Drugs obtained from Stems and Woods

Drugs obtained from Stems and Woods

Nature gives us too much essential products. Now let you know about some drugs that are obtained from Stems and Woods of some plant.

1. Guaiacum

Guaiacum or gum guaiac is a hard resin that exudes naturally from the stems of the lignum vitae trees (Guaiacum officinale and G. Sanctum), previously discussed. It hardens, as round, glassy, greenish – brown tears. It is also obtained from incisions, from the cut, ends of logs, or from pieces of the wood. 

Gum guaiac is used as a stimulant and laxative. It is also a good chemical indicator as it is very sensitive to oxygen. The lignum vitae trees are evergreens native to the West Indies and South America.

2. Quassia

Quassia is obtained from two different sources. Jamaican quassia comes from Picrasma excelsa, a tall tree of Jamaica and other West, Indian islands, while Surinam quassia is the product of Quassia amara, which grows in tropical America as well as in the West Indies. The latter species is a valuable timber tree with a lustrous, yellowish white, fine- grained wood. Quassia is shipped in the form of billets, and the drug is prepared by making an effusion of chips or shavings. It has a very bitter taste and is used as a tonic and in the treatment of dyspepsia and malaria. It also serves as an insecticide.

Above : Picture of  Picrasma excelsa 

Above : Picture of Quassia amara

3. Ephedrine

It is an alkaloid that is obtained from Ephedra sinica, E. Equisetina, and other Asiatic species of the genus. These plants are low, dioecious, leafless shrubs with slender green stems. The entire woody plant is used for the extraction of the drug. Under the name “ma huang”, ephedra has been used in China for over five thousand years. In the United States ephedrine has been used extensively in recent years in the treatment of colds, asthma, and hay fever and for other medicinal purposes.

Above : Picture of Ephedra sinica

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