THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
971 
’me 1,1872.] 
•J 
One of the Asclcpiadacccc yields a kind of Ipecacuan, 
Tylophora asthmatica , W. and A.; ( Gynanchum Ipecacu¬ 
anha, "VVilld.; Asclepias asthmatica , Roxb. El. Ind.; 
■Cynanchum vomitorium, Lam.). It is an East Indian 
twiner, common in sandy places. 
The leaves and roots are an efficacious substitute for 
Ipecacuan. Dr. Roxburgh used it in dysentery, and 
Dr. J. Anderson, of Madras, employed it in that disease 
with great success. It is recommended as a valuable 
remedy also in asthma, and has been admitted into the 
Pharmacopoeia of India (1869), where the uses are de¬ 
scribed, pp. 142 and 458. Four other East Indian plants 
•of this Order have been employed for their emetic 
properties. 
Another Order which supplies a plant known as an 
Ipecacuan is the Euphorbiaceec. In this we meet with 
Euphorbia Ipecacuanha , L., a plant which grows in sandy 
soils in the middle and northern states of North America. 
It has an irregular fleshy root, very large in proportion 
to the plant, running into the sand, sometimes to the 
depth of six feet. From its stem proceed numerous di¬ 
chotomous branches on the surface of the ground. The 
flowers are produced on long peduncles from the forkings 
of the stem. The root acts as an emetic ; it is also 
.cathartic, as might be expected from the character of 
the Order to which the plant belongs. 
OLEATES OF MERCURY AND MORPHIA. 
In a Clinical Lecture recently delivered by Professor 
John Marshall, F.R.S.,inthe University College Hospi¬ 
tal,* he drew attention to the fact that mercurial oint- 
anent, which is itself the basis of other mercurial 
preparations, is merely a mechanical mixture of minute 
globules of mercury ; and said that he had long thought 
that if a solution of mercury in some oleaginous or 
-unctuous medium could be employed, more immediate 
and satisfactory results would be obtained from the 
well-known therapeutical powers of this ancient remedy. 
In seeking for his object he first dissolved some of the 
p>erchloride of mercury in a small quantity of ether, and 
added to it about four times the amount of oleic acid; 
but found that this combination freely used on the skin 
produced much irritation, unless it was employed in too 
dilute a form to be of service as an absorbent. In 
'Gmelin’s Chemistry there is a short account of certain 
metallic oleates formed by double decomposition; but 
with this as a guide, he failed to obtain any satisfactory 
oleate of mercury. Mr. Frank Clowes, to whom he then 
referred the chemical question, soon discovered that, al¬ 
though the ordinary sublimed scales of red oxide of mer¬ 
cury were with difficulty dissolved in oleic acid, the 
■oxide, precipitated by caustic potash or soda from a solu¬ 
tion of the metal in nitric acid (which is a yellow im¬ 
palpable powder) is, when recently made and well dried, 
readily soluble in oleic acid, especially when aided by a 
temperature of about 300° F. At Professor Marshall’s 
request Messrs. Hopkin and Williams have since studied 
the subject pharmaceutically, and have succeeded in pre¬ 
paring oleate of mercury, and certain solutions of that 
salt in oleic acid. The strength of the preparations 
made by them is indicated by the percentage of the oxide 
-of mercury which they contain. The 5 per cent, solution 
Is a perfectly clear pale yellow liquid, resembling olive 
oil, but thinner; the 10 per cent, solution is also fluid 
.and perfectly clear, but as dark as linseed oil; whilst 
the 20 per cent, preparation is an opaque yellowish 
unctuous substance, closely resembling in appearance 
resin ointment, melting very readily at the temperature 
of the l.ody, and forming a kind of transparent, viscid, 
colourless varnish wffien applied to the skin. The chief 
care to be observed in the manufacture of these solutions 
is not to hurry the process, and not to employ a high 
* Reported in the Lancet, May 25th, 1872. 
temperature, or the mercury will be immediately re¬ 
duced. 
Unlike the mercurial ointment so long in vogue, which 
is a crude, gross, unscientific mixture, very dirty and 
very wasteful, because so small a proportion of its me¬ 
chanically admixed mercury is but slowly absorbed, 
these solutions of oleate of mercury are cleanly and 
economical in use; and as the diffusibility or penetrating 
pow r der of oleic acid, is much greater than that of ordinary 
oils or fats, and as each one-thousandth part of even a 
minim of these new preparations contains its proper 
modicum of mercury, they are absorbed by the skin with 
remarkable facility and manifest their remedial effects 
with great promptitude. They should not be rubbed in 
like ordinary liniments or embrocations, but should be 
merely applied with a brush, or be spread lightly over the 
part with one finger ; otherwise they may cause cutaneous 
irritation, or even produce a few pustules on the skin, 
especially in certain persons. This result may, however, 
be obviated by the addition of a small quantity of olive 
oil, or purified lard, according as an oleaginous or an 
unctuous preparation is required. Any of these forms 
may be scented by the addition of essential oils. 
In employing these mercurial solutions for combating 
persistent inflammation of joints, Professor Marshall 
soon found that the addition of morphia was of very great 
advantage. For this purpose the simple alkaloid must 
be used, as neither the hydrochlorate, the acetate, nor 
the mcconatc is soluble in oleic acid. For every drachm 
of the solution of oleate of mercury in oleic acid one 
grain of morphia may be added. Being, as well as the 
mercury, completely dissolved, it quite as rapidly pene¬ 
trates the skin, comes quickly into contact with the 
extremities of the nerves, and thus, even within a few 
minutes, acts upon them at their most sensitive points, 
and speedily produces a soothing effect. 
The oleates of mercury and morphia, thus united in 
one preparation, represent, as it were, a liniment, oint¬ 
ment, or plaster of mercury and opium ; but they are far 
more elegant, economical and efficacious. 
ELIXIRS AND WINES.* 
BY C. LEW'IS DIEHL. 
At the request of the committee on unofficinal for¬ 
mulae, I present in the following the formulas used by 
me for preparing some of the elixirs and wines pre¬ 
scribed by the physicians of Louisville. Many of these 
have been used by me for several years, as the elixirs of 
Calisaya, etc., and have been found to be good prepara¬ 
tions. * Others have only lately been prepared by me, 
but seem to be desirable preparations, if this class of 
preparations is at all desirable or necessary. It is not 
my intention or desire to criticize the propriety of intro¬ 
ducing these preparations ; but that a necessity exists for 
formulas which will secure uniformity in their preparation 
seems to me beyond question. Our markets are flooded 
with numberless preparations of this kind. Physicians pre¬ 
scribe them, and usually signify the manufacturer whose 
particular preparation they prefer. As a result of this 
we are either compelled to keep all of these preparations 
in stock, or to depend upon the courtesy of our fellow- 
pharmaceutists when they are prescribed. If we attempt 
to keep them in stock a considerable outlay of capital is 
required, with in but isolated instances more than a very 
meagre chance for a fair return. To depend iipon our 
neighbour for the occasional calls is unfair to him, as. it 
in a measure compels him to carry the stock upon which 
we may reap profit. But in every way it is unfair to 
the patient, who is often caused to pay exorbitant prices 
—even when such price is only a fair advance upon the 
* Read before the Louisville College of Pharmacy, January 
10th, 1872. 
