This section is from the book "Materia Medica Pharmacy, Pharmacology And Therapeutics", by W. Hale White. Also available from Amazon: Materia Medica Pharmacy, Pharmacology And Therapeutics..
Dulcamara. - Synonyms. - Bittersweet. Woody Nightshade. The young branches of Solanum Dulcamara Linne (nat. ord. So/anaceae).
Europe and Asia; naturalized in North America.
About 5 mm., or less, thick, cylindrical, somewhat angular, longitudinally striate, more or less warty, usually hollow in the centre, cut into short sections. The thin bark is externally pale greenish, or light greenish brown, marked with alternate leaf-scars, and internally green; the greenish or yellowish wood forms one or two concentric rings. Odor slight; taste bitter, afterwards sweet.
1) Solanine, C42H87No15, the active alkaloid. (2) Dul-camarin, C22H34O10, 0.4 per cent. a glucoside, soluble in water and Alcohol, and yielding frothy solutions. (3) Resin. (4) Gum.
Dose, 1 to 2 dr.; 4. to 8. gm.
By maceration and percolation with diluted Alcohol and evaporation: Dose, 1 to 2 fl. dr.; 4. to 8. c.c.
Dulcamara increases the secretions, particularly those of the kidneys and skin, with some diminution of sensibility. In large doses it is an acro-narcotic poison. It has been employed chiefly for cutaneous eruptions, particularly of a scaly character, but is seldom prescribed.
 
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