Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
June,  1908. 
Progress  in  Pharmacy. 
291 
defined  as  follows  :  "  The  immunity  unit  for  measuring  the  strength 
of  tetanus  antitoxin  shall  be  ten  times  the  least  quantity  of  anti- 
tetanic  serum  necessary  to  save  the  life  of  a  350-gramme  guinea  pig 
for  ninety-six  hours  against  the  official  test  dose  of  a  standard  toxin 
furnished  by  the  Hygienic  Laboratory  of  the  Public  Health  and 
Marine  Hospital  Service." 
Sterilization  in  Pharmacy. —  An  ever-increasing  number  of  foreign 
pharmacopoeias  are  devoting  considerable  attention  to  sterilization 
of  medicaments  and  materials  by  the  pharmacist.  As  opinions  as 
to  methods  and  processes  of  sterilization  naturally  differ,  and  as  the 
need  for  this  precautionary  measure  becomes  more  and  more  appre- 
ciated, the  problems  connected  with  the  official  introduction  of  satis- 
factory processes  become  more  apparent. 
So  far,  methods  for  sterilization  have  been  introduced  into  the 
..pharmacopoeias  of  Austria,  Belgium  and  Switzerland.  In  Germany 
the  need  for  complying  with  the  evident  requirement  is  being  actively 
discussed,  and  the  Swedish  Pharmacopceial  Commission  is  also  con- 
sidering the  advisability  of  including  the  same  in  the  forthcoming 
edition  of  their  pharmacopoeia. 
The  Alkaloids  of  the  Poppy  Plant. — Professor  Thorns  has  demon- 
strated (Phar.  Zeit'g,  April  8,  1908,  page  292)  that  the  amount  of 
opium  and  of  its  alkaloids  yielded  by  poppy  plants  may  be  increased 
by  suitable  soil  and  proper  cultivation.  He  has  also  shown  that  the 
several  opium  alkaloids  may  be  obtained  directly  from  the  unripe 
poppy  capsule,  and  these  alkaloids  also  occur,  ready  developed,  in 
the  young  poppy  plants. 
Coloration  of  Adrenine  Solutions. — Gunn  and  Harrison  [Phar. 
Jour.,  April  18,  1908,  page  513)  have  investigated  the  causes  of  the 
color  in  adrenine  solutions  and  have  discovered  that  adrenine  dis- 
solved in  water  with  one  molecule  equivalent  of  hydrochloric  acid, 
becomes  pink  quicker  than  a  solution  containing  a  greater  propor- 
tion of  hydrochloric  acid.  They  have  also  found  that  the  alkali  of 
the  glass  accelerates  the  formation  of  color,  as  do  also  exposure  to 
air  and  light  and  contamination  with  iron. 
Activity  of  Colored  Solutions  of  Adrenine. — Prof.  W.  E.  Dixon,  of 
Kings  College,  London,  finds  that  the  loss  of  activity  of  adrenine 
solutions  is  proportional  to  the  depth  of  the  color.  He  also  found 
that  the  artificial  adrenine  has  only  about  one-half  the  activity  cf 
the  natural  product.    (Phar.  Jour.,  April  18,  1908,  page  514.) 
