Where are our original studies of this important remedy ? In the Materia Medica of American Provings and Hale's New Remedies . What is Podophyllum ? It is the May apple or Mandrake ; its alkaloid is Podophyllin . What part do we use, when gathered and how is the tincture prepared ? The fresh root gathered after the fruiting season is treated in the same way as described under Gelsemium . The tincture is brownish orange color, has a bitter acrid taste. Give its general action. It chiefly affects the intestinal canal, especially the small intestine, producing a kind of gastro-enteritis ; it also produces an irritable condition of the rectum and anus, with piles and prolapsed rectal mucous membrane. Give the characteristics of Podophyllum in diarrhoea. A painless morning diarrhoea of watery, yellow stools, which are profuse and pour out like water from a hydrant, preceded by retching and vomiting, followed by a sensation of great weakness in the abdomen, and especially in the rectum ; the stools are worse after eating and drinking, and there is apt to be a natural stool later in the day. The essentials are :