation is gone ”

“ Sydenham’s favourite “potio cathartica lenitiva,” consisted of an infusion of tamarinds, senna leaves, and rhubarb, with the addition of manna and syrup of roses. The addition of tamarinds renders the infusion more grateful but less active; when made with bohea tea, it is in a great degree deprived of its nauseous taste; a decoction of guaiacum increases its powers, and is said at the same time to render it milder. Bitters also very considerably exalt its efficacy, see page 153. A pint of the infusion with a drachm of jalap forms an excellent combination for a purgative enema. ”

“ Red precipitate with theriacum made into pills with cherry juice was his favourite remedy, and was one of his laudanums. His Catholicon, or universal panacea, was a preparation of gold and corrosive sublimate, which was largely used by his followers under the name of Aurum Vitæ.
Corrosive sublimate was the great quack remedy for syphilis for more than a century, and the so-called vegetable remedies, syrups and decoctions of guaiacum, sarsaparilla, and sassafras, maintained their reputation largely in consequence of the perchloride of mercury, which was so often added to them. ”

“ Their [Pg 404] taste is likewise very agreeable, and the sick are not debarred from eating them when dressed in a proper manner.—Some naturalists and physicians submitted these stones to chemical analysis, in order to be more competent judges of the uses they might be put to in medicine; when there first came forth, by distillation, an insipid water, and afterwards a spirituous liquor. The retort having been heated to a certain point, there arose an oil, which had nearly the smell and taste of that of guaiacum; and a very acid salt was extracted from the ashes. ”

“ Qualities. A colourless fluid of the specific gravity ·850. Odour, extremely fragrant; Taste, pungent and acidulous; it is very volatile and inflammable. Chemical Composition. A portion of nitric æther and nitric acid, combined with alcohol. Solubility. It is soluble both in water and alcohol. Incompatible Substances. With a solution of green sulphate of iron it strikes a deep olive colour, owing probably to its 484holding a portion of nitrous gas in solution; with the tinctures of guaiacum it produces a green or blue coagulum. Med. Uses. When properly diluted, it is refrigerant and diuretic ”

“ D.) Calomel and precipitated sulphide of antimony, of each 1 dr.; triturate them together, then add, of guaiacum resin (in powder) , 2 dr.; castor oil, 1 fl. dr.; and beat the whole to a uniform mass.
4. (B. P.) Calomel, 1; sulphurated antimony, 1; guaiac resin (in powder) , 2; castor oil, 1; mix.—Dose, 5 to 10 gr.
Obs. An excellent alterative pill; very useful in lepra, in secondary syphilis affecting the skin, and in various other chronic cutaneous diseases; also in dyspepsia and liver complaints.—Dose, 3 to 10 gr., night and morning.
Pills of Calomel and Opium. Syn. ”

“ Gum guaiacum, 1 dr.; nitrate of potassia, 11⁄2 dr. (both in powder) ; soft soap (Ph. L.) , 1⁄2 dr.; oil of cajeput, 16 drops. For 4 dozen pills.—Dose, 2 to 6, night and morning; in chronic rheumatism, and rheumatic gout. Their action is accelerated by the copious use of lemon juice during the day.
2. (Beasley.) Extract of artichoke, 1⁄2 dr.; powdered sarsaparilla, 20 gr.; oil of sassafras, 1 drop. For 12 pills.—Dose, 1 pill, thrice daily.
Pills of Rh′ubarb. Syn. Pilulæ rhei (Ph. E.) , L. Prep. 1. (Ph. E.) Powdered rhubarb, 9 parts; acetate of potassa, 1 part; conserve of red roses, 5 parts ”

“ Climbing out of the bed of the cañon in a few steps we find ourselves again among the ocotillos and the agaves and the cacti.
Among the shrubby plants none are so important as the guayule, the native name for Parthenium argentatum. It is one of the most abundant of all the desert plants, especially on the limestone slopes, and its grayish color gives a distinct character to the landscape where it abounds. A small shrub or dwarf tree, it seldom exceeds four feet in height or a stem diameter of four inches. ”

“ The Guayava (Psidium pomiferum) grows on a low shrub, chiefly in the valleys of the coast, and on the eastern declivity of the Andes. It is of the form and size of a small apple. The rind is bright, yellow, and thin. The pulp is either white or red, and is full of little egg-shaped granulations. Its flavor is pleasant, but not remarkably fine. In Lima it is not a favorite, for numerous insects lay their eggs in it, and, when the fruit is ripe, larvæ are found in it.
The Pepino (a cucurbitacea) is grown in great abundance in the fields. ”