Urginea. Br. Urginea.
[Indian Squill]
Related entry: Squill
"Urginea consists of the younger bulbs of Urginea indica, Kunth, collected soon after the plants have flowered, divested of their dry, outer, membranous coats, cut into slices, and dried. When powdered should be kept quite dry over quicklime." Br.
Urginea indica is a plant resembling Urginea maritima. It is easily distinguished from the latter in that the bulb when entire is scaly and not tunicated as the European Squill. Urginea indica grows in sandy soil near the sea coast throughout India and also extends to the lower Himalayas. The medicinal properties of the drug are apparently identical with the Squill of the Greeks. The outer coats are quite inert and should be removed as indicated in the definition of the Br. Pharm.
"Curved or sickle-shaped strips, separated or connected, several together, to a portion of the shortened axis; usually one to five centimetres long and five to ten millimetres wide; yellowish-white, fleshy, often longitudinally ribbed; tough when slightly moist, but brittle and pulverisable when dry. No odor; taste bitter and acrid." Br.
The bulbs of Urginea indica are rounded, conical or pear-shaped and about the size of an onion; tunicated, consisting of fleshy coats which enclose each other completely; color whitish; taste bitter and acrid. The bulbs of Scilla indica Baker, which were recognized by the Br. Add. 1900, differ in that they are not tunicated but made up of thick fleshy rubricated scales; otherwise, except that they are somewhat smaller, they resemble those of Urginea indica.
Uses.—The bulbs of Indian squill have long been used in India for purposes similar to that for which the official squill is employed in Europe and America, but no sufficient chemical examinations have been made to prove the identity of the Indian and European drugs.
Dose, one to three grains (0.065-0.2 Gm.).
Off. Prep.—Acetum Urgineae, Br.; Oxymel Urgineae (from Vinegar), Br.; Pilula Ipecacuanhae cum Urginea, Br.; Pilula Urgineae Composita, Br.; Syrupus Urgineae, Br.; Tinctura Urgineae, Br.
