Hydragogue Cathartics

Cambogia

Gamboge. A gum-resin obtained from the Garcinia Hanburii Hooker filius (Nat. Ord. Guttiferae). (U. S. P.) Gomme-gutte, Fr.; Gummigutt, Ger. Dose, gr. j—grs. v.

The only official preparation is the compound cathartic pill, of which gamboge constitutes about a tenth part.

Composition

Gamboge is a mixture of resin and gum, the latter constituting from fifteen to twenty per cent.

Actions and Uses

Gamboge has no taste at first, but, when chewed, an acrid sensation is developed in the mouth. It is irritant to the gastro-intestinal canal, increases secretion of the glands, excites vomiting and intestinal pain, and purges violently, producing copious watery stools. The experiments of Rutherford and Vignal show that gamboge is not an hepatic stimulant, but does cause hydrocatharsis. Violent gastro-enteritis is set up by large doses, yet but few fatal cases have been reported. As vomiting soon follows the ingestion of a large dose, this fact may explain the rarity of a fatal result due to its administration.

Gamboge is rarely prescribed alone as a cathartic, owing to the violence and harshness of its operation. Combination with other cathartics, as in the compound cathartic pill, greatly modifies its action. As it is a powerful hydragogue cathartic, it is given with advantage in dropsy, when hydrocatharsis is indicated. It is best administered in small doses, at short intervals, rubbed up with sugar or made into a pill with soap. Besides its purgative properties, gamboge is decidedly diuretic. In order to obtain its diuretic effects it must be given in small doses, at short intervals, and vomiting must be avoided. Administered in solution with an alkaline diuretic, its efficiency is much increased. Gamboge has also been used as an anthelmintic, but it has no powers in this respect not possessed by other drastic purgatives.