66. Allium, N.F.—Garlic.

Botanical name: 

Fig. 34. Allium. 66. ALLIUM, N.F.—GARLIC. The bulb of Al'lium sati'vum Linné. Official in U.S.P. 1890. A compound, subglobular bulb, flattened at the base, pointed at the apex, where several inches of the stem remains; it consists of five or six (in commercial garlic about eight) small, oblong, somewhat curved bulbs or "cloves" arranged around the central axis, each with a distinct coat, and internally whitish, moist, and fleshy; the whole bulb is inclosed by a dry, white, membranous coat, consisting of several delicate laminae; odor pungent and disagreeable (alliaceous); taste warm, acrid. Used in the fresh state. Commercial garlic is a hybrid between A. sativum and A. porrum Linné (umm. No, it isn't. -Henriette). Constituents: Mucilage 35 per cent., albumen, fibrous matter, and moisture. The peculiar odor and taste are due to volatile oil, composed of the sulphide and oxide of allyl. Stimulant and expectorant, also diaphoretic and diuretic. Dose: 30 to 60 gr. (2 to 4 Gm.).

Syrupus Allii (20 per cent., with the addition of dilute acetic acid) (U.S.P. 1890). Dose: 1 to 2 fl. dr. (4 to 8 mils).


A Manual of Organic Materia Medica and Pharmacognosy, 1917, was written by Lucius E. Sayre, B.S. Ph. M.