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

[19] This includes loss of Seeds.

[20] Of this 21.00 is loss in Hulls.

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 aloin[21] 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.

[21] See New York Journal of Pharmacy, No. vi. page [177.]

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 aloes[22] 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.

[22] By the term “hepatic aloes” I mean the opaque liver-colored aloes imported into England from the East Indies (usually from Bombay). This sort of aloes is very different from the hepatic Barbadoes aloes, which formerly appears to have been exclusively called “hepatic aloes.”

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.

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