Euphorbia Hypericifolia.
Related entries: Euphorbia corollata - Euphorbia ipecacuanha - Euphorbia pilulifera
The entire plant Euphorbia (Chamaesyce) hypericifolia, Linné (Nat. Ord. Euphorbiaceae). A common weed in rich soils of gardens and waste places throughout the United States.
Common Names: Large Spotted Spurge, Garden Spurge.
Principal Constituents.—Tannin, gallic acid, and a caoutchouc-like body.
Preparation.—Specific Medicine Spotted Spurge. Dose, 1 to 10 drops.
Specific Indications.—Gastro-intestinal irritation with greenish and irritant passages.
Action and Therapy.—True, testing this plant upon himself, found the infusion to produce a full frontal headache, similar to but less severe than that caused by macrotys, with an unpleasant fullness with oppression at the epigastrium, and a sense of languor and drowsiness. Intense constipation followed. He concluded that it is a cerebral stimulant, and secondarily a sedative to the brain and sympathetic nervous system.
The drug is valuable in gastro-intestinal irritation with watery and mucoid discharges, having been used most successfully in cholera infantum, cholera morbus, muco-enteritis and dysentery, after the acute inflammation has subsided. For the first-named child's disorder it is one of the most certain of sedative-astringents.
