Am.  Jour.  Pharm. "I 
October,  1910.  j 
Oil  of  Sesamuni. 
481 
the  ground  drug  with  ammoniated  alcohol  to  liberate  the  alkaloids 
and  then  infusing  with  the  oil.  Olive  oil  was  formerly  used,  but 
sesame  oil  has  replaced  it  in  the  newer  pharmacopoeias  and  sesame 
oil  should  most  certainly  displace  the  poor  mixture  of  lard  and 
cottonseed  oil  in  the  N.F.  When  the  fourth  edition  of  the  Swiss 
Pharmacopoeia  was  published,  I  discovered  that  this  authority 
describes  this  oil  as  "  dark  green  and  clear,"  and  orders  its  prepara- 
tion in  a  copper  vessel.  As  you  can  convince  yourselves  from  sub- 
mitted specimens,  an  oil  results  with  a  beautiful  rich  dark  green 
color.  In  place  of  a  copper  vessel  any  ordinary  dish  will  answer  if 
a  few  copper  coins  are  added  when  the  oil  is  infused. 
Although  color  is  said  to  be  no  criterion  in  pharmacy,  I  am 
fully  convinced  that  the  physician  as  well  as  the  patient  and  cus- 
tomer will  prefer  such  a  beautiful  preparation  to  one  of  a  brownish- 
green  or  greenish-brown  color.  The  psychological  effects  alone 
of  such  an  elegant  galenical  will  benefit  the  patient. 
Last,  permit  me  to  direct  your  attention  to  the  use  of  sesame 
oil  in  place  of  olive  oil  in  the  U.S. P.  and  N.F.  Oleates,  and  quite 
especially  if  they  are  intended  to  be  absorbed. 
CONCLUSION  AND  SUGGESTIONS. 
In  conclusion  I  want  to  emphasize  the  fact  that  I  have  no  com- 
mercial interests  whatsoever  in  sesame  oil.  The  reason  that  I  am 
so  much  in  favor  of  this  oil  is  that  through  years  of  experiment 
I  am  fully  convinced  from  the  practical  as  well  as  the  scientific 
point  of  view  that  oleum  sesami  deserves  admission  into  galenical 
preparations  of  the  U.S.P.  IX  and  N.F.  IV. 
I  sincerely  hope  that  in  the  resulting  discussion  a  great  many 
valuable  points  will  be  brought  out  and  also  that  some  of  the 
members  of  the  N.  Y.  State  Pharmaceutical  Association  will  give 
sesame  oil  a  trial,  report  their  experiments,  and  thereby  be  helpful 
to  the  U.S.P.  and  N.F.  Revision  Committee. 
