The Encyclopedia Americana (1920)/Cimicifuga

CIMICIFUGA, sĭ-mĭ-sĭf′ū-gạ, from the Latin “to drive away,” so named because certain species are used to drive away bugs and other insects. The plant is a genus of the crow-foot family, comprising about 20 species, natives of North America, Asia and Europe. The best known American species, because of their medicinal properties, are the bugbane (Cimicifuga americana) (q.v.) and the black snakeroot or black cohosh (C. raceomsa), supposed to be an antidote for the venom of serpents.

In medicine cimicifuga is used largely by the eclectics as a digestant, cardiac tonic and uterine stimulant. Its active principles have never been thoroughly determined and little is known of its physiological action as determined by exact pharmacological experiment.