Pimenta. - Synonym. - Allspice. The nearly ripe fruit of Pimenta officinalis Lindley (nat. ord. Myrtaceae).

Habitat

Tropical America; cultivated.

Characters

About 5 mm. in diameter, nearly globular, crowned with the short, four-parted calyx or its remnants, and a short style; brownish or brownish gray, granular and glandular, two-celled; each cell containing one brown plano-convex, roundish-reniform seed; odor and taste pungently aromatic, clove-like. Resembling Pimenta. - Pepper, which has no calyx; Cubeb, which is stalked.

Composition

The chief ingredient is Oleum Pimentae (see below), which is chemically almost identical with the volatile oil found in cloves.

Dose, 5 to 30 gr.; .30 to 2.00 gm.

Oleum Pimentae. Oil Of Pimenta. Oil Of Allspice

Synonym. - Oil of Allspice. A volatile oil distilled from Pimenta.

Characters

A colorless or pale yellow liquid, having a strong, aromatic, Clove like odor, and a pungent, spicy taste. It becomes darker and thicker by age and exposure to the air. Sp. gr., 1.045 to 1.055.

Solubility

With an equal volume of Alcohol it forms a clear solution.

Composition

1) Eugenol, 70 per cent. (2) A sesquiterpene.

Oil of Pimenta is used in Spiritus Myrciae.

Dose, 1 to 5 m.; .06 to .30 c.c.

Action And Therapeutics Of Allspice

The action and uses of pimenta and its oil are precisely the same as those of cloves and oil of cloves.