Volume 1 — NEW YORK JOURNAL OF PHARMACY. AUGUST, 1852.
Reading edition
AMOUNT OF LOSS IN POWDERING VARIOUS DRUGS.
The following results are from the mill returns of a drug house in this city. They show the actual loss incurred in powdering these different articles, and are, so far, of service by indicating the practical loss arising from the process.
As the per centage of loss varies very much with the quantity subjected to the process, ceteris paribus, the quantities of each parcel are also given.
Quan- tity lbs. Per- cen- tage of loss Quan- tity lbs. Per- cen- tage of loss Quan- tity lbs. Per- cen- tage of loss Quan- tity lbs. Per- cen- tage of loss
SALTS, CRYSTALINE SUBSTANCES, &c.
Acid. Tartaric. 556 1.08 1426 1.61 723 1.38 256 4.95
554 1.44
Cobalt (Arsenic), 122 1.63
Aluminæ & Potassæ Sulph. 74 5.40 49 6.12
Ammoniæ Muriat. 202 8.41
Potassæ Nitrat. 500 3.98 190 2.36 500 1.80 90 3.06
300 8.17
——— Sulphat. 63 1.59 98 3.06
——— Bitartrat. 1166 .43 2121 .47 1007 .49 1115 .44
1115 .41 1160 .52 1116 .44 2650 .37
1068 .47 1163 .43 1155 .43
Sodæ Biborat. 110 20.91 50 10.00
Soap, Olive Oil, white, 62 33.33
VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES, BARKS.
Canella Alba, 67 4.48 50 4.04
Cassia, 30 5.00 74 5.40
Cinchona Maracaibo, 165 3.94 174 4.25 921 4.56
Cinchona Flava, (Calisaya) 30 5.00 47 4.25 40 5.00
——— Rubra, 44 4.54 160 4.05 59 5.08 96 4.66
Mezerion, 32 7.81
Myrica Cerifera, 85 3.53 92 4.34
Prinos verticill. 24 4.16
Prunus Virginian. 50 4.00
BERRIES.
Capsicum, 166 3.67 95 3.15 64 4.69 80 3.75
Cubeba, 68 4.32 50 4.00 79 3.77 54 3.70
92 3.26
GUMS AND RESINS.
Aloes Soct, 220 7.27 320 5.23
Acacia, 225 4.00 217 3.64 121 4.13 75 4.69
64 3.12 93 3.76 64 3.12
Catechu, 70 4.28 71 4.89
Euphorbium, 52 3.84
Gambogia, 31 4.84 38 3.89
Kino, 50 4.00 44 3.41 44 3.40
Mastiche, 15 8.47
Myrrha, 117 4.27 35 5.71 5.69
Opium, 70 7.14 75 6.66 100 5.00
50 6.00 61 8.94 25 6.00 95 8.42
81 4.93 63 6.72 100 7.25 75 6.00
131 6.46 62 6.78 27 8.25 155 5.63
Sanguis Draconis, 10 5.00
Scammonium Lachrym, 29 6.89 9 8.33 14 3.57
45 4.44 35 2.86
Tragacantha, 30 5.00 35 4.28
HERBS.
Aconite, 38 5.26
Cicuta, 35 5.71
Digitalis, 47 4.25 32 4.34 28 3.57
Lobelia, 28 4.38 34 4.61
Hyoscyamus, 40 8.75
FLOWERS.
Arnica, 17 5.88
Caryophyllus, 28 5.36 55 2.72 50 4.00
Humulus, 268 4.10 195 5.12 222 3.80 252 3.57
218 4.11 193 4.14
FRUIT.
Colocynth.[19] 26 65.38 55 69.09
LEAVES.
Buchu, 104 .96
Senna Alex. 41 3.61 26 5.66
Senna Indic. 50 3.96
Uva Ursi, 42 4.70 50 4.00
ROOTS.
Calamus, 27 7.41
Cimicifuga Racemosa, 69 4.34
Colomba, 194 4.13 95 2.52 79 3.79 94 4.25
Cucuma, ground, 650 3.08
Gentiana, ground, 227 2.20 280 2.50 149 2.68
——— powdered, 72 4.17 71 4.22
Glyyrrh. 156 3.84 145 4.13 70 4.11 313 4.15
Helleborus, 58 4.31
Hydrastis canad. 37 5.40 50 5.00
Ictodes Fœtidus, 25 4.00
Inula, 50 4.00
Ipecac. 99 4.44 80 3.75 109 4.13 73 4.76
96 4.17 321 3.42
Iris Flor. 232 3.02 138 3.62
Jalap, 141 4.52 331 3.76 193 4.39 201 4.23
271 3.13
Rheum Indic. 96 4.16 78 3.84 75 4.00 40 3.75
96 4.14 87 3.44 98 3.57 314 4.46
——— Russicum, 28 3.57 63 4.76 30 4.17
Sanguinaria, 50 3.96
Salep, 67 6.66 25 4.00
Scilla, 27 11.11 81 6.17 55 8.18 40 13.12
30 16.66
Senega, 59 5.08
Serpentara, 45 4.44
Spigelia Marilan. 52 4.76
Valeriana, 47 4.24
Zingib. Jam. 114 4.37 58 5.17 115 4.00
SEEDS.
Anisum, 58 4.27 102 2.94
Cardamomum,[20] 50 26.00 61 4.92
Colchicum, 61 4.09 37 4.00
Coriandrum, 99 2.02
Linum, ground, 533 .93 .81
Lobelia, 67 7.46
Nux Vomica, 100 3.00 52 3.84 66 4.54
SUNDRIES.
Cantharis, 68 4.41 68 4.41 65 3.82 112 3.57
39 3.79 41 4.88 53 6.00 42 3.57
Ext. Colocynth. Comp. 33 4.57
Ext. Glyyrrh. 50 4.08 200 3.50
Ext. Jalap, 20 4.86
Galla, 70 4.21 73 4.11 28 5.26 56 3.54
Secale Cornut. 31 4.79 29 5.08 30 3.33
From the above results the following table, showing the average loss on each article, has been calculated:― {228}
Average per centage of Loss.
SALTS, CRYSTALINE SUBSTANCES, &c.
Acid, Tartaric 1.50
Cobalt (Arsenic) 1.63
Aluminæ et Potassæ, sulphat. (calcined) 5.76
Ammoniæ Muriat. 8.41
Potassæ Nitrat. 2.80
——— Sulphat. 2.37
——— Bi-tartrat. .45
Sodæ Bi-Borat. 15.45
Soap, Olive Oil, white 33.33
VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES. BARKS.
Cannella Alba 4.26
Cassia 5.20
Cinchona Maracaibo 4.25
——— Flava (Calisaya) 4.75
——— Rubra 4.58
Mezerion 7.81
Myrica Cerifera 3.98
Prinos Verticill. 4.16
Prunus Virginian. 4.00
BERRIES.
Capsicum 3.81
Cubeba 3.81
GUMS AND RESINS.
Aloes Soct. 6.25
Acacia 3.78
Catechu 4.58
Euphorbium 3.84
Gambogia 4.36
Kino 3.60
Mastiche 8.47
Myrrha 3.15
Opium 6.61
Sanguis Draconis 5.00
Scammonium Lachrym 5.22
Tragacantha 4.64
Spegelia Mariland. 4.76
HERBS.
Aconite 5.26
Cicuta 5.71
Digitalis 4.04
Lobelia 4.49
Hyosciamus 8.75
FLOWERS.
Arnica 5.88
Caryoph. 4.03
Humulus 4.14
FRUIT.
Colocynth. 67.23
LEAVES.
Buchu .96
Senna Alex. 4.63
——— Ind. 3.96
Uva Ursi 4.35
ROOTS.
Calamus 7.41
Cimicituga Racemosa 4.34
Colomba 3.47
Curcuma ground, 3.08
Gentian. ground, 2.46
——— powdered 2.20
Glyyrrh. 4.06
Helleborus 4.31
Hydrastis Canad. 5.20
Iclodes Fœtidus 4.00
Inula 4.00
Ipecacuanha 4.10
Iris Flor. 3.34
Jalap 4.00
Rheum Indicum 3.91
——— Russic. 4.17
Sanguinaria 3.96
Salep 3.84
Scilla 9.43
Senega 5.08
Serpentaria 4.44
Lobelia 7.46
Valerian. 4.24
Zingib. Jam. 4.51
SEEDS.
Anisum 3.60
Cardamom. 4.92
Colchicum 4.05
Coriandrum 2.02
Linum (ground,) .87
Nux Vomica 3.79
SUNDRIES.
Cantharis. 4.31
Ext. Coloc. comp. 4.54
Ext. Glyyrrh. 6.25
Ext. Jalap 4.87
Galla 4.34
Secale Cornutum 4.39
ON THE PREPARATIONS OF IRON USED IN MEDICINE. BY HENRY WURTZ.
The preparations of iron being among the most important articles of the Pharmacopœia, it is surprising that so little attention is paid by many druggists and pharmaceutists to the preparation and preservation of these articles in a pure state. The greater part of the preparations of iron to be found in the shops are far from having the chemical composition indicated by their labels, and in fact, few of the formulas given in any of the Pharmacopœias for preparations of iron, are capable of giving even tolerably pure products.
If there is any difference in a therapeutical point of view, between compounds of the protoxide and compounds of the peroxide of iron, and if any value is to be attached to definite composition in medicines, enabling physicians to administer known quantities to their patients, this state of affairs should not exist. Persons who handle the compounds of protoxide of iron, should be aware of the fact that few substances are more speedily and completely destroyed than these by the action of {230} moist air; thus, one hundred parts of the carbonate of iron, require less than seven parts of oxygen for complete conversion into sesquioxide of iron, and one hundred parts of pure copperas require less than three parts of the same element to effect a like change in all the protoxide of iron which it contains.
As these protoxide of iron compounds, however, oxydate themselves only in the presence of water, the mode of preservation which I would propose, is very simple: It is only necessary to dry them perfectly and to introduce into the vessels in which they are to be preserved, a few small lumps of quicklime, which will keep the air in the interior of the vessel continually dry. To prevent any contamination of the preparation by direct contact with the lime, the latter must be securely folded in one or two thicknesses of filtering paper.
The iodide of iron and the carbonate, phosphate, arseniate, lactate and citrate of protoxide of iron may be preserved in this way, also the anhydrous sulphate (Ferri Sulphas Siccatum), but it is evident that crystallized copperas would not retain a definite composition under these circumstances, because it would soon lose its crystal water. To preserve crystallized copperas, it is best to pulverize the crystals rather finely and dry the powder by repeatedly pressing strongly between folds of filtering paper, before putting up. Some have attempted to preserve the crystals under the surface of strong alcohol, but having tried this plan I must report unfavorably, for although the copperas remained for a while intact, yet, on examination after a considerable lapse of time, a large proportion of sesquioxide of iron was found. In fact, this result was to be anticipated in consideration of the well-known fact that strong alcohol has itself an attraction for oxygen, and always absorbs a certain amount of it when exposed to the air, serving thus merely as a medium for transmitting oxygen to any copperas which may be immersed in it.
I think it may be confidently stated that none of the protoxide compounds of iron should be kept in solution, either in water or alcohol, for medical purposes, unless in vessels {231} hermetically closed. Some say, notwithstanding, that iodide of iron in solution may be preserved by keeping in it a piece of metallic iron, a deposite being formed, however, in the liquid which is supposed to be nothing more than sesquioxide of iron, but in which I strongly suspect the presence of a subiodide of iron, and consequent abstraction of iodine from the solution. Of course, however, this question can only be settled by a chemical examination of the deposit alluded to.
The sulphate of iron is the starting point in preparing all the compounds of iron which are used in medicine, and it is important therefore, to know how to separate easily the impurities which are contingent to this extremely cheap article of commerce. The impurities which commercial copperas most frequently contains are more or less sulphate of sesquioxide, together with a little sesquichloride of iron, and more rarely, traces of the sulphate of copperas, manganese, alumina and lime. A small addition of oxide of silver to the solution will precipitate all chlorine present, and subsequent digestion for a few minutes with carbonate of baryta will remove every trace of sulphate of sesquioxide of iron, and of alumina. Copper may, of course, be removed by immersion of metallic iron. Traces of lime may be separated by recrystallization, but if traces of manganese are present, as is sometimes the case, I, know no way by which it can be separated. I am not aware, however, that the presence of such a trace of manganese in a preparation of iron would impair its therapeutical value. Another method of getting rid of the sulphate of sesquioxide is to acidulate the solution with sulphuric acid and, agitate with some pulverized protosulphide of iron, which will reduce the sesquioxide to protoxide.
When a solution of pure sulphate of protoxide of iron, free from sesquioxide, merely is required for preparing the carbonate or other insoluble protocompound, the method with carbonate of baryta is to be preferred, and in some rare cases when the presence of sulphate of lime in the solution of copperas obtained is of no importance, carbonate of lime may be {232} substituted for carbonate of baryta, and will accomplish the same object.
When a solution of pure protosulphate of iron thus obtained is used for the preparation of carbonate of iron, care must be taken to use for precipitating, a solution of carbonate of soda which is free from silica, phosphoric acid, etc., which if present would surely go down with the precipitate. The precipitated carbonate should be washed with water which has been freed from air by previous boiling and better with water which is still boiling hot, dried as quickly as possible, first by pressure between folds of paper and then in a water bath, and preserved in well closed vessels containing lumps of quicklime as recommended above.
The formulas given in the Pharmacopœias for the preparation of the sesquioxide of iron, which besides being employed as a remedy itself, is used in preparing all the other sesquicompounds of iron used in Pharmacy, appear to be open to great objection on the ground of affording, instead of a pure sesquioxide of iron, an indefinite mixture of sesquioxide with carbonate of the protoxide. No necessity whatever exists for this; the following modus operandi, besides being much less troublesome in its execution than those given by the Pharmacopœias, will furnish a product of constant composition, being an anhydrous sesquioxide of iron free from protoxide, and either chemically pure or very nearly so. The materials required are, five parts of commercial copperas which has been recrystallized once or twice, six parts of crystallized pure carbonate of soda, (Na O, C O2 + 10 HO) or two parts of dry carbonate of soda, and one part of nitrate of soda. (Chili saltpetre). The carbonate and nitrate of soda are dissolved together in one portion of hot water and the copperas in another portion, and the two solutions, after filtrating mixed together, evaporated to dryness and the dry mass exposed to the lowest possible red heat for a few minutes. On pouring water upon the mass thus obtained, sulphate of soda and nitrate of soda dissolve and sesquioxide of iron separates as a heavy powder very easily washed {233} by decantation. When thoroughly washed and dried it appears as a dark reddish brown perfectly impalpable powder, which is perfectly and easily soluble in dilute acids, and even in acetic acid and the composition of which is Fe2 O3.
One great advantage of this process, is an avoidance of the immense tedium of washing the precipitates obtained in the ordinary processes.
I have but one more suggestion to make with regard to preparations of iron, and that is in the preparation of Ferri Pulvis or powder of iron by reduction of the sesquioxide—to propose the substitution of common coal gas as a reducing agent for the hydrogen gas directed by all the formulas, the former being obviously so vastly more convenient and far less expensive.
NOTE ON THE PREPARATION OF BESTUCHEFF’S TINCTURE. BY FR. MAŸER.
Pure sesqui-chloride and poto-chloride of iron are unknown to the Pharmacopœia of the United States, a fact which seems strange to a German pharmaceutist, since they are met with in every German dispensatory, and require great care for their proper preparation.
The American Pharmacopœia indeed recognizes a tincture of chloride of iron, prepared by dissolving the sub-carbonate (sesqui oxide) of iron in hydrochloric acid, and adding alcohol. This tincture would be rejected throughout Germany, since they endeavor there to obtain the preparations of perchloride of iron free from any traces of sesqui-chloride, while those of the sesqui-chloride should contain no admixture of the proto salt. This shows the practical character of the American {234} Pharmacopœia, which does not demand of the apothecary a purity of preparation which it is next to impossible to meet.
While making this acknowledgment, a good formula for the preparation of sesqui-chloride of iron still remains desirable.—This drug too, is sometimes used in American practice, as may be seen from the “Notes on Pharmacy,” by Mr. Benjamin Canavan, in the May number of the New York Journal of Pharmacy. Mr. Canavan has given one of the oldest formulæ from the Austrian Pharmacopœia of 1820, as found in the Pharmacopie Universelle by Jourdan. This formula directs us to dissolve the iron in a kind of aqua regia, and then to evaporate the superfluous acid by means of a sand bath. The sesqui-chloride thus obtained is employed in the preparation of “Bestucheff’s tincture,” by dissolving one ounce of it in an ounce of water, adding twelve ounces of ether and agitating, then decanting the ethereal solution, and finally mixing it with four times its bulk of alcohol.
Having had frequent occasion to prepare this tincture as well in Germany as in this city, it may not be unsuitable if I give here the formula for its preparation, which seems to me the most convenient, as well as my reasons for thinking so.
The sesqui-chloride of iron may be obtained in a pure and neutral state, by passing a current of chlorine gas through a solution of proto-chloride of iron, until a solution of the red ferrocyanide of potassium of Gmelin no longer produces a blue precipitate, and then evaporating the solution by means of a water bath. In this manner the salt can readily be obtained in a crystalline form. One ounce of the crystals thus obtained is to be dissolved in twelve ounces of ether, if we retain the alleged proportions, mixed with four times its bulk of alcohol, and finally bleached by exposing it to the direct light of the sun.
The Prussian Pharmacopœia of 1846 gives the following proportions:—One drachm of the sesqui-chloride of iron, or two drachms of the aqueous solution, one fluid ounce of ether, and three fluid ounces of alcohol. {235}
Here we have to notice,—1st, That it is preferable to take ether and alcohol by weight rather than by measure, since their volume is very much influenced by the temperature, which may range from 32° to 60° or 80.°
2nd, That the sesqui-chloride, prepared with nitro-nuriatic acid, is not so easy to obtain in crystals, in consequence of the adhering nitro-nuriatic acid, which is always retained in small quantities. On the other hand, by drying the salt you will, in almost every case, spoil a quantity of it by driving off too much of the acid.
3rd, That the sesqui-chloride of iron, if in crystals, is easily and wholly soluble in ether, while the aqueous solution of it is but partially so, a portion being decomposed, as is evidenced by the solution becoming muddy. The ethereal solution, if prepared in the last mentioned manner, must be of uncertain strength, which is avoided by the first.
In Europe Bestucheff’s tincture is much used by physicians. It sometimes agrees better in the bleached state, sometimes when colored. When first prepared the tincture has a yellow hue, which it loses by exposure to the light of the sun. If, after it has thus been bleached, it is placed in a dark closet, it again becomes yellowish, though the color is not so deep as at first.
ON SOCOTRINE ALOE JUICE, OR LIQUID SOCOTRINE ALOES. BY JONATHAN PEREIRA, M. D., F. R. S., (Physician to the London Hospital.)
It has long been known that the Socotrine aloes imported into England varies considerably in its consistency, and is sometimes met with in a soft or semi-fluid state. Frequently, on opening a package of this sort of aloes, the interior is found to {236} be quite soft, while the exterior is firm and hard. In general this arises from insufficient evaporation of the aloe juice.
In the third edition of my Elements of Materia Medica, (vol. ii., part 1, p. 1077, published in 1850,) I have briefly referred to a soft or semi-liquid Socotrine aloes, which had a bright or palm-oil yellow color and odor. At that time I had but little opportunity of investigating this very interesting drug; but a large importation of it having recently taken place, I have more fully examined it, and, as it appears to me to be the raw or unboiled juice of the plant yielding what is known in commerce as Socotrine aloes, I propose to distinguish it from the ordinary soft Socotrine aloes by the name of “Socotrine Aloe Juice.”
Messrs. Horner, the holders of the whole of the present importation of this juice, inform me that it was purchased of the Arabs up the Red Sea, by a merchant, who was assured by the venders that it was very fine aloe juice, and had not been boiled or otherwise altered. It was imported into London by way of Madras, in casks each containing six cwt. I am informed that the contents of some of the packages have undergone decomposition during the voyage.
Its consistence is that of treacle or very thin honey; its color deep orange or palm oil yellow; its odor powerful, fragrant, and resembling that of fine Socotrine aloes. By standing it separates into two parts,—an inferior, paler colored, opaque, finely granular portion, and a superior, darker colored, transparent liquid. The latter forms, however, a very small portion of the whole mass.
When the granular portion is submitted to microscopic examination, it is found that the opacity and granular appearance arise from myriads of beautiful prismatic crystals. If a temperature of 132° Fah. be applied to the juice these crystals melt or dissolve, and the juice becomes deep red and transparent; and when the liquid becomes cold it retains its transparency, and does not deposit any crystals. By evaporation the juice yields a solid, transparent extract, having all the {237} characters of fine Socotrine aloes, in which no traces of crystalline texture can be discovered. Mr. Jacob Bell has ascertained that 14 lbs. of the juice yield 8lbs. 12ozs. of solid extract, or 621⁄2 per cent. when the juice is mixed with cold distilled water, it becomes opaque yellow, and renders the water turbid, but is not miscible with it. If, however, heat be applied, the juice dissolves in the water, forming an almost clear, rich red liquid. As the solution cools, it at first becomes turbid, owing to the separation of an opaque yellow precipitate, which, apparently, is the crystalline principle in an amorphous form. This gradually separates from the liquid and collects as a clear resiniform mass (commonly called the resin of aloes) at the bottom of the vessel, leaving the supernatant liquid tolerably clear. If the juice be shaken up with rectified spirit of wine, an uniform clear mixture is obtained, from which numerous yellow crystals rapidly fall to the bottom of the liquid. Similar results are obtained when we mix the juice with equal parts of rectified spirit of wine and water.
This crystalline constituent of Socotrine aloes is doubtless, either the aloin21 described by Messrs. T. & H. Smith, of Edinburgh, and by Dr. Stenhouse, or a principle closely allied to it.
Dr. Stenhouse, to whom I have given a sample of it, is now engaged in its investigation; and in a letter which I have received from him, he says, that though he has not been able to get the aloin ready for analysis, yet from the experiments he has already made with it, he has scarcely a doubt that it will be found identical with that formerly obtained from Barbados aloes. It forms, he adds, a precisely similar combination with bromine, and, in short, agrees with it in every particular; I shall, therefore, provisionally term this crystalline principle the aloin of Socotrine aloes. On comparing it with a fine specimen of aloin, kindly presented to me by Messrs. Smith, I find its crystals smaller and more tapering—the summits of the crystals being more acute.
In drying, the crystals of the Socotrine aloin have a strong {238} tendency to break up; so that crystals which in the moist state are moderately large and regular, become small and pulverulent when dry. Like the aloin crystals of Messrs. Smith, the aloin crystals of Socotrine aloes, strongly doubly refract and depolarize light, and are, therefore, beautiful objects when viewed by the polarizing microscope.
The crystals of aloin contained in Socotrine aloe juice cannot be confounded with the crystals of oxalate and phosphate of lime found in the juices of various plants, and which are called by botanists raphides. The appearance under the microscope of the former is very different from that of the latter. Moreover, the ready fusibility, solubility, and complete combustibility of aloin crystals easily distinguish them from the calcareous salts just referred to. On platinum foil the aloin burns without leaving any residue, except such as may arise from the presence of traces of some foreign matter.
Aloin may be readily obtained from the juice by mixing the latter with spirit (either rectified or proof,) and collecting and drying the precipitate. When procured in this way it appears to the naked eye like a yellow powder; but when examined by the microscope it is found to consist of minute fragments of crystals.
The tincture from which the aloin has been separated, yields by distillation a spirit having the fragrant odor of the juice; showing that the latter contains some volatile odorous principle. By evaporation the tincture yields a resiniform extract.
In the first edition of my Elements of Materia Medica, published 1840, I have stated, that by digesting hepatic aloes in rectified spirit of wine, a yellowish granular powder is obtained which is insoluble in [cold] water, alcohol, ether, and dilute sulphuric acid, but is readily soluble in a solution of caustic potash, forming a red colored liquid. The powder like residue here referred to, is identical with the aloin of Socotrine aloes. When examined by the microscope, it is perceived to consist of very minute prismatic crystals, which depolarize polarized light like the larger crystals of aloin above referred to. I {239} think, therefore, that it may be safely inferred that hepatic aloes has been prepared without the employment of artificial heat, and that its opacity is due to the presence of minute crystals of aloin.
When Socotrine aloes is digested in rectified spirit, an insoluble portion is also obtained; but its color, instead of being yellow, as in hepatic aloes, is dark brown. On submitting this dark brown insoluble portion to microscopic examination, I find that it contains depolarizing crystals.
Artificial Socotrine aloes (prepared by evaporating this aloe juice) also yields, when digested in rectified spirit, a dark brown insoluble portion.
I think, therefore, that Socotrine aloes differs from hepatic aloes in the circumstance of its having been prepared by the aid of artificial heat; by which its aloin constituent has become altered. This inference is further substantiated by the fact, that after it has been melted, hepatic aloes is found to have acquired the clearness and transparency of the Socotrine sort.
The clear supernatant portion of aloe juice, from which the above crystals have subsided, would probably also yield, by spontaneous evaporation, an extract resembling, or identical with, Socotrine aloes.
That Socotrine and hepatic aloes were obtained from the same plant, and were not different species of aloes, I have long suspected; and in the first edition of my work on Materia Medica, published in 1840, I have observed that “the similarity of the odor of Socotrine and hepatic aloes leads to the suspicion that they are obtained from the same plant; and which is further confirmed by the two being sometimes brought over intermixed, the Socotrine occasionally forming a vein in a cask of the hepatic aloes.”
The intermixture of the two sorts of aloes in the same cask might be explained by supposing that the consolidation of the clear portion of the juice has produced the so-called Socotrine aloes; while the opaque aloin containing portion of juice has yielded what is termed hepatic aloes. {240}
In the third edition of my work above alluded to, I have stated that the name of opaque liver-colored Socotrine aloes might with propriety be applied to hepatic aloes. But until the present time I have been unable to offer a plausible explanation of the cause of the difference in these two commercial kinds of aloes.
From the preceding remarks I think we may infer:
1. That aloin pre-exists in a crystalline form in the juice of Socotrine aloes.
2. That the substance which deposits as a decoction of Socotrine aloes cools, and which is usually termed the resin or the resinoid of Socotrine aloes, is the aloin in a modified state.
3. That hepatic aloes22 is the juice of the Socotrine aloes plant which has been solified without the aid of artificial heat.
4. That hepatic aloes owes its opacity to the presence of minute crystals of aloin.
5. That the juice of Socotrine aloes yields, when evaporated by artificial heat, an extract possessing all the properties of commercial Socotrine aloes.—Pharm. Journ. April, 1852.
THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF COD-LIVER OIL. BY DR. H. L. WINCKLER.
Of all the drugs which have been introduced into medical practice within the last ten years, none has excited so much attention, and has met with so favorable a reception, as cod-liver oil. To what principles its peculiar properties are to be referred, has not yet been ascertained. By some they have been attributed {241} to the presence of a small quantity of iodine; but this has not proved a satisfactory explanation. Many chemists have endeavoured to solve this problem, but without success.—Amongst others, Dr. de Jongh, who attributed its virtue to gaduin—a new principle which he had discovered in the oil, with the usual fatty acids, and some of the constituents of bile, and traces of iodine and bromine.
The results of my researches are different, in an important degree. According to my experience, cod-liver oil is an organic whole of a peculiar character, differing in its chemical composition from any of the fat oils which have been heretofore applied to medical purposes.
The evidences for this conclusion are the following:―
1. When the clear, pale cod-liver oil is saponified with potash, and the resulting soap treated with tartaric acid, oleic and margaric acids are obtained.
2. When a mixture of six parts of caustic potash, twenty-four parts of distilled water, and twenty-four parts of cod-liver oil, after being allowed to remain at an ordinary temperature, and often shaken, and finally diluted with twenty-four parts of distilled water, is distilled, a distillate is obtained, which possesses an intense odor of cod-liver oil, and contains an appreciable quantity of a peculiar organic compound, namely, oxide of propyl.
3. When nine parts of cod-liver oil are saponified with five parts of oxide of lead, with the necessary quantity of distilled water, in a porcelain vessel, by the heat of a water bath, the oil is decomposed into oleic and margaric acids, and a new acid propylic acid. The chief part of this acid combines, like the oleic and margaric acids, with the oxide of lead, as it appears, to form a basic compound; and another lead salt, probably an acid one, can be washed out of the plaister with distilled water. It is worthy of remark, that no glycerine is formed in this process. The plaister smells of train oil and herrings; and when it is exposed in a thin layer to the action of the atmosphere in a water bath, it becomes colored dark brown, after the {242} evaporation of the water; and by the same means it loses its penetrating odor. The cause of the coloring is due to the strong disposition which the salts of propylic acid possess to oxidize, and consequently, to become brown. When the solution of the acid propylate of lead is treated with sulphuretted hydrogen, after the separation of the sulphuret of lead, is obtained an entirely colorless and strongly acid reacting solution, which by evaporation in a water bath, becomes by degrees colored. At the commencement of the last part of the operation it loses its penetrating odor, and at last leaves a dark brown residue. Exactly in the same manner, the watery solutions of neutral propylates of barytes and ammonia behave themselves. The neutral, colorless, and undecomposed ammoniacal salt smells of herrings; and the baryta salt, as concentrated decoction of meat.
4. When the before-described (No. 2) solution of cod-liver oil soap is thrown into a capacious distillery apparatus, with the addition of caustic lime and chloride of ammonium, (in the proportion of six drachms of caustic potash, three ounces of cod-liver oil, six ounces of water, six ounces of fresh burnt lime, and one drachm of chloride of ammonium,) with the precaution, that the mixture of lime and chloride of ammonium be not added until the soap is formed in the retort, so that it may penetrate thoroughly the mass, and the distillation proceeded with by means of a gentle heat, as the formation of hydrate of lime evolves considerable heat, there distils rather quickly a clear, watery fluid, over which is a concentrated solution of propylamin free from ammonia. By saturating this solution with diluted sulphuric acid, and adding alcohol, sulphate of propylamin readily crystallizes out of it.
This simple experiment serves to prove, with certainty, that cod-liver oil contains oxide of propyl. The propylamin thus obtained possesses all the properties of that obtained from the pickle of herrings, or ergot of rye.
Cod-liver oil by saponification with potash, is separated into oleic and margaric acids, and oxide of propyl; and with oxide {243} of lead, into oleic and margaric acids, and propylic acid—a higher result of the oxidation of propyl—and gives by either process of saponification no hydrate of the oxide of glycyl. The glycyl (C6 H3) is in this oil replaced by propyl (C6 H7). Only in cod-liver oil are the conditions offered for the formation of propylamin (N H2 C6 H7), by the presence of ammonia, as all the fat oils employed in medicine are free from this substance; therefore none of these oils can be substituted for cod-liver oil.
[Should this research of Winckler, as to the existence of the hydrate of the oxide of propyl in combination with the fatty acids in cod-liver oil, be confirmed, it will establish an important fact in chemistry, and may explain the therapeutic action of that remedy which has heretofore puzzled both chemists and physicians. The combinations of the radical propyl have been previously only known as artificial productions; therefore Wincklers’s experiments, if true, show that they exist in nature, or, in other words, that they are educts, and not products, from cod-liver oil. Moreover, the presence of oxide of propyl, and the absence of oxide of glycyl in cod-liver oil, will enable chemists to distinguish by tests, with certainty, this oil from other fatty oils.]—Annals of Pharmacy, June, 1852.
GUARANA. COMMUNICATED BY D. RITCHIE, SURGEON, R. N.
A medicinal substance named guaraná was presented to me about two years ago by a Brazilian. The virtues which he asserted that it possessed induced me to employ it as a remedy in several troublesome and obstinate cases of disease. The consequent benefit was so decided, that I was convinced of the {244} great value it possessed as a remedial agent. This conviction, with the belief that it was still unknown, impelled me to bring the subject under the notice of the profession in this country. A short account of it was therefore transmitted to the editor of the “Edinburgh Monthly Medical Journal,” who forthwith submitted it to Professor Christison. To the kindness and extensive acquirements of this gentleman I am indebted for the information, that the subject had already engaged the attention, of the brothers Martius in Germany, and several French writers. It was a matter of satisfaction to me to find that the opinions I had expressed regarding the great prospective importance of this substance were fully borne out by all those who have diligently examined it.
As a knowledge of the properties and uses of guaraná appears to be still little diffused in this country, I shall consider that I am performing an acceptable service to the medical profession in placing before it an abstract of the more important facts that are known regarding this substance. Public attention was first directed to it by M. Gassicourt in 1817, (Journal de Pharmac., tom. iii., p. 259); but the merit of discovering the source whence it is derived, and of furnishing a more complete description of it, belongs to Von Martius, in the year 1826, (Reise, vol. ii., p. 1061, et seq.)
The term guaraná is derived from the name of a tribe of Indians, who are dispersed between the rivers Parama and Uruguay, by whom it is very commonly used as a condiment or medicine. It is, however, more extensively prepared for commercial purposes by the Mauhés, an Indian tribe in the province of Tapajoz. It is, according to Martius, prepared from the seeds of the Paullinia sorbilis, a species belonging to the natural family Sapindaceæ. The characters of the species are:—Glabra, caule erecto angulato, foliis pinnatis bijugis, foliolis oblongis, remote sinuato-obtuse-dentatis, lateralibus basi rotundatis, extimo basi cuneato, petiolo nudo angnlato, racemis pubescentibus·erectis, capsulis pyriformibus apteris rostratis, valvulis intus villosis. The seeds, which ripen in the month of {245} October and November, are collected, taken out of their capsules, and exposed to the sun, so as to dry the arillus in which they are enveloped, that it may be more readily rubbed off by the fingers. They are now thrown upon a stone, or into a stone mortar, and reduced to powder, to which a little water is added, or which is exposed to the night dew, and then formed by kneading into a dough. In this condition it is mixed with a few of the seeds entire or contused, and divided into masses, weighing each about a pound, which are rolled into cylindrical or spherical forms. These are dried by the sun or by the fire, and become so hard as to be broken with difficulty. Their surface is uneven, brown, or sometimes black, from the smoke to which they have been subjected; their fractured surface is conchoidal, unequal, and resinoid; color reddish brown, resembling chocolate. This is the guaraná, and in this condition, or reduced to powder, it is kept for use or carried to market. The Museum of the Edinburgh College of Physicians contains a specimen of it in each of these forms. As it is liable to be adulterated with cocoa or mandioca flour, it is of great importance to be aware that the genuine article is distinguished by its greater hardness and density, and that, when powdered, it does not assume a white color, but a grayish-red tint.
A chemical analysis of this substance was first made by Theodore Martius, in 1826, (Buchner’s Repert. de Pharm. xxxi., 1829, p. 370). He found it to consist of a matter (tannin?) which iron precipitated green, resin, a fat green oil, gum, starch, vegetable fibre, and a white, bitter, crystalline product, to which the efficacy of the medicine was principally owing, and which he called guaranine. This he believed to be distinct from, but allied to, theine and caffeine, and to possess the following elementary constituents:—C8, H10, O2, N4.
Another very careful analysis of guaraná was made in the year 1840, by MM. Berthemot and Dechastélus, (Journal de Pharmacie, tom. xxvi., p. 518, et seq.), which varies in some degree from the preceding. They found the matter, which {246} was considered to be resin by Martius, a combination of tannin with guaranine, existing in a form insoluble in water or ether. They also determined the perfect identity of the crystalline matter with caffeine. It is found to exist in a much larger proportion in the fruits of the Paullinia than in any of the plants from which it has hitherto been extracted. Alcohol is the only agent which completely removes it from the guaraná. To this solution the addition of lime or hydrated oxide of lead gives, on the one hand, the insoluble tannates, and on the other, the crystalline matter.
The medicinal virtues of this substance have been attentively examined by Theodore Martius, (Op. cit.), and more particularly by Dr. Gavrelle (sur une nouvelle substance médicinale, etc.: Paris, 1840), who employed it very often while in Brazil, as physician to Don Pedro, and afterwards in France. By both it is considered a valuable remedy, and an important addition to the Materia Medica. By the vulgar it is held to be stomachic, antifebrile, and aphrodisiac; is used in dysentery, diarrhœa, retention of urine, and various other affections. It stimulates, and at the same time soothes, the gastric system of nerves. It reduces the excited sensibility of the cœliac plexus, thereby diminishing febrile action, and strengthening the stomach and intestines, particularly restraining excessive mucous discharges, increasing the action of the heart and the arteries, and promoting diaphoresis. It is therefore indicated as a valuable remedy in fevers, or reduced vital power resulting from cold or prolonged wetness, grief, to great muscular exertion, depression of spirits, long watching, and also in colic, flatulence, anorexia, nervous hemicrania, or in a dry condition of the skin. It is contra-indicated in a plethoric or loaded condition of the abdominal viscera, and when there exists determination of blood to the head. It is said to increase the venereal appetite, but to diminish the fecundating power.
In cases where irritation of the urethra or urinary bladder succeed venereal or attend organic disease, it exerts a most salutary effect in soothing the irritability of the mucous {247} membrane, relieving the nervous prostration which accompanies these affections, and exalting vital power. Unlike the disagreeable remedies which are generally, and often without success, employed in these affections, it is taken with pleasure, and with an amount of success which, as far as my experience extends, is universal.
If we examine guaraná according to its chemical characters, it must be guarded as a most valuable substance, from its possessing in so great a proportion that important nitrogenous principle guaranine. This, if not identical with caffeine, is at least analagous to it, and to theine, and theobromine,—all important elements of food and grateful stimulents. From its chemical constitution, then, we may predict with great certainty its physiological action being powerfully tonic; but in the combination in which it is found, experience indicates that it possesses conjoined more valuable properties than belong to the simple tonics. Its power of correcting generally the discharges, and restoring the normal vitality of the mucous membranes, must be viewed as one of these.
Guarana, in the state of powder, is exhibited in doses of j, three or four times daily, mixed with water and sugar, or with syrup and mucilage, conjoined with an aromatic, as cinnamon, vanilla, or chocolate. A convenient form is that of extract, obtained by treating the guaraná with alcohol, and evaporating to the consistence of pills. This may be exhibited in the form of solution or pills. The Brazilians, however, use the powder with sugar and water alone, and consider this draught grateful and refreshing.—Monthly Jour. of Medical Science, May, 1852.
{248}
COLORED FIRES FOR PYROTECHNICAL PURPOSES.
Erdmann, in the last number of his journal, gives the following formulæ for preparing colored fires, which he has proved and found to answer the purpose intended admirably. He particularly enjoins the caution that the ingredients, after being powdered in a mortar separately, should be mixed with the hand, as dangerous explosions would inevitably follow from the ingredients being rubbed together with any hard substance.
Red.
parts.
Chlorate of potash, 61
Sulphur, 16
Carbonate of strontia, 23
Purple Red.
parts.
Chlorate of potash, 61
Sulphur, 16
Chalk, 23
Rose Red.
parts.
Chlorate of potash, 61
Sulphur, 16
Chloride of calcium, 23
Orange Red.
parts.
Chlorate of potash, 52
Sulphur, 14
Chalk, 34
Yellow, No. 1.
parts.
Chlorate of potash, 61
Sulphur, 16
Dried soda, 23
Yellow, No. 2.
parts.
Saltpetre, 50
Sulphur, 16
Dried soda, 20
Gunpowder, 14
Yellow, No. 3.
parts.
Saltpetre, 61
Sulphur, 171⁄2
Dried soda, 20
Charcoal, 11⁄2
Light Blue.
parts.
Chlorate of potash, 61
Sulphur, 16
Burnt alum, 23
Dark Blue.
parts.
Chlorate of potash, 60
Sulphur, 16
Carbonate of copper, 12
Burnt alum, 12
Sulphate of potash and ammonio- sulphate of copper may be added to render the color more intense.
Dark Violet.
parts.
Chlorate of potash, 60
Sulphur, 16
Carbonate of potash, 12
Burnt alum, 12
Light Violet.
parts.
Chlorate of potash, 54
Sulphur, 14
Carbonate of potash, 16
Burnt alum, 16
Green.
parts.
Chlorate of potash, 73
Sulphur, 17
Boracic acid, 19
Light Green.
parts.
Chlorate of potash, 60
Sulphur, 16
Carbonate of barytes, 24
For Theatrical Purposes.
White, No. 1.
parts.
Saltpetre, 64
Sulphur, 21
Gunpowder, 15
White, No. 2.
parts.
Saltpetre, 64
Sulphur, 22
Charcoal, 2
Red.
parts.
Nitrate of strontia, 56
Sulphur, 24
Chlorate of potash, 20
Green.
parts.
Nitrate of barytes, 60
Sulphur, 22
Chlorate of potash, 18
Rose.
parts.
Sulphur, 20
Saltpetre, 32
Chlorate of potash, 27
Chalk, 20
Charcoal, 1
Blue.
parts.
Saltpetre, 27
Chlorate of potash, 28
Sulphur, 15
Sulphate of potash, 15
Ammonio-sulphate of copper, 15
EXTRACTUM LOBELIÆ FLUIDUM. BY WILLIAM PROCTER, JR.
Having had occasion to prepare a fluid extract of lobelia at the solicitation of a druggist, the following process was employed, which is based on the fact, that in the presence of an excess of acid, the lobelina of the natural salt which gives activity to the drug, is not decomposed and destroyed by the heat used, as explained on a former occasion, (vol. xix. page 108 of this Journal.)
Take of Lobelia (the plant,) finely bruised, eight ounces, (troy)
Acetic acid one fluid ounce.
Diluted Alcohol three pints.
Alcohol six fluid ounces.
{250}
Macerate the lobelia in a pint and a half of the diluted alcohol, previously mixed with the acetic acid, for twenty-four hours; introduce the mixture into an earthen displacer, pour on slowly the remainder of the diluted alcohol, and afterwards water until three pints of tincture are obtained; evaporate this in a water bath to ten fluid ounces, strain, add the alcohol and, when mixed, filter through paper.
Each teaspoonful of this preparation is equal to half a fluid ounce of the tincture. It may be employed advantageously to make a syrup of lobelia, by adding two fluid ounces of the fluid extract, to ten fluid ounces of simple syrup, and mixing. Syrup of lobelia is an eligible preparation for prescription use, in cases where lobelia is indicated as an expectorant.—American Journal of Pharmacy.
NEW METHOD FOR PREPARING AND EXHIBITING PROTIODIDE OF IRON. BY M. H. BONNEWYN.
Several methods have been proposed for the preparation and exhibition of protiodide of iron, all of which are, as far as I am acquainted with them, subject to many inconveniences and objections. It is on this account that I offer to my fellow-laborers a new method, which both on account of its uniformity of action and facility of administration, deserves to be adopted universally.
Every practical man knows that all preparations of protiodide of iron are bad, for instance, syrupus ferri iodidi is a medicine which is generally disliked, and in some individuals causes nausea and even vomiting. The pilulæ ferri iodidi {251} likewise disagree with some constitutions, and when they seem to agree, they never produce the same regular effects even if prepared at the same labratory. According to trials made by an experienced physician, who has administered the protiodide, prepared according to my method, I am assured that this remedy prepared by a double decomposition in the stomachs of the patients, has always agreed with them, and produced more constant and salutary effects. It is already a well-known fact, that the iodide of iron in its incipient state is better assimilated by the organs.
No. 1. Dissolve one gramme of iodide potassium in 300 grammes of water. No. 2. Take sulphate of iron 11⁄2 grammes; make a powder and divide into eighteen equal parts. Dissolve one of the powders in a large table-spoonful of sugared water before swallowing it; take immediately afterwars, one table-spoonful of the solution.
It is evident that by this operation, each time their is produced in the stomach one grain, or about five centigrammes of iodide of iron in its incipient state.
Although these proportions do not correspond absolutely, but only approximately with their chemical equivalents, nevertheless, their effects answer fully the purposes both of the chemist, and Physician.—Annals of Pharmacy and Practical Chemistry.
TANNATE OF ZINC.
—The preparation announced of late, under the name of the Salt of Barnit, as infallible against gonorrhœra when used as an injection, is, according to the analysis of M. Chevalier, a tannate of zinc. This salt which is soluble, may be prepared by saturating a solution of tannic acid with freshly precipitated and moist oxide of zinc, filtering and evaporating in a water bath.
{252}
EDITORIAL.
THE CONVENTION.
—We cheerfully give place to the following
notice
from Dr. Guthrie, in regard to the approaching meeting of the Pharmaceutical Convention. We regret to learn that the time appointed, is not the most convenient one for many of the delegates whom we may expect from the south. It is too late, however, to change the time of meeting, were there any authority by which such change could be made. In view of the importance of the object, we hope that there may be a full attendance on the part of the delegates, even at the cost of some personal sacrifice. If the whole country be represented, a time can then be chosen for a future meeting which will suit a majority of those present:―
“NOTICE.—The Annual Meeting of the U. S. Pharmaceutical Convention, will take place in Philadelphia, on Wednesday, the 6th of October next.
It being a matter of much importance that this meeting should number as many of our Druggists and Chemists as possible, I deem it proper to suggest that not only all regularly incorporated and unincorporated associations of this kind should see that they are fully represented, but that where no associations exist as yet, the apothecaries should send one or more of their number as delegates to the convention,—such will, no doubt, be cheerfully admitted to seats in the convention.
This meeting it is to be hoped, will either take the necessary steps to the formation of a regular and permanent national organization, or possibly effect such organization during its sittings.
We trust all who feel an interest in this important subject, will remember the time and place, and give us their assistance in person or by delegate.
C. B. GUTHRIE, President of Convention.”
THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHARMACY.
—The editor of the American Journal of Pharmacy, has done much to raise the standard of American Pharmacy. He has a solid reputation founded on large knowledge and great industry. It is with pleasure then that we observe the attention he bestows upon our Journal. He has taken, however, rather an unusual course, in animadverting separately upon most of the directly practical articles that have appeared in our pages, and his criticisms have given rise to some reclamations on the part of our contributors, which we subjoin:―
COMMENTS ON “COMMENTS.”—The American Journal of Pharmacy (Philadelphia), for July, contains “Pharmaceutical notices, being extracts from various articles in the New York Journal of Pharmacy, with comments by the editor,” in which {253} our friend Procter, criticises, rather severely, some of the pharmaceutical formulæ and suggestions that have been offered in this Journal. With full respect for the great acquirements and high character as a practical pharmaceutist, to which my friend Procter is justly entitled, I should have been glad if the articles, upon which he comments, had met his approval; and I know of no one that I would rather should set me right, if anything that I have offered does not find acceptance with him. With the greater part of his comments, I do not think there is occasion for controversy,—matters of fact readers can judge for themselves, and it certainly is of little consequence, who may be found in error, compared with the elucidation of truth.
In respect to the consistence of Syrup of Gum Arabic, he is probably nearer right, (during this hot weather, at any rate) than I was, and still, I think he is not right. My experience with the present officinal formula, had been in the cold season, when I found the syrup decidedly too thick for convenient use, especially by itself; a large proportion of it crystallized in the temperature of the shop, and the mouth and neck of the bottle choked up with candied syrup every two or three times it was used. I had found the former syrup to answer very well in regard to consistence and flavor, though, it certainly could not be considered permanent; it had to be made in small quantities and frequently; indeed, I do not suppose that any liquid combination of gum, sugar and water only, can be made of a permanent character. Since reading Mr. Procter’s comments, I have made this syrup again by the present formula, and it does keep decidedly better at this season, than that made in the other proportions, yet not perfectly; and there is considerable crystallization, even in the very hot weather we have had lately. I infer that syrup which crystallizes at this season, has an excess of sugar in it, the crystals formed tending further to reduce the remaining syrup, and thus sooner promote acidity than if a proportion of sugar had been used which could remain in solution. Perhaps, a medium between the two formulæ could be hit upon, in which the proper balance might be better attained.
In the formula offered for Compound Syrup of Squill, in our Journal for April, there is an error of four ounces in the quantity of honey, which should have been twenty-two ounces. Whether it was made by the printer or not cannot be ascertained, as “the copy has been destroyed.” I had not noticed it until my attention was called to it by Mr. Procter’s comments. The quantity of sugar used by me in making this syrup was, for convenience, one pound avoirdupois weight; that of honey, one pound and a half, same weight. In transcribing the formula for a medical Journal, I thought I must, per custom, render it in troy weights; so as 15 oz. troy are 200 grs. more than one pound av., I set down 15 oz., and intended to set down 22 oz. of honey, as being only 60 grs. more than one pound and a half av. I think this addition of 4 oz. of honey will make the whole come up to Mr. Procter’s measure of “56 fluid ounces before the ebullition,” &c., and a little over. The boiling can be continued only for a few minutes. I was formerly in the practice of boiling to three pints, and adding 48 grs. tartar emetic, but finding that I had to evaporate more than half a pint, and judging that {254} the strength of the resulting preparation was rather lessened than increased thereby, I concluded to stop at three and a half pints. As to the proportion of sugar and honey, they amount together to 21⁄2 pounds av., which with two pints of an evaporated menstruum, containing the extractive matter soluble in diluted alcohol of 8 oz. of the roots, furnishes a syrup of good consistence. It may be observed, that solution of sugar in a menstruum so charged, is quite different from that in water. Perhaps, however, an equal amount of sugar with that of the honey, would be preferable. I can only say, that I employed the same quantity a number of times, but reduced it several years since, because it appeared to be too much for some reason, the particulars of which I do not recollect. And as this formula has always given me a satisfactory preparation, I have thought no more about it, until now. Or perhaps, it would be better to continue the evaporation to three pints, with the advantage of producing a more symmetrical result, corresponding, at the same time, with the quantity of the Pharmacopœia. But, is not the officinal formula “almost as far out of the way” the other way? Forty-two oz. of sugar in forty-eight fluid oz. of syrup! Can such an amount remain in solution twenty-four hours at any ordinary temperature? If mine is an “anomaly,” is not this an impossibility, “in point of consistence”? In reference to the alcoholic objection, it may be remarked, that the evaporation in the case commented upon, is not “from 4 pints of tincture to 2 pints,” but from 43⁄4 pints to 2 pints. The small portion of alcohol, that may remain after this evaporation and the continued heat to the end of the process, can scarcely be of serious consequence in the doses in which it is prescribed; it may have some influence in preserving the syrup, and also in promoting its medical action. Be all this as it may, so far as taste is a criterion, this preparation appears to be of at least double strength in the qualities of both roots, of the officinal syrup carefully made by the second process given,—the first being, as I suppose, with all apothecaries of the present day, “an obsolete idea.”
G. D. C.
REMARKS ON THE COMMENTS MADE BY THE EDITOR OF THE PHILADELPHIA JOURNAL OF PHARMACY, ON SOME EXTRACTS FROM VARIOUS ORIGINAL ARTICLES, PUBLISHED IN THE NEW YORK JOURNAL OF PHARMACY
:—
After giving the formula for preparing Stramonium Ointment, as modified by E. Dupuy, the editor of our contemporary adds, “the objection to the officinal formula on the score of color, is hardly valid, and if it was so, it would be better to color it with extract of grass, than to substitute a preparation which will constantly vary in strength and appearance or with the age of the leaves. The officinal extract of stramonium, is easily incorporated with lard, and produces a brown colored ointment of comparatively uniform strength.” We do not pretend to have furnished a formula vastly superior to that received in our officinal guide. But as we were writing for our locality chiefly, and knowing the general expectation {255} and usage of furnishing stramonium ointment of a green color, we have given a formula which does furnish an ointment having a proper strength, requisite color, without the loss of time and material necessarily incurred in manufacturing a color ad hoc as suggested by W. Procter, Jr., which from the contamination of the decomposed chlorophylle of the extract, would never compare favorably (notwithstanding all that useless waste of trouble,) so far as its appearance is concerned, with the far readier mode proposed for transforming at once by a few short manipulations the dry stramonium into an alcoholic extract and ointment without liability to alteration during the process. Respecting the keeping of both ointments, we can affirm that the one prepared by the modified formula, will keep as well if not better and longer, than the other, and as the color is a point of some importance for our public and practitioners, we are satisfied that it will be preferred on the score of economy of time as well as for its color, which is desirable at least within our circle of custom.
EMPLASTRUM EPISPASTICUM WITH CAMPHOR AND ACETIC ACID.—Mr. Procter, objects to the addition of acetic acid to the officinal blistering cerate, and seems to smile at the idea of fixing by it the volatile principle of the cantharis, which, by the way, he gratuitously makes the author to say is a neutral substance, when he says not a word about it. He quotes the authority of Mr. Redwood, who in the Pharmaceutical Journal, October, 1841, speaks of acetic acid as not being a good solvent for cantharidine. The reason is, in all probability, from the fact of his using the London standard strength, which is but 1.48. For Messrs. Lavini and Sobrero, (Memoire lu a l’academie des sciences de Turin, 9 Mars, 1845,) state that “concentrated acetic acid,, dissolves cantharidine, but more readily under the influence of heat.” Respecting the volatility of cantharidine, these same chemists have stated in the same paper “that while manipulating with but 52 grammes of flies, for the researches they were making on cantharidine, one of them suffered from blisters produced on the face and lips, by the emanations from these insects.” Besides their authority, Soubeiran, in his Traite de Pharmacie, and Dorvault in the Officine, both state that cantharidine is a very volatile substance, even at ordinary temperature, and if that is, as it appears to be, the ease, what reliable information have we that only 1-30th of a grain was volatilized in the experiment mentioned by W. Procter, Jr., made with 100 grs. of powdered cantharides? Is it not very probable, that in removing the hygrometric water, much more was lost?
Whatever may be the changes which take place by the addition of acetic acid in a concentrated state, it is a fact, proved by experience, that the blistering plaster thus prepared, keeps better—that is, retains its power longer than the officinal one even exposed to the air in thin layers. As an example of the stability of this combination, we have Brown’s Cantharidine which, to all appearance, is made from an etherial extract of cantharides additioned with concentrated acetic acid and incorporated in melted wax. We find such a mixture, although spread on paper and but imperfectly protected from the air, retaining for a long period its vesicating properties. Is this advantage produced by a simple acid {256} saponification of the cerate, without reaction on the active principle, but that of protecting it from atmospheric influences? We think it probable that there is a modification taking place, both on the cantharis and other components of the cerate.
E. D.
THE RICHMOND PHARMACEUTICAL SOCIETY.
—A large number of the Druggists and Apothecaries of the city of Richmond, held a meeting on the 11th of June for the purpose of forming a Pharmaceutical Society, and, having appointed a committee to draft a constitution and bye-laws, and to report to an adjourned meeting, on the 28th of the same month, assembled on that day, and adopted the constitution and bye-laws reported by the committee. The election of officers was postponed until the 6th of July.
At a full meeting of those who had signed the constitution, the following gentlemen were elected officers of the society, for the next twelve months, viz:―
President, ALEXANDER DUVAL.
1st Vice President, JAMES P. PURCELL.
2nd Vice President, J. B. WOOD.
Recording Secretary, CHAS. MILLSPAUGH.
Corresponding Secretary, S. M. ZACHRISSON.
Treasurer, W. S. BEERS.
Librarian, JOHN T. GRAY.
After which, several nominations for members and associate members having been made, the society adjourned to Monday, 13th instant, that the President might, during the recess, appoint the standing committees, as required by the constitution.
The Society having assembled on the 13th instant, the following committees were reported:―
Committee on Admission—J. Bum, John T. Gray, E. J. Pecot.
Committee on Pharmaceutical Ethics—O. A. Strecker, S. W. Zachrisson, A. Bodeker.
Committee of Finance—Peyton Johnston, Benjamin F. Ladd, Edward McCarthy.
Committee on Library—Andrew Leslie, James P. Purcell, William M. Dade.
Executive Committee—John Purcell, W. S. Bum, R. R. Duval:―
After which, several nominations were made. Appropriations were placed at the disposal of the library committee for subscriptions to various periodicals, and for the purchase of books, after which, the meeting adjourned.
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