Page 265 - Pharmacognosy 2 PG303

Pharmacognosy-2 (PG303) Level 2 Clinical Pharmacy-Pharm D

RHIZOMA VERATRUM

White hellebore rhizome, Rhizomz veratri albi.

It is the rhizome of Veratrum album Linn., family Liliaceae. It is an
herbaceous plant with an erect perennial rhizome, common in the mountains of
central and southern Europe. It produces large ovate, ribbed leaves and a flowering
stem that attains a height of a meter or more.

Macroscopical Characters
The drug has a bitter, acrid taste, but a little odor. The powder is strongly

sternutatory. White hellebore rhizome, when freed from the roots, averages about 5
cm long, 2 cm thick, and is of a dull black color externally. The upper part is
cylindrical, but the lower extremity, where the rhizome gradually diminishes as the
growth progresses, is usually bluntly conical or truncated. It is crowned with a dense
leafy mass consisting of the thin dry remains of numerous concentrically arranged
leaf-bases which have been cut off level close to the rhizome; the outer of these are
coarsely fibrous, the parenchymatous tissue having perished, leaving the veins
persistent. The surface of the rhizome is rough and wrinkled. In the center of each

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