The available information concerning the drugs and medicinal plants of India is scattered through a number of books and periodicals in various languages, as well as official documents, which have only had a very limited circulation. The authors of the work now presented to the public have endeavoured to collect and verify this information, and supplement is where deficient by original investigation especially directed towards the elucidation of the chemical composition and physiological action of the plants and drugs. Plants of historical and mythological interest which have long been used in Indian medicine from superstitious reasons, though possessing little or no medicinal activity, have not been omitted, as the history of Indian medicaments would be incomplete without them. In compiling this portion of the work much interesting information has derived from De Gubernatis’ interesting work on Plant Mythology. In 1883 one of us published a similar work treating of the medicinal plants of Western India and the drugs sold in Bombay, the great drug market of the East. Owing to the rapid increase in the study of organic chemistry during the last few years, much would now have to be added to that work to bring it up to date. Under these circumstances it has been thought advisable to give a greater scope to the work, so as to include the Materia medica of the whole of India. Whilst making these changes several other improvements have been introduced. To render the work more interesting to the Medical Professional the empirical estimation of the drugs has been compared with the information obtained by modern pharmacological research, and in connection with the principal vegetable poisons toxicological statistics have been introduced. It only remains for the authors to thank their numerous friends, quoted in the text, who have so kindly rendered willing assistance.
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