Contains mainly steroidal glycosides (condurangosides A through E = tri- to pentaglycosides of hydroxyderivatives of pregnane, esterified with acetic acid and/or benzoic acid and/or cinnamic acid), plus tannins and essential oil.
Used as a stomachic in loss of appetite to support digestive function, mainly due to the bitter steroid glycosides. It is also used to make condurango wine.
This is the dried bark of stems and branches. The outer surface is gray with visible lenticels (small bumps). The inner side is brownish-gray and fibrous on fracture. Under magnification one can see clusters of sclereids.
Not pharmacopoeial but included in some codices.
In pulverized drug under the microscope we can see:
