250 
Pliarmacopceial  Preparations. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
May,  1897. 
opium,  would  require  an  explicit  and  comprehensive  description  of 
what  is,  and  what  is  not,  an  adulterant.  For  an  analyst  to  condemn 
a  case  of  opium,  on  the  ground  that  it  contained  starch,  when  the 
only  requirement  is  a  certain  amount  of  morphine,  would  lay  himself 
open  to  criticism.  We,  however,  do  think  that  a  substance  like 
strontium  sulphate,  which  increases  the  apparent  yield  of  morphine, 
ought  to  be  looked  on  as  an  adulterant  of  a  fraudulent  nature. 
305  Cherry  Street,  Philadelphia. 
ON  THE  PRESERVATIVES  OF  PHARMACOPCEIAL 
PREPARATIONS.1 
By  William  Martindaee. 
In  the  work  of  compiling  formulae  for  the  use  of'  medical  prac- 
titioners and  pharmacists,  care  is  necessary  to  test  the  keeping  prop- 
erties of  the  various  solutions  and  preparations,  and  having  prepared 
and  kept  a  number  of  these  preparations,  I  thought  a  few  notes  on 
them  might  prove  interesting.  They  are  purely  pharmaceutical, 
and  must  not  be  considered  as  having  bacteriological  importance. 
The  vehicle  mostly  used  for  the  internal  administration  of  medi- 
cines, of  course,  is  water  in  some  form  or  other,  but  distilled  water 
alone  is  recognized  by  the  Pharmacopoeia,  and  probably  this,  as 
frequently  met  with,  is  more  defective  from  a  standard  of  purity 
than  most  preparations  in  the  Pharmacopoeia.  It  is  even  more 
prone  to  develop  minute  organisms  than  many  of  the  spring  waters 
that  are  to  be  met  with,  although  these  may  contain  inorganic  salts, 
which  render  them  unsuitable  as  solvents  and  vehicles  in  which  to 
administer  medicinal  preparations.  So  much  has  distilled  water  ob- 
tained this  evil  reputation  that  a  bacteriologist  of  eminence  is 
reported  to  have  said  that  one  of  the  best  incubating  fluids  was  a 
certain  manufacturer's  distilled  water. 
Various  means  have,  therefore,  been  adopted  for  sterilizing  it  and 
rendering  it  aseptic  for  pharmaceutical  use,  such  as  keeping  it  in  a 
cool  place,  and,  of  course,  free  from  dust,  and  having  it  recently  well 
boiled  and  cooled.  The  best  and  only  method  to  be  depended  upon, 
however,  care  having  been  taken  to  select  a  good  water  for  distilla- 
tion, as  well  as  to  refuse  the  first  and  last  products,  and  to  ensure 
1  Pharmaceutical  Journal,  March,  13,  1897. 
