Cambogia.

Botanical name: 

Cambogia (Garcinia hanburii) is a production of a Siamese tree from Camboja, from whence it derived its name. Chinese travelers over a thousand years ago mentioned it, describing the method of obtaining it by an incision in the stem of the tree, whilst the Chinese herbal "Pun tsao" includes it in its pages, the drug being regarded by the Chinese as poisonous, its use being chiefly as a pigment. Clusius (153) described (1605) a specimen of gamboge brought from China in 1603, after which it drifted into European medicine as a purgative. It was one of the articles of commerce of the East India Company, and was recognized pharmaceutically in the shops of the city of Frankfort as early as 1612. The date of the introduction of gamboge into Chinese art and medicine is beyond the records of established history.


The History of the Vegetable Drugs of the U.S.P., 1911, was written by John Uri Lloyd.