Ipecacuanha — Occurrence  of  Damaged  Roots  in  the  London  Market, —
It  is  stated  in  Caesar  &  Lorentz's  Report  (Sept.,  1895),  that  a  sort  of  Rio
Ipecacuanha  has  found  its  way  into  the  German  markets  from  London,
which  differs  from  the  unmanipulated  drug  in  its  external  characters,  and
has  evidently  been  subjected  to  a  process  of  washing.  It  is  dark  brown-
ish in  color  externally,  the  color  internally  being  also  darker  than  is  usual,
and  is  further  characterized  by  a  smoky  odor,  evidently  the  result  of  the
drying  process  after  washing.  The  genuine — or  rather  natural — drug
having  a  dirty  greyish  color,  the  washed  drug  is  frequently  preferred  on
account  of  its  clean  and  handsome  appearance  and  uniformity,  it  being
carefully  garbled  before  marketing.  Experience  has  shown  that  such
manipulated  ipecacuanha,  which  has  usually  been  injured  during  the  sea-
voyage,  contains  inferior  percentages  of  alkaloid. — Pharm.  Centralh.,Sept.
12,  1896,  526.
Ipecacuanha — Pharmacological  Action  of  its  Alkaloidal  Constituents^
Cephaeline  and  Emetine^  which  see  under  "  Organic  Chemistry."

Ipecacuanha — Use  as  a  Topical  Application  in  Bee  Stings, — The  "In-
dian Medical  Gazette"  calls  attention  to  the  case  of  a  Calcutta  physician
who,  having  been  attacked  by  a  swarm  of  bees,  was  severely  stung  on  the
hand,  head,  face  and  neck,  ho  fewer  than  150  stings  being  afterwards  taken
from  the  neck.  Having  some  ipecacuanha  powder  with  him,  he  immedi-
ately made  it  into  a  paste  and  smeared  the  paste  over  the  affected  parts.
The  effect  of  the  ipecacuanha  was  most  marked,  the  pain  and  swelling
which  invariably  follow  the  bee*s  sting  being  to  a  large  extent  prevented. —
Amer.  Drugg.,  April  10,  1896,  215.
