title: Pharmacognosy of swietenia mahagoni bark drug.
abstract: Swietenia mahagoni Jacq. (native to tropical America), a common avenue tree of India, yields a bark drug, used as antipyretic, bitter tonic, astringent, and occasionally as a substitute for Cinchona. The district characteristics of the species are : blackish brown colour; cracks and fissures with both clean cut and thick recurved edges; irregular wrinkles; splintery and fibrous fractures; bitter taste; compound sieve plates; mostly biseriate rays; abundant rhomboidal crystals; presence of tannin, saponin, lignin and absence of alkaloids.
authors.affiliation: Botanical Lab of Pharmaco - anatomy, University College of Science, Calcutta - 700 019, India.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sanyal
authors.forename: P C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Datta