March 25, 1871.] 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
SYRUP OF PHOSPHATE OF IROH 
AND OTHER SYRUPS CONTAINING 
PHOSPHORIC ACID. 
BY MICHAEL CARTEIGHE. 
Of tlie numerous preparations of iron at the dis¬ 
posal of the practitioner few have in late years ac¬ 
quired more favour than the syrup of the phosphate. 
First introduced to the notice of the profession by 
Mr. Greenish* * * § * in a form more or less opaque, it was 
not until about ten years ago that it came into very 
general use. About this time Gale and Schweitzer 
each read a paperf at one of the evening meetings 
of the Pharmaceutical Society, detailing processes 
for the preparation of this syrup in a form which 
should remain perfectly bright and free from deposit. 
Gale’s process was introduced into the British Phar¬ 
macopoeia of 1867, and since the publication of that 
volume the demand for this medicine has vastly in¬ 
creased. Its tendency to darken in colour after hav¬ 
ing been kept for some tune was soon noticed, and 
Umneyl made some experiments with the view of 
preventing or retarding this change, but the results 
were not practically satisfactory. T. B. Groves§ 
afterwards examined a very old specimen in his 
possession, and determined the chemical composition 
of the precipitate, which is formed on long standing. 
He describes this precipitate as being essentially a 
compound of iron with phosphoric acid, correspond¬ 
ing to the octocalcic phosphate of Warington. The 
dark colour he thinks due to the production of 
caramel by the action of the phosphoric acid and 
iron salt upon the sugar. He also prepared several 
specimens with a stronger acid, made by himself 
from amorphous phosphorus, and found that these 
kept somewhat better than when made according to 
the B. P. 
The necessity of keeping the syrup recently pre¬ 
pared induced me to try a few experiments with a 
stronger acid, and to devise a shorter process than 
that of the B. P. This has doubtless already sug¬ 
gested itself to, and been practically tested by, other 
chemists, but, so far as I am aware, it has not hitherto 
been published. It is as follows :— 
SYRUP OF PHOSPHATE OF IRON. 
Phosphate of Iron.96 grs. 
Water.9 fl. drms. 
Syrupy Phosphoric Acid, sp. gr. 1*500 7 fl. drms. 
Syrup.10 fl. oz. 
Rub the phosphate of iron with the water in a glass 
mortar, add the phosphoric acid and filter the mixture 
into the syrup. 
As thus prepared, it contains the same proportion 
of iron, about 2 minims less of the dilute acid (25 
instead of 27), and rather more sugar than when 
prepared according to the Pharmacopoeia. 
The phosphate of iron is made by the B. P. pro¬ 
cess, and dried at a temperature not exceeding 100° 
F. The specimens I have found in the ordinary 
course of trade are not readily soluble in the acid. 
This want of solubility is, I believe, due to the 
length of time they have been kept before sale. 
* Phaem. Jouex. Vol. X. p. 534. 
t Phaem. Jouen. 2nd series, Yol. I. p. 497. 
X Phaem. Johett. 2nd series, Yol. YIII. p. 129. 
§ Phaem. Jotten. Yol. XI. p. 138. 
Third Series, No. 39. 
761 
I have obtained the best results with phosphate 
only a few days old, and find it advantageous to 
make as much as is required frequently. 
Syrupy phosphoric acid of sp. gr. 1*500 may now 
be obtained of any manufacturing chemist, and ac¬ 
cording to Dr. Watts’s table,* contains about 50 per 
cent, of P 2 0 5 . It is made by the action of nitric 
acid on phosphorus, the excess of acid being driven 
off in a platinum vessel. 
Manganese is sometimes prescribed with or with¬ 
out iron, and according to Pereira, the former is a 
useful adjunct to ferruginous preparations, and oc¬ 
casionally a desirable substitute for them. 
SYRUP OF PHOSPHATE OF MANGANESE 
May be prepared in a similar manner with the 
following ingredients:— 
Phosphate of Manganese.96 grs. 
Water.9 fl. drms. 
Syrupy Phosphoric Acid, sp. gr. 1*500 7 fl. drms. 
Syrup.10 fl. oz. 
Strength — 1 grain phosphate of manganese and 
acid equal to about 25 minims of the dilute phosphoric 
acicl in each fluid drachm. 
The phosphate of manganese is made in the same 
manner as the phosphate of iron, substituting sul¬ 
phate of manganese for the ferrous sulphate. 
SYRUP OF PHOSPHATE OF IRON WITH 
MANGANESE. 
Phosphate of Iron.72 grs. 
Phosphate of Manganese.48 grs. 
Water.8 fl. drms. 
Syrupy Phosphoric Acid.8 fl. drms. 
Syrup.10 fl. oz. 
Rub the powders with the water, add the acid and filter 
into the syrup. 
Each fluid drachm contains \-grain phosphate of 
iron, \-grain phosphate of manganese and acid equal 
to about 30 minims of the dilute phosphoric acid, B.P. 
The tendency of modern practitioners of medi¬ 
cine to encourage the exhibition of. substances which 
may assist in the formation of bone, etc., has led to 
the introduction of the— 
SYRUP OF PHOSPHATE OF IRON AND LIME. 
Take of Phosphate of Iron.96 grs. 
Phosphate of Lime.192 grs. 
Water.8 fl. drms. 
Syrupy Phosphoric Acid, sp. gr. 
1-500 8 fl. drms. 
Syrup.. . . . 10 fl. oz. 
Mix the powders with the water in a glass mortar, add 
the acid and filter into the syrup. 
Each fluid drachm contains 1 grain of phosphate 
of iron, 2 grains of phosphate of lime, and an amount 
of acid equal to about 30 minims of the dilute 
phosphoric acid, B. P. 
The phosphate of lime is made by precipitation 
from solutions of chloride of calcium and phosphate 
of soda, and dried at 100° F., and should not be kept 
too long before use. That made from bone ash, as 
the Pharmacopoeia directs, is much less readily 
soluble. 
The following formulae may be useful as an appen¬ 
dix: 
* Phaem. Jouen. 2nd series, Yol. YII. p. 191. 
