The New International Encyclopædia/Cascarilla

CAS′CARIL′LA (Sp., little bark, dim. of cascara, bark, husk, from cascar, to fall, from Lat. cassare, quassare, to shake, from quatire, to shake; associated by popular etymology with Lat. cadere, to fall). A name given in South America to many different kinds of bitter medicinal barks which form articles of commerce. Peruvian bark itself bears no other name in the districts which produce it. The name cascarilla is often used in medicine to denote the bark of Croton eleuteria. This plant is a small shrub found on the low hills of the Bahama Islands. The bark contains an essential oil, cascarillin, and a resin, and is a tonic, invigorating digestion, and pomoting the functions of the stomach. In large doses it is very nauseating.

In medicine, cascarilla is used in the form of an infusion or a tincture, in cases of fermentative dyspepsia, chronic bronchitis, and certain fevers. It is one of the aromatic bitters, and stimulates the appetite and the digestive powers, increases the flow of the digestive juices, and is a mild astringent.