PODOPHYLLUM (U. S. P.)—PODOPHYLLUM. History (domestic use)

Podophyllum has been extensively used in domestic practice, oftentimes to the detriment of the patient. The Cherokee Indians, according to Rafinesque, employed the "fresh juice of the root for deafness, putting a few drops of the juice in the ear." Settlers learned from the Wyandottes, that roasting the root deprived it somewhat of its drastic qualities. The famous "Indian Doctor" Hough recommended the "powdered root as an escharotic to cleanse foul and ill-conditioned ulcers, and to dispose them to heal and to promote the exfoliation or removal of carious or rotten bones." The powder was sprinkled on the parts once, and again, if necessary, in from 2 to 5 days. In domestic veterinary (?) practice, which often amounts to barbarity, the drug was employed to cure poll-evil in horses, the root being plunged into the sore and allowed to remain several days. Both Bigelow and Eberle praised the purgative qualities of this drug.