Syn. Indian Physic. American ipecacuanha.

Origin

Two species of Gillenia, G. trifoliata and G. stipulacea, are recognized by the U. S. Pharmacopoeia as the source of this medicine. They are both herbaceous perennial plants, indigenous in this country; the former growing in the Atlantic section of the Union, the latter in the valley of the Mississippi, and both meeting in the region immediately west of the Alleghanies. The root is the part used, and is the same in character as derived from the two species.

Properties

The root is several inches in length, cylindrical, about the size of a quill where thickest, tapering, longitudinally wrinkled, with here and there circular fissures, and at certain points closely and shortly undulated, so as to have a knotty appearance. it consists of a thick, brittle, reddish cortical part, in which the virtues chiefly reside, and an interior tough, whitish, ligneous cord. The root, on its outer surface, is of a light-brown slightly reddish colour; the powder is reddish-gray. The former is nearly or quite inodorous, the latter has a feeble smell. The taste is bitter, without being acrid or nauseous. Water extracts the bitterness of the root, and acquires a reddish colour.

Medical Properties and Uses

Gillenia is tonic in small doses, and emetic when given more largely. it operates mildly and efficiently, and is thought to resemble ipecacuanha. it has been occasionally used as a substitute for that emetic, but is not much employed. The dose is twenty or thirty grains, to be repeated every twenty minutes till it acts. The tonic dose is two or three grains.