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THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. [February 18,1871. 
LIQUID PEPSIN AND SACCHARATED PEPSIN. 
BY E. SCHEFFER. 
In my essay upon liquid pepsin (. Amer. Journ. Pharm ., 
March, 1870) doubts were expressed about the durability 
of the preparation during- warm weather. Subsequently, 
as the weather became warmer, I found that a mould 
was forming- in the liquid, the quicker the less perfectly 
the mucus was separated from it, and also when the 
bottle containing it was from time to time opened, so 
that the air could come in contact with it. 
To satisfy myself I filtered a fresh prepared liquid 
repeatedly, until it had become perfectly clear, filled 
several vials with it, corked them tight and sealed them, 
with the exception of one which was only covered with 
paper, and set them aside. When, after about six weeks, 
I looked at them, I found the vial tied up with paper 
only, almost entirely filled with a fucoid vegetation, 
and of the others some had mould on the cork, while a 
few kept entirely clear and free of mould. 
Upon these results I thought it expedient to increase 
the quantity of glycerin in the preparation to 50 per 
cent., without changing the proportion of mucous mem¬ 
brane or muriatic acid. The resulting preparation stood 
the test better during summer, but in a few cases a little 
mould was also noticed on the cork, although never in 
the liquid itself. In all cases, however, care must be 
taken to have the mucus entirely removed from the 
liquid pepsin, and the sooner it can be and is removed, 
the better the product will be. 
Finding it not as easy to get stomachs in summer as 
I anticipated, and particularly to get a preparation of 
pepsin free of acid, as in some cases the physicians wish 
to have, I endeavoured to make a dry pepsin, which, 
while available for the dispensing in the form of powder, 
would serve for the preparation of the liquid pepsin. 
Of the different formulas given in divers books treat¬ 
ing upon organic and physiological chemistry, I found 
the one by which the pepsin is precipitated by alcohol 
the least suitable, as the pepsin obtained in this way 
had, after being dried, lost its solvent power on al¬ 
bumen. 
After having precipitated the pepsin and freed it of 
water as much as possible, by means of a press, it is 
mixed in the damp state with a weighed portion of sugar 
of milk, and rubbed in a mortar until it has become dry. 
By weighing the mixture again the quantity of exsiccated 
pepsin is ascertained, and sufficient milk-sugar is added 
to reduce to such strength, that one grain of the saccha- 
ratecl pepsin , as I call it, shall dissolve twelve grains of 
coagulated albumen. This strength seemed to me the 
most suitable, as one grain is equal to one teaspoonful of 
my liquid pepsin, which dose is found by physicians 
sufficient in most cases. 
The pepsin dried without addition of an inert sub¬ 
stance could not be dispensed, unless it be in solution, 
as in that state it cannot be made into powder. When 
taken out of the press and dried between bibulous paper, 
it is a very tough substance, resembling parchment 
paper when dried in thin layers, while in thick pieces it 
looks more like sole-leather; it has a yellowish or greyish 
brown colour. In water it swells up considerably, and 
after some time disintegrates itself to white flakes, which 
float at first and then settle. Although easily soluble 
when freshly precipitated, it dissolves, after being dried, 
very little in cold water, more in water of 80°, but very 
quickly by addition of a little acid. It is therefore 
necessary, when saccharated pepsin is prescribed in 
solution, to add a little acid, hydrochloric or lactic. To 
make liquid pepsin from the dry saccharated pepsin, I 
pi-opose the following formula :— 
Jk Sacch. Pepsin, 64 grs. 
Water, 5 fl. oz. 
Hydrochloric Acid, 1 fl. drm. 
Shake in a bottle until the milk-sugar and pepsin arc 
completely dissolved, then add glycerin 3 fl. oz. and 
filter. A colourless liquid is formed, of which 1 fl. oz. 
dissolves lj drms. of coagulated albumen. 
As the normal gastric juice of man and animals con¬ 
tains chloride of sodium, I tried to ascertain if the ad¬ 
dition of a little table salt to a solution of unmixed 
pepsin in acidulated water would accelerate the solution 
of coagulated albumen; the result was, that pepsin with 
chloride of sodium dissolved albumen much quicker than 
without it. I therefore mention here that chloride of 
sodium is added to the saccharated pepsin. 
As for the strength of saccharated pepsin, compared 
with the other dry pepsins in use here, it was found 
that 1 part of it equalled about 3|- parts of Boudault’s, 
8 to 9 parts of Grimault’s, 12 parts of Hawley’s, and at 
least 40 parts of Houghton’s. During a period of from 
throe to four hours, 10 grains of saccharated pepsin in 1 
fluid ounce of water, acidulated with 10 drops of muria¬ 
tic acid, and kept at a temperature of 100° to 105° F., 
dissolved 120 grains of coagulated albumen. Under 
idcntical conditions, 60 grains of Boudault’s pepsin* 
dissolved the same amount; 40 grains of Boudault’s 
pepsin dissolved the same amount; 30 grains of Bou¬ 
dault’s pepsin did not quite dissolve it; 60 grains of 
Grimault’s pepsin dissolved but 84 grains; 60 grains of 
Hawley’s pepsin dissolved but 60 grains. With Hough¬ 
ton’s pepsin, most of the little cubes into which the 
coagulated albumen was cut had not even lost their 
sharp angles and corners. 
To substantiate the assertion made in my essay on 
liquid pepsin (. Amer. Journ. of Pharm., March, 1870) that 
wine of pepsin and all other preparations of pepsin con¬ 
taining alcohol were devoid of digestive power, I made 
the following experiments:—Two equal quantities of 
dry pepsin were dissolved in acidulated water, and to 
one of them, after solution, one-third of alcohol was 
added. The same amount of coagulated albumen was 
put into each bottle. By the time that the albumen 
in the vial without alcohol was entirely dissolved, the 
albumen in the other one was not acted upon, and the 
little cubes had retained their shape. Dry pepsin, preci¬ 
pitated with alcohol from its solution, was dissolved in 
acidulated water and coagulated albumen added to it; a 
solution of my dry pepsin was likewise made, and the 
same quantity of albumen added. The pepsin made 
with alcohol did not seem to act at all on the albumen, 
which appeared to be exactly the same in shape and 
bulk as when it was put in, when my pejxsin had dis¬ 
solved the albumen entirely. 
It seemed to me of importance to find if pepsin made 
from calf rennet was identical with that made from the 
hog. I therefore prepared liquid pepsin from rennet in 
exactly the same way and the same proportions as from 
the mucous membrane of the hog’s stomach. When com¬ 
pared with liquid pepsin as to its digestive strength, it 
was found that pork pepsin dissolved about one-third 
more of coagulated albumen than calf pepsin in the same 
time. With *dry pepsin made from rennet I obtained 
the same result. By experimenting with lean beef meat 
the difference was still more in favour of the pork 
pepsin, as a certain quantity of beef was dissolved by 
this, while the calf pepsin had loosened the fibres and 
softened the meat, but the bulk was not appreciably 
diminished.— Amer. Journ. Pharm. 
* The Boudault’s pepsin I had used for experiments last 
winter must have been adulterated or spoiled, as I recollect 
right well that it was a damp, sticky powder of somewhat 
different colour from the one I used this time; therefore its 
strength, compared with the liquid pepsin, was found so 
much less than in the present experiment. 
