Am.  Jour.  Pliar.ii., ) 
Mar.,  1881.  j 
Liquor  Opii  Sedatlvus. 
129 
NOTES  ON  YAEIOUS  FORMS  OF  LIQUOR  OPII 
SEDATIVUS. 
By  E.  B.  Shuttle  worth. 
Bead  at  a  Meeting  of  the  Toi'onto  Medical  Society. 
It  is  needless  to  assert  the  necessity  for  a  liquid  preparation  of  opium 
other  than  the  tincture.  The  extensive  use  of  Battley's  solution  is,  in 
itself,  a  sufficient  indication  of  the  fact  that  such  a  preparation  possesses 
advantages  which  are  not  shared  by  the  tincture.  Even  when 
therapeutical  differences  are  set  aside,  there  is  sufficient  reason  for  the 
abandonment  of  laudanum  in  all  cases  where  nicety  of  dose  is  a  consid- 
eration. It  has  become  an  article  of  too  general  use  w^ith  the  public  to 
hold  its  place  as  a  reliable  pharmaceutical  preparation.  Not  only  is  it 
open  to  competition  in  price,  but,  at  the  best,  the  trade  standard  has 
been  sensibly  lowered,  so  that  it  is  not  in  accordance  with  the  require- 
ments of  the  B.  P.  The  tincture  is  now  almost  universally  made  ^vith 
the  moist  opium  of  commerce,  which  contains  from  10  to  20  per  cent, 
of  water,  while  the  Pharmacopoeia  directs  dry  opium  to  be  used.  It 
will  be  seen  that  the  strength  of  the  preparation  will  vary  in  like  pro- 
portion, and  that  in  no  case  will  it  come  up  to  the  official  standard.  In 
this  connection  the  fact  may  be  mentioned  that  analyses  of  laudanum 
made  in  England  and  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic  show  the  variation  in 
morphia  strength  to  vary  as  much  as  300  per  cent. 
The  aqueous  preparations  of  opium  in  use  in  Canada,  and  more  par- 
ticularly in  this  city,  are :  Battley's  solution ;  various  fluid  extracts 
made  by  manufacturing  firms ;  solutions  made  after  the  model  of  the 
tinct.  opii  deodorata,  U.  S.  P.;  ext.  opii  liquid.,  B.  P.;  and  a  so-called 
liquor  opii  sedativus,  originating  in  a, recipe  of  an  old  Toronto  druggist, 
which  is  made  and  largely  used  by  leading  pharmacists.  When  reduced 
to  a  tabular  form  the  comparative  strengths  of  these  preparations  will  be 
more  easilv  seen.  The  standard  I  have  selected  is  tinct.  opii,  B.  P.,. 
and  fractional  parts  of  tlie  minim  are  omitted  : 
Tinct.  opii,  B.  P.,  contains  1  grain  of  dry  opium  in  15  minims. 
Ext.  opii  liquid.,  B.  P.,  "       1  "  "         11  " 
Liquor  opii  sedativus  (Battley),     "       1  "  "         11  " 
Liquor  opii  sedativus  (Toronto),    "       1  "  "  4-8  " 
Tinct.  opii  deodorata,  U.  S.  P.,       "      1  "  "         13  " 
Various  fluid  extracts,  "       1  "         about      18  " 
These  various  strengths,  ranging  very  widely,  occasion  much  confu- 
