The inner bark of the root. (Not official.)

Preparation

Vinum Fraxini. The inner bark of the root collected in November, eight ounces; stronger white wine, or sherry, two pints. The root-bark should be macerated in the wine three or four days; after percolation, to every 25 parts there should be added 2 parts of glycerin and 1 part of alcohol. The dose of the wine thus prepared is a teaspoonful or two, three times a day, before meals.

Actions and Uses

There has been no adequate study of the physiological actions of fraxinus. Its employment is, thus far, merely empirical. We owe to Dr. Charles P. Turner, of Philadelphia, the knowledge now in our possession regarding its therapeutical powers. It belongs to the group of alterative medicines, if we may still use this rather obsolete term. Administered in certain diseases, it modifies the local morbid process, or cures it without any recognizable disturbance of the functions. The chief use of it thus far has been in the treatment of certain uterine disorders. Dr. Turner has found it to have a curative action in chronic metritis, and in the disorders consequent on this condition of the uterus. In the various forms of dysmenorrhoea, especially the congestive variety, it has proved to be very effective. Lest disappointment may be experienced from its use, Dr. Turner assures us that the administration of the wine must be kept up for several weeks or months. When administered for dysmenorrhoea, it should be taken diligently in the interval, and, when given for metritis, it should be taken assiduously for several months. How much is due to time, and how much to the remedy, has not been shown. Authorities referred to:

Husemann, Drs. Aug. und Theo. Die Pjlanzmstoffe, pp. 80, 717, 1108. Porcher, Dr. F. Peyre. Resources of the Southern Melds and Forests, p. 161.