Page:Indian Medicinal Plants (Text Part 2).djvu/405
N. 0. FUPHORBIACEÆ. 1155
and inflorescence densely clothed with brownish or grey stellate tomentum. Leaves ovate to ovate-triangular, often lobed, 4-12in. Petiole 2-5in. Flowers monoecious, white in large cymose, terminal panicles. Calyx velvety, bursting into 2 valvate lobes. Petals 5, ¼in. long. Male flowers: — Stamens 15-20 on a hairy receptacle. Ovary 2-ceiled, hairy ; styles bifid to the base. Drupe 2-2½in. diam. Seeds large, oily.
Uses : —The oil obtained from the kernels by expression, has been found in doses from one to two ounces to act as a mild and sure purgative, producing in from three to six hours after ingestion free bilious evacuations. It was found to approach nearly to Castor oil in the mildness and certainty of its operation, but superior to it as having neither taste nor smell, and as producing its cathartic action without any nausea. It may be worthy of further attention. (Ph. Ind.)
A French chemist has made the following analyses of the kernels : —
| Water | 5.000 |
| Oil | 62.175 |
| Nitrogenous material | 22.653 |
| Non-Nitrogenous material | 6.827 |
| Ash | 3.345 |
| Total | 100.000 |
Specific gravity of the oil 0.940.
The results obtained at the Imperial Institute by the analysis of oil extracted from the present sample of seeds, and those obtained by investigators who have examined Candle-nut oil previously, are given in the following table :—
| Oil from Aleurites triloba, examines at the Imperial Institute | Oil from Aleurites moluccana, examined by | Oil from Aleurites moluccana, examined by | Oil from Aleurites moluccana, examined by | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lewkowitsch. | De Negre. | Fendler. | ||
| Specific gravity | 0.9274(15°C) | 0.92565(15.5°C) | 0.920(15°) | 0.9254 |
| Acid value | 1.72 | -- | -- | -- |
| Saponification value | 204.2 | 192.62 | 184-187.4 | 194.8 |
| Iodine value | 139.7 | 163.7 | 136-139 | 114.2 |
| Hehner value | 96.4 | 95.5 | -- | -- |
| Wollny -Reichert value | 1.98 | -- | -- | -- |
| Titler test | 17.8°C | -- | 20°-21°C | 1.8 |