Pulvis Ipecacuanha

Pulvis Ipecacuanha

Latin Name: Pulvis Ipecacuanha

Common Name: Powder of the root of ipecacuanha

Classification: Emetic, diaphoretic, and expectorant

Isolated Drug/s: Emetine

Medicinal Usage: Mild. Ipecacuanha is used as a safe and dependable emetic, and in smaller doses as a diaphoretic or expectorant. In these small doses it produces depression of the pulse, and is thus also used in pulmonary and inflammatory disorders.

It is good for the treatment of dysentery and most fevers, and also for opium poisoning. Well adjusted for the remedy of spasmodic croup in children or other bronchial disorders, and to all cases where a simple evacuation of the stomach is desired. It can be given in a variety of dosage forms, depending on the intended effect or recipient. For example, as an emetic with tartar emetic, as a syrup, as a powder, or a tonic. ⇐  Back to the Apothecary Jars Gallery

Specimen: Cephaëlis Ipecacuanha A. Image courtesy of the Harvard Economic Botany Museum, Ames Collection.