Am.  Jour.  Pharra.  > 
August,  1569.  J 
Keratin  and  Keratinized  Pills. 
423 
acetic  acid  he  subjects  the  feathers  to  ten  hours'  digestion  iu  water  and 
then  to  eight  days'  maceration  in  a  mixture  of  equal  weights  of  ether 
and  alcohol,  to  eliminate  fatty  matters  and  cholesterin. 
Keratin  obtained  by  one  of  the  foregoing  processes  is  dissolved 
with  the  aid  of  a  gentle  heat  either  in  acetic  acid  or  ammonia  and 
the  solution  is  allowed  to  clear  by  standing.  Fischer  recommends 
the  employment  of  seven  parts  of  keratin  with  either  100  parts  of 
acetic  acid  or  a  mixture  of  equal  parts  of  ammonia  and  dilute 
alcohol. 
If  the  pill  mass  should  contain  water,  the  pills  would  shrink  and 
fissures  would  be  produced  in  the  keratin  coating.  It  is,  therefore, 
recommended  to  use  in  the  making  of  these  pills  a  mixture  of  yellow 
wax,  1  part,  and  suet  or  cacao  butter.  10  parts.  It  is  also  necessary 
to  avoid  the  use  of  vegetable  powders  and  to  employ  in  their  place 
kaolin  or  charcoal  powder. 
When  the  pills  are  finished  they  should  be  dipped  in  cacao  butter, 
rolled  in  charcoal  powder  and  then  keratinized.  For  this  purpose 
the  pills,  placed  in  a  porcelain  capsule,  are  sprinkled  with  a  suitable 
quantity  of  keratin  solution  and  then  shaken  together  until  the  evap- 
oration of  the  solvent  takes  place.  This  moistening  and  drying  re- 
quires to  be  repeated  several  times  (as  many  as  ten)  before  the  layer  of 
keratin  is  sufficiently  thick. 
The  process  employed  for  coating  pills  with  gelatin,  which  consists 
in  dipping  into  the  solution  the  pill  fixed  on  the  point  of  a  needle,  is 
not  suitable  here,  for  it  leaves  a  hole  through  the  keratin  coating 
that  can  never  be  completely  closed. 
In  order  to  ensure  that  the  keratin  used  is  insoluble  in  the  stomach, 
Unna  recommends  that  a  preliminary  experiment  should  be  made 
with  sulphide  of  calcium  pills  coated  with  it.  If  in  the  course  of 
some  hours  after  such  pills  are  taken  eructations  of  sulphuretted 
hydrogen  are  observed,  it  would  indicate  that  the  pills  have  been 
dissolved  in  the  stomach.  When  the  keratin  is  of  good  quality 
nothing  of  the  kind  should  occur.  Finally,  to  complete  the  test, 
the  pills  when  placed  in  water  should  not  liquefy  or  crack. 
Iodide  of  starch  as  a  disinfectant  in  gastric  disturbances  is  rec- 
ommended by  Dr.  Yerseienko  in  doses  of  0*1  to  03  for  children,  and  0  5 
gm.  for  adults.  It  may  be  given  in  the  form  of  powder  or  pill,  and  may  be 
combined  with  Dover's  powder.— Dtsch.  Med.  Woch. 
