Am.  Jour.  Pbarm. 
May,  1889. 
Tinetures. 
241 
ON  TINCTURES. 
Abstracts  from  Theses. 
Tinctura  Cantharidis. — Rob.  A.  Hatcher  proposes  maceration  for 
preparing  this  tincture.  He  found  that  if  prepared  by  percolation  a 
small  amount  of  cantharidin  may  remain  behind  in  the  powder,  which 
can  be  extracted  by  the  process  of  Mortreux,  viz. :  exhausting  with 
chloroform,  treating  the  extract  with  carbon  disulphide,  and-crystal- 
lizing  the  undissolved  portion  from  chloroform. 
Tinctura  Catechu  composita. — F.  B.  Quackenbush  observed  a  dif- 
ficulty in  percolating  the  mixed  powders  of  catechu  and  cinnamon;  if 
much  finer  than  No.  40,  as  directed  by  the  Pharmacopoeia,  the  pow- 
der would  form  a  solid  cake  which  could  not  be  properly  exhausted 
with  the  requisite  menstruum.  This  was,  however,  accomplished  by 
passing  the  powder  through  a  sieve  several  times  while  moisten- 
ing it. 
Tinctura  Ferri  chloridi. — Griffith  R.  Lewis  again  directs  atten- 
tion to  the  reducing  action  of  alcohol  upon  ferric  chloride,  and 
suggests  that  the  alcohol  be  replaced  by  water  as  previously  sug- 
gested by  Professor  Attfield.  The  generation  of  ferrous  salt 
was  shown  qualitatively,  no  quantitative  determinations  having  been 
made. 
Tinctura  Kino  was  found  by  F.  B.  Quackenbush  to  filter  very 
slowly  if  prepared  according  to  pharmacopoeial  directions ;  but  after 
prolonging  the  maceration  to  five  days,  the  subsequent  filtration  was 
accomplished  in  less  than  one-fourth  the  time. 
Tinctura  Nucis  Vomicae. — Of  twelve  samples  of  this  tincture  exam- 
ined by  Edmund  H.  Watkins,  one  was  whitish  and  opaque;  two  were 
of  a  distinct  reddish  tint,  while  the  others  varied  from  a  light  yellow 
to  dark  yellow.  The  percentage  of  extract  obtained  on  evaporation 
was  f,  1  J,  2  (three  samples),  2J  (two  samples),  2J  (two  samples),  2 j , 
3  and  3f .  The  alcoholic  strength  of  the  menstruum  was  not  deter- 
mined, nor  was  it  ascertained  whether  the  extracts  corresponded  with 
that  of  the  Pharmacopoeia. 
Tinctura  Opii. — Arthur  M.  Leine  examined  twelve  samples,  by 
evaporating  the  alcohol,  shaking  with  ether,  filtering,  precipitating 
with  ammonia,  washing  with  ether  and  drying.  One  sample  ob- 
tained from  a  country  grocery  store,  yielded  only  *28  per  cent,  of 
morphine.  The  remaining  samples  yielded  respectively  1*4,  1*2,  *96, 
•80,  -76,  -70,  -68,  '65,  -60,  '54  and  '46  per  cent,  of  morphine.  The 
