Copaiba. The oleo-resin of Copaiba Langsdorfii Des-fontaines, and of other species of Gopaifera (Nat. Ord. Leguminosae, Papilionaceae). Baume de copahu, Fr.; Copaiva-Balsam, Ger. Dose, τη x— 3 j.

Massa Copaibae

Mass of copaiba. (Copaiba, 94 grm.; magnesia, 6 grm.)

Oleum Copaibae

Oil of copaiba. A volatile oil distilled from copaiba. Dose, τη v— 3 ss.

Resina Copaibae

Resin of copaiba. The residue left after distilling off the volatile oil from copaiba. Dose, gr. j—gr. v.

Composition

Balsam of copaiba differs from the true balsams in not containing cinnamic acid. It is an oleo-resin, the volatile oil constituting from forty to sixty per cent. The oil of copaiba is isomeric with the oil of turpentine, but it differs in some of its physical properties from the latter. The resin has an acid reaction, and has been entitled copaivic acid.

Actions and Uses

Copaiba has a nauseous, bitter, and very disagreeable taste. When taken into the stomach it causes some heat, and offensive eructations, tasting of the balsam, occur. Indigestion, heaviness at the epigastrium, anorexia, are frequently produced by it, and diarrhoea is an occasional result of its use. It is, therefore, a gastro-intestinal irritant. Both the oil and the resin diffuse into the blood. The various excretions, the sweat, the bronchial mucus, the urine, acquire a peculiar and rather a fragrant odor from its presence. This odor is especially observable in the urine, and in this secretion the resin may be discovered also by the addition of nitric acid, which causes a precipitate. At the points of elimination more or less irritation is produced, and, as a result of the irritation, increased secretion; hence copaiba is said to be diaphoretic, diuretic, and expectorant. Very serious injury may be done to the gastro-intestinal canal, and to the kidneys, by the use of this agent in large doses. The author has known gastrointestinal catarrh to persist many months after a course of copaiba, and he has reason to believe that desquamative nephritis and fibroid kidney have resulted from its free administration for a lengthened period. While small doses of balsam will increase the gross amount of urine and of the solid contents, large doses will actually cause a diminution in the amount both of water and solids by setting up renal irritation. Although, during a course of balsam, nitric acid causes a precipitation of the resin, which is dissolved on the addition of alcohol, the author has, in several instances at least, detected albumen in the urine of those taking this remedy.

Copaiba is contraindicated when a condition of gastro-intestinal ir-ritation and hyperaemia of the kidneys exist.

Gonorrhoea is the disease to which copaiba is most especially adapted. Its administration should not be begun, however, until after the acuter symptoms have subsided. As the action of the remedy is local or direct, acute symptoms are rather aggravated by it. Combination with liquor potassae promotes its curative action by diminishing the acidity, and hence the irritation produced by the urine. Combination with agents acting synergistically, as oils of cubebs and sandalwood, is also desirable. The following formulae exemplify these therapeutical facts: Rx Copaibae, pulv. cubebae, āā oz ij; aluminis, oz j; opii, gr. v. M. Sig.: One to two drachms, night and morning. Rx O1. copaibae, ol. cubebae, ol. santal. flav., āā, 3 j; magnesias, 3 ij. M. Ft. pil. no. lx. Sig.: Two pills every four hours.

In chronic catarrh of the bladder, copaiba is useful by virtue of the local action which it has upon the mucous membrane. Its nauseous taste and the gastric and renal irritation produced by it are serious objections to its use in a malady which requires the persistent and long-continued application of remedies in order to even moderate its symptoms.

For acute bronchitis after the subsidence of the fever, for chronic bronchitis with profuse secretion, for bronchorrhoea (dilated bronchi) copaiba is the most generally serviceable expectorant. Unfortunately, it is so disagreeable that it is difficult to overcome the repugnance of patients. Even when administered in capsules, or in pill-form with magnesia, the nauseous eructations excite disgust. Rx Copaibae, balsam, tolutan., pulv. acaciae, āā, § ss; acid, sulphur, aromat., 3 ss; aquae destil., oz vj. M. Sig.: A table-spoonful, two or three times a day, in chronic bronchial affections, whooping-cough, etc. Rx Copaibae; syrp. tolutan., āā oz ss; aquae menthae pip., oz ij; spirit, etheris nitrosi, oz j. M. Sig. : A tea-spoonful every four hours.

Excellent results have been obtained from the use of copaiba in dropsy, especially in ascites. In these cases it acts powerfully on the kidneys. Wilks holds that copaiba-resin is a more efficient diuretic than the balsam. Rx Res. copaibae, 3 iij; alcohol., 3 v; spirit, chloroformi, 3 j; mucil. acaciae, oz ij; aquae ad oz xij. M. Sig.: A table-spoonful ter in die. It is conveniently given in pill-form also.

In some subjects possessed of an irritable skin, copaiba produces an eruption of urticaria, or roseola, or erythema. This is not in consequence of a selective action on the skin, but is the result merely of the gastro-intestinal disturbance. Influenced, probably, by this fact that an eruption may be caused by copaiba, this agent has been proposed as a remedy in certain cutaneous diseases—in those characterized by torpor of the peripheral circulation.

Authorities referred to:

Bernatzik, Prof. Dr. W. Prag. Vjhrschr., c, p. 239. Schmidt's Jahrbücher, voL cxli, p. 278.

Fluckiger and Hanbury. Pharmacographia, p. 200, et seq.

Gubler, Dr. A. Commentaires Therapeutiques, p. 86, et seq.

Husemann, Dr. Theodor. Handbuch, p. 1195, et seq.

Kohler, Dr. Hermann. Handbuch, erste Halfte, p. 370, et seq.

Trousseau et Pidoux. Traité de Thérap. et de Mat. Méd., vol. ii.

Weikart, Dr. H. Archiv der Heilk., i, ii, p. 176, 1860. Schmidt's Jahrbucher, vol. cvi, p. 162.

Wilks, Dr. S. The Lancet, 1873, vol. i, p. 410.