FOXGLOVE

Syn. is (B. P.), L. A genus of plants belonging to the natural order Scrophulariacæ . The leaves of the uncultivated ‘ is purpure a ,’ or purple foxglove, are officinal in our pharma copœias. They must be gathered before the terminal flowers have expanded. “The petiole and midrib of the leaf being cut off, dry the lamina.” (Phar. L.) The seeds ( IS SEMINA ), which were ordered, as well as the leaves, in former pharma copœias, are said to be in many points preferable to them. When good, the leaves are of a dull-green colour, and po e a feeble narcotic odour, and a bitter, unpleasant taste. Both the dried leaves and the powder should be preserved in corked bottles covered with dark-coloured paper, or in well-closed tin canisters, and kept in a dark cupboard; and the stock should be renewed yearly, as age considerably diminishes the medicinal activity of is. Action, uses, . Foxglove is diuretic, sedative, and antispasmodic, and exerts a specific action over the cerebro-spinal system, promoting the functions of the absorbents, and reducing the force of the circulation in a remarkable manner. It is administered in fevers and inflammations, to reduce the frequency of the pulse, and to allay exce ive vascular excitement; in dropsy (unle the habit is full and pulse tight and cordy), as a diuretic, either alone, or combined with squills, calomel, salines, or bitters; in internal hæmorrhages, as a sedative, when the pulse is full, hard, and throbbing; in diseases of the heart and great ve els, and in phthisis, to reduce the force and velocity of the circulation; in epilepsy and insanity, to repre vascular excitement; and in spasmodic asthma, scrofula, and several other diseases, with one or other of the above intentions. The greatest caution is required in the use of foxglove, as its effects accumulate in the system, and the unwary practitioner is occasionally surprised at the sudden demise of his patient, even after he has left off the use of this drug.— Dose , 1 ⁄ 2 gr. to 1 1 ⁄ 2 gr., in powder, every 6 hours. See Extract , Infusion , Tincture , .