16 The Philippine Journal of Science 1922 
Reviewing the pharmacopeias of several countries we find 
that the Swiss and Japanese of 1907; the French Codex and 
Swedish Pharmacopeia of 1908; the Italian and Hungarian of 
1909; the German Pharmacopeeia of 1910 (its prior edition 
being in 1900); the Norwegian of 1913, the British Pharma- 
copeia of 1914, and the Belgian Pharmacopeia in a supplement 
later than 1906, recognize acetylsalicylic acid as official, and 
all of them establish its characteristic properties as well as the 
tests for purity. It is, indeed, striking that the United States 
Pharmacopeia of 1910 does not list this drug among the official 
remedies; nor does it appear in the National Formulary. 
Undoubtedly the new edition of the United States Pharmacopeeia 
will include this drug as an official one. 
In examining different specimens of aspirin we are unable to 
determine a fixed, invariable criterion. 
The solubility of acetylsalicylic acid is expressed in almost 
identical terms in the several pharmacopceias we have at hand. 
The melting point is fixed at 135° C., more or less, according to 
the experience of several authors as well as ourselves. The chem- 
ical reaction of aspirin should be neutral, but a slight acidity 
is admissible. The odor is supposed to be negative; the Phar- 
macopeeia Helvetica, however, tolerates a light, vinegarlike odor. | 
Aspirin in hydro-alcoholic solution must show no change toward 
ferric chloride solution, but the Pharmacopeia of Japan allows 
a weak violet coloration. 
In the study of aspirin it is necessary to consider two kinds 
of reaction; namely, reactions leading to identification, and those 
showing its purity. It is clear that the constants and the dif- 
ferent tests given in several pharmacopoias are sufficient for 
recognition or identification of this substance. 
The test by the reagent of Tsakalotos, which is nothing but 
a modification of that of Mendelin,? is not conclusive for aspirin, 
since salicylic acid, salol, and similar compounds show the same 
result and, at most, it serves only to determine the presence of 
the salicylic acid radical. The same can be said in regard to 
the reagent of Kobert.‘ 
However, the pharmacist is not primarily interested in the 
identification of a drug since, generally, this is guaranteed by the 
eR wage The purity of a drug is the important feature 
professional pharmacist is interested. Unfortu- 
nately we have no official standards for the purity of aspirin 
* Bull. Se. Pharm. 25 (1918) 75. ‘Loe. cit. 
