56 Botanic Drugs 



never been fully realized; it is even more important 

 than is adulteration. Active principles show marked 

 variation quantitatively in medicinal plants. The 

 Seventh United States Pharmacopeia began a sci- 

 entific definition, since improved upon; and the 

 Pure Food and Drugs Act of 1906 gave legal sup- 

 port to such definition. Opposition to standardiza- 

 tion came from retail druggists and certain business 

 interests; but the large drug houses and the medical 

 profession upheld standardization, and opposition 

 has now practically died out. 



The Eighth United States Pharmacopeia included 

 certain assay processes, and even more appear in 

 the Ninth Revision. The Eighth Revision included 

 assay processes for twenty botanical drugs, showing 

 that even then the subject was well advanced. 



But assay processes are limited, such drugs as 

 digitalis, apocynum, convallaria, geranium, squill, 

 strophanthus, ergot, cannabis, and many others 

 not adapting themselves thereto; but physiologic 

 or pharmacodynamic methods apply to many drugs. 

 It is stated 6 that variations in digitalis tinctures 

 have a range as high as 400 per cent, and strophan- 

 thus tinctures 6000 per cent. How important, then, 

 becomes physiologic standardization! 



The steps in standardization include exact nomen- 

 clature and tests for identity and purity. The 

 materia medica supply business needs to be lim- 

 V ited to concerns employing capable experts who will 

 v properly standardize all products. Without stand- 

 ardization medicine and pharmacy will retrograde 

 to the old basis of mystery and pretense, catering 

 to the ignorant and credulous, exploiting the sick 



Edmunds and Hale: Hygienic Laboratory Bulletin, Washington. 



s 



