Kathbol is a mixture of catechu and myrrh, given to women after confinement as a tonic, and to promote the secretion of milk (DYMOCK).
Catechu is officinal in both Indian and British Pharmacopœias.
The extract known as Catechu or Catch is used medicinally as an astringent in fevers and other maladies. It is peculiarly useful in diarrhœa, with pyrosis, depending upon a relaxed state of the intestinal mucous membrane. Locally, it has also been used with much advantage in sponginess of the gums, relaxation of the uvula, hypertrophy of the tonsil, and as an astringent injection in the treatment of leucorrhœa and a tonic in monorrhagia (Ph. Ind).
This contains Catechin which does not appear to be present in Areca Catechu.
The following formulæ have been assigned to catechin : C15H12O6 , air-dried (Svanberg, Ann. Pharm., 1837, 24, 215). C18H10O8 , at 100° (Zwenger, Ann. Chem. Pharm., 1841, 37, 320). C16H 8O8 +2H2O, air-dried (Hagen, ibid,, 336). C16H18O8+H2O, dried in a vacuum over sulphuric acid (Dellfs, Pharm. Centr., 1846, 604). C17H12O10, air-dried (Neubauer, Ann. Chem. Pharm., 1855, 96, 337). C12H12O5 , at 100° (Kraut and Delden, ibid., 1863, 128, 285). C19H18O8(Hlasiwetz, ibid., 1865, 134, 118). C19H18O8 dried at 90° (Etti, Annalen, 1887, 186, 327). C22H22O9 (Schützenberger and Back, Bull. Soc. Chim., 1865, [ii], 4, 5). C15H14O7, at 100° (Löwe, Zeit. anal. Chem., 1874, 13, 113) C21H20O9 +5H2O, air-dried (Liebermann and Tauchert, Ber., 1880, 13, 964). C18H18O8 , dried over sulphuric acid (Etti, Monatsh., 1880, 2, 547). In regard to percentage of carbon, the formulæ C15H12O6, C18H10O8 , C12H12O5 , C19H18O8 , C22H22O9. and C21H20O9 are in fairly close agreement, but it seems likely that the remainder represent analyses of substances not completely devoid of water of crystallisation.
With the majority of workers, it appears to have been taken for granted that but one catechin exists, but this is not so according to others.
The most important decomposition products have been obtained from catechin by means of dry distillation and by fusion with alkali. By the former method, Wackenroder detected catechol, and A. Miller acetic acid, catechol, and phenol ; whereas by the second Hlasiwetz, and also Etti, isolated phloroglucinol and protocatechuic acid, and Gautier the same products together with formic acid. From his results, Etti considered the following constitution for catechin as probable.
- C6H7(OH)2 . CO. O. C6H3(OH). O. C6H3 (OH)2 .
Nieubaner found that catechin was not a glucoside, and considered that this substance and catechutannic acid were related to one another, similarly as gallic acid is to ordinary gallotannin.
According to recent researches the molecular composition of catechin is represented by C21H20O9.— J. Ch. S. 1902 J. 1160-1162.
