256 GERANIACE^E 



Preparation of Cocaine. Exhaust the powdered drug by repercolation with 

 water acidulated with 5 per cent. HUSO 4. Agitate the concentrated liquid with 

 pure coal oil and an excess of Na 2 COs. The oily liquid is then shaken with acidu- 

 lated water and again precipitated by Na2COs in the presence of ether. From 

 the ethereal solution the alkaloid can be obtained on evaporation. 



COCAINA (U.S.P. IX). Cocaine. Average dose: 0.015 Gm. (M gr-). 



ACTION AND USES. Stimulant to digestion, the brain, and respiration. Checks 

 the process of wasting, enabling the laborer to endure a greater amount of 

 physical exertion with a small amount of food. For this purpose* the leaves 

 are habitually chewed by the natives. Dose: 15 to 60 gr. (i to 4 Gm.). 

 Cocaine is a valuable local anaesthetic. Applied to mucous surfaces and in- 

 jected subcutaneously. Dose: -5^ to i gr. (0.0324 to 0.064 Gm.). 



Solutions of the alkaloid in olive and castor oil are stable. Cocaine hydro- 

 chloride ointment should not be made with lard or vaseline, as it is insoluble 

 in these fats. If the hydrochloride be dissolved in a little water before 

 admixture, a stable ointment is effected. 



COCA PR^EPARATA, N.F., i to 4 fl. dr. (4 to 15 mils). 



GERANIACE^;. Geranium Family 



Herbs with opposite or alternate leaves, usually stipulate, simple or com- 

 pounds. Flowers regular or irregular; carpels prolonged above into beaks ter- 

 minated by the styles, which give rise to the name Cranesbill, applied to the 

 principal genus. 



266. GERANIUM. GERANIUM, N.F. 



CRANESBILL 

 The dried rhizome of Gera'nium macula'tum Linne. 



DESCRIPTION OF DRUG. Rough, knotty, cylindrical, horizontal, rhizome, 50 to 



75 mm. (2 to 3 in.) long, and 10 mm. (% in.) thick; longitudinally wrinkled, 

 tuberculated, very hard, and sometimes beset with shriveled, brittle rootlets; 

 externally dark brown; fracture short, reddish-gray, showing a thin bark, 

 several small, yellowish wood-wedges forming a circle near the cambium 

 line, and a large pith ; medullary rays broad. The rootlets have a thick bark 

 and a thin central column of fibrovascular tissue. Inodorous; taste astringent. 



Powder. Grayish-brown. Characteristic elements: Large aggregate crystals 

 of calcium oxalate; ducts porous and reticulate; parenchyma with crystals and 

 starch. (Highly magnified starch grains, see Fig. 139). 



CONSTITUENTS. Tannic (12 to 37 per cent.) and gallic acids, with resin, starch, 

 gum, pectin, and a red coloring matter. Both alcohol and water extract its 

 virtues. 



ACTION AND USES. A valuable and pleasant astringent. It has been claimed that 

 the rhizome contains mucilaginous material which, acting as a demulcent, 

 makes a decoction a much more desirable preparation than a simple solution 

 of tannin. The fluidextract is said to be useful in buccal ulcer, etc. Dose: 

 15 to 30 gr. (i to 2 Gm.). 



