Page:Indian Medicinal Plants (Text Part 2).djvu/572

seeds, nigella seeds, cardamoms, cinnamon, tejapatra, the tubers of Cyperus rotundus (mustaka) and the flowers of Mesua ferrea (nága kesara) 1 tola each, in fine powder, and prepare a confection. Dose 2 to 4 tolas in dyspepsia and consumption." (U. C. Dutt, Hindu Mat. Med. 248.)

The Shell : — " The cleared shell of the nut or portions of it are burnt in a fire, and, while red hot, covered by a stone cup. The fluid, which is deposited in the interior of the cup, is rubefacient, and is an effectual domestic remedy for ringworm." (U. C. Dutt, p. 248.) The Bombay Gazetteer of the Thana District alludes to this in the following words : " The shell, when burnt, yields an oil which is used as a cure for ringworm." " In the Antilles, the cocoa-nut is the popular remedy for tapeworm, and its efficacy has been conclusively demonstrated by medical men in Senegal. A cocoa-nut is opened and the almond extracted and scraped. Three hours after its administration a dose of castor oil is given. The worm is expelled in two hours afterwards. In nine cases in which this remedy was tried by a surgeon in Senegal, the result was complete.— Natal Mercury" (Trop. Agri., 1882-83.)

In the Thana district, three oils are prepared from the edible portion or kernel of the nut. These are known as khobrel, avel and muthel. A fourth oil is, however, repeatedly alluded to, namely, an oil prepared from the shell of the nut (see above). This last-mentioned oil is perfectly distinct from the oil of the kernel, and is used only in the treatment of ringworm. Its chemical properties have never apparently been determined, nor does it seem to have before this been pointedly made known to European medical authorities as a substance actually prepared and employed by the Indian doctors. It is remarkable that the same properties should be assigned to the shell by the inhabitants of other parts of the world besides India, although they do not apparently distil the oil from it. But of the kernel oils used medicinally, the most conflicting statements have been published both as to their action and mode of preparation. Thus: "A very cheap, hard, white soap is prepared from the oil, suitable for pharmaceutical purposes, such as plaster-making