hydrastine
(haɪˈdræstaɪn)
[f. mod.L. Hydrast-is (see def.) + -ine.]
a. An alkaloid obtained from the root of Hydrastis Canadensis, a North American ranunculaceous plant. b. A medicine used by eclectic physicians, consisting of this alkaloid mixed with berberine and resin.
| 1876 Harley Mat. Med. (ed. 6) 781 It contains..an active principle called hydrastin. 1876 Bartholow Mat. Med. (1879) 142 Hydrastine, the alkaloid, should not be confounded with the eclectic preparation, hydrastin, which is composed chiefly of berberine. |