Amju°vfimarm"}  Infusion  of  Digitalis.  341 
INFUSION  OF  DIGITALIS. 
By  Joseph  "W.  England,  Ph.  G. 
From,  a  paper  read  before  the  Pennsylvania  Pharmaceutical  Association,  June  5. 
In  the  introductory  portion  of  his  paper,  the  author  refers  in  detail 
to  the  chemical  researches  on  digitalis,  and  lays  stress  upon  the  fact 
that  the  active  constituents  may  be  divided  into  three  groups. 
First,  those  soluble  in  alcohol  and  insoluble  or  nearly  insoluble  in 
water  ;  second,  those  soluble  in  water  and  insoluble  or  nearly  insoluble 
in  alcohol :  third,  those  soluble  in  both  alcohol  and  water.  Under  the 
first  group  are  placed  digitalin  and  digitoxin ;  under  the  second  digi- 
tonin  ;  under  the  third,  digitalein.  The  tincture  and  fluid  extract  be- 
ing alcoholic  or  rather  dilate  alcoholic  preparations,  contain  most  largely, 
digitalin,  digitoxin  and  digitalein,  whilst  the  infusion,  an  aqueous  prepa- 
ration, holds  in  solution  digitonin  and  digitalein.  It  is  evident  from 
these  facts,  comments  the  author,  that  the  custom  of  making  infusion 
of  digitalis  from  the  tincture  or  the  fluid  extract,  needs  to  be  men- 
tioned only  to  be  condemned,  and  should  never  be  followed. 
To  determine  the  value  of  an  infusion  of  digitalis  the  first  step 
would  be  to  ascertain  the  percentage  of  active  ingredients  and  next  to 
standardize.  In  the  absence  of  standardization  the  best  method  would 
be  to  ascertain  the  amount  of  solids,  active  and  inactive,  dissolved.  In 
view  of  its" delicate  chemical  composition,  it  is  manifest  that  prolonged 
heat  should  not  be  used  to  obtain  such  results,  so  in  all  the  experi- 
ments herein  recorded,  evaporation  of  the  finished  product  was  not  re- 
sorted to.  The  amount  of  solids  dissolved  in  each  fluidounce  was 
found  by  taking  the  specific  gravity  of  the  infusion  (in  a  flask  hold- 
ing 32*4  gm.  of  distilled  water,  at  70°  F.),  multiplying  it  by  the 
weight  of  a  fluidounce  of  water  and  subtracting  from  the  result  455*69 
grains. 
The  first  series  of  experiments  made  were  to  determine  whether  cold 
or  boiling  water  exerted  the  greater  solvent  action  upon  digitalis  and 
whether,  in  each  instance,  maceration  for  one,  two,  three  or  four  hours 
produced  any  variation.  The  results  of  eight  experiments  upon  the 
same  sample  of  powdered  digitalis  (No.  80),  one  drachm  to  each  pint 
of  infusion,  were  these,  that  the  cold  water  infusions  were  lighter  in 
color  than  those  made  with  boiling  water,  and  that  the  specific  gravity 
(1*00154)  was  identical  in  all  cases,  whether  maceration  was  for  one, 
two,  three  or  four  hours.  It  may  then  be  deduced  that  cold  water 
infusions  are  preferable  to  those  made  with  boiling  water,  because,  al- 
