Du Mez—The Galenical Oleoresins. 1121 
powder (No. 60) be used for this purpose. The coarser 
powder possesses the advantages of being more readily pro¬ 
duced and of being better adapted to the rapid exhaustion of 
the drug. 
3) The solvents which have been experimented with in the 
preparation of this oleoresin are alcohol, ether, acetone, ben- 
zin and petroleum ether. Of these, ether has proven to be the 
most satisfactory and is the solvent specified for this purpose 
by the present Pharmacopoeia. Acetone, which was directed 
to be used by the Pharmacopoeia of 1900, like alcohol, is un¬ 
satisfactory as the large amount of extractive matter obtained 
interferes with the separation of the piperine. Benzin or pe¬ 
troleum ether, on the other hand, dissolves piperine but 
slightly and, therefore, yield a product low in piperine con¬ 
tent. See tables on page 1134. 
4) For a description of percolators adapted to the use of 
volatile liquids, as specified for use in this connection by the 
Pharmacopoeia, see Part I under “Apparatus used.” 
5) With respect to the manner of exhausting the drug, it is 
thought that the process of continuous extraction would be a 
distinct improvement over the present pharmacopoeial method. 
The reasons for this statement have already been given in 
the comments of the preceding oleoresins and need not be re¬ 
peated here. 
6-7) As this oleoresin does not appear to undergo any notice¬ 
able changes upon exposure to the air, except to lose a small 
amount of volatile oil, the conditions under which the solvent 
is removed from the percolate are not as important as in the 
case of the other oleoresins. The time necessary to complete 
the preparation, however, can be considerably shortened if 
the operation is completed at the temperature of the water 
bath, for which reason, this procedure is thought to be justi¬ 
fied. 
8) The Pharmacopoeia directs that the mixture obtained on 
evaporating the solvent from the percolate be allowed to stand 
until the deposition of the piperine is complete and that the 
latter then be separated from the liquid portion by straining 
through purified cotton. The object to be attained in allow¬ 
ing the piperine to deposit is not understood as it has been 
found in actual practice that the liquid portion does not sep- 
71—S. A. L. 
