Mangifera indica.
Mangifera indica.
By M. F. LINQUIST, M. D., New Haven, Conn.
My own experience with Mango, the Mangifera Indica as a therapeutic agent has been of so satisfactory a character that I have ventured to introduce it to the notice of medical men. There have been so many new remedies offered within a few years past, with all manner of virtues real and imaginary imputed to them, that it is a delicate matter to take such a step. I have no other interest in the sale of this article, however, than what is incident to the good it will do to patients and the benefit which the physician who prescribes it will derive. I insist upon my proper amount of credit, however, as the first to introduce the drug through Thorp & Lloyd Brothers, of Cincinnati, Ohio. It is also manufactured by Parke, Davis & Co., of Detroit, Michigan.
A very full description is given of Mangifera in the Supplement to the American Dispensatory, by Professors King and Lloyd.
I have used this drug in practice for more than ten years with entire satisfaction. It is an astringent of peculiar energy. The bark contains tannin, but it differs from tannic acid in not producing constipation. It can be administered during active inflammation without danger; and may be employed therefore with advantage in cholera, typhoid fever, cholera infantum, diarrhea and all disorders characterised by evacuations from the bowels.
My first experiment with mango was in a case of uterine inflammation and ulceration of the cervix. I employed the fluid extract at full strength to paint the ulcerated surface, and made a weak solution for injection. I have been able since that time to treat successfully the most obstinate affections of this character. I am certain that in gynecological practice the Mangifera is a valuable agent, lessening catamanial pain, curing leucorrhea, diminishing profuse menstrual discharge and correcting the various disorders involved.
For nasal catarrh I have found a weak solution applied with the spray-atomiser, to be the best remedy that I have used. It is a superior internal remedy for hemorrhages of the uterus, bowels or lungs, and in mucopurulent discharges.
It is perhaps the most serviceable in diphtheria. I do not assert that it will, unaided, cure all cases of this disease; but that I know of no remedial agent in the whole Materia Medica that will as fully meet the requirements.
I apply the fluid-extract in full strength to the fauces with a camel's hair pencil, and use a weak solution as a gargle.
Prof. Howe says: "I have found the Mangifera of marked service in the treatment of profuse and exhaustive menstrual fluxes. In uterine hemorrhages following miscarriages, the agent exerts a powerfully restraining influence upon the hemorrhagic waste. In the sanguineous loss which often occurs about the change of life, and when uterine tumors are developing, the Mangifera is a most potent and reliable medicine ever introduced to the notice of the medical profession. I prescribe the fluid-extract in four or five-drop doses every three or four hours. In a short time the influence of the medicine is observed, and in a few days the desired effect is reached. No remedial agent of so great value has been introduced to the profession, for the purposes named. It is as near a specific for profuse menstruation and uterine hemorrhage as may be desired. I might report ten or twelve cases in which the medicine exerted just such an action as was wished."
Prof. Goss says of it: "I have tried the fluid-extract of Mangifera Indica and find it to be an astringent of superior power. There is a property in it not found in ordinary astringents. I had a case of chronic diarrhea of long standing attended with indigestion, debility and much pain in the umbilicus. I suspected ulceration and gave the patient Hydrastis and bismuth, but with only partial relief. About this time I secured the Mangifera Indica, and put the patient upon it and cured the diarrhea. I have now waited for several weeks and find the effect so far permanent. I am much pleased with it, and predict that it will prove a valuable acquisition to our list of astringents."
Mangifera is also of great value in antiseptic treatment. Whether it is employed internally or externally it exerts a therapeutic influence decidedly antagonistic to putrefaction. It is likewise rapid in its operation and more certain in its effects than very many other medicines.
It has the following advantages in the prescribing: The dose is small and easily swallowed. The drug has no disagreeable taste, and does not disturb the stomach. It is therefore well suited for infants and persons fastidious in such matters. Hoping that my professional brethren will give the remedy a trial and ascertain its value from their own standing-point I have presented it to their notice.
Transactions of the National Eclectic Medical Association, Vol. X, 1882-83, edited by Alexander Wilder.
