308 
EXTRACTS OF THE BRITISH PHARMACOPOEIA. 
cost of English extract of liquorice, as supplied by wholesale druggists, is 3s. 
per pound, so the Pharmacopoeia article costs Is. ( )d . per pound more than the 
commercial,—truly exemplifying the fact that the compilers of the British 
Pharmacopoeia spared no cost in order to obtain a good preparation ; and in¬ 
deed, if there is one thing more than another in which price should not be 
complained of, either by the vendor or consumer, it is in the production of 
good medicines. 
As there are two sides to most pictures, let me now say a few words upon the 
process of making the extract by decoction. The form as directed in the 
London Pharmacopoeia was not altogether a good one, and therefore, as I 
have been in the habit of making some quantities of this extract, I will lay 
before you my own modus operandi. In the first place, I prefer the large 
full-grown roots, or, more properl} r speaking, underground stems, as they ge¬ 
nerally yield a far larger and better product. They are bruised with a mal¬ 
let, so as to lay well open the entire skin, and then cut into convenient 
lengths of ten or twelve inches; then placed in a copper, and in the evening 
covered with water to the extent of three or four pints to the pound; allowed 
to macerate until the following morning, when a fire is put under, and the 
contents, after being brought to the boiling-point, suffered to simmer for two 
hours ; then left to infuse until the following morning, when the liquor, still 
warm, is run off and strained as it comes out of the tap through a canvas bag; 
then transferred to a pan heated by steam, and evaporated to about one-third, 
when it is taken out and placed in an earthen pan, and there allowed to de¬ 
posit, and when cold the clear liquor is poured off, and the thick strained 
through flannel; this process is repeated with two quantities more water, only in 
these the water used is much reduced in amount. The first liquor, rich in ex¬ 
tract, is evaporated down by itself, and the poorer liquid from the second and 
third decoction by itself, mixing the products towards the end; by so doing, 
the first rich liquor is not subjected to the action of heat more than half the time 
it would be if, as directed in most pharmacopoeias and books, the mixed liquors 
were evaporated down together; and this remark is applicable to nearly all 
the extracts prepared from the dry material, w r hether by percolation, cold ma¬ 
ceration, infusion, or decoction, and I think it well worthy of attention, for, 
by keeping the first portion apart from the rest, should any peculiar aroma 
be present, the advantage of the plan will be at once apparent. In addition, 
I may add that the long-continued heat renders the extract less soluble when 
finished than it otherwise would be. 
Now, by this manner of proceeding, fresh liquorice-root yields upon an 
average something less than one-fourth, approaching very closely twenty-two 
per cent, of good, sweet, rich extract, answering well as a demulcent and 
sweetener of other preparations not so agreeable as itself. It is soluble in 
cold water and proof spirit, leaving, like that prepared by percolation with 
cold water, a deposit on standing from the spirituous solution. The cost of 
this extract may be stated, at the outside, at three shillings per pound. Now, 
a much larger product may be obtained by straining the decoctions whilst 
hot, as according to the Pharm. Lond., and evaporating them at once, amount¬ 
ing to thirty-five per cent, of the fresh root; but this extract contains a con¬ 
siderable amount of mucilage, amylaceous and gelatinous material; but 
nevertheless it is very sweet, and w'ell calculated for liquorice jujubes, etc. 
This extract, as might be anticipated, is not perfectly soluble in cold water, 
but yields a deposit giving unmistakable evidence of the presence of starch. 
These extracts, as a rule, become darker by age, as may be seen by that pre¬ 
pared in 1862, which is on the table with the others. The product and cost 
of the three preparations stand thus :—Percolation with cold water fifteen per 
cent., at a cost of 4s. Q>d. per pound; decoction and strained when cold twenty- 
