^eptJember,hiw™"}     American  Pharmaceutical  Association.  489 
Tinctura  Moschi. — The  pharmacopoeial  requirement  of  5  per  cent,  strength 
is  too  great  and  wasteful,  as  this  amount  of  musk  will  not  be  exhausted  by  the 
process  now  directed.  The  strength  should  be  reduced  to  2  per  cent,  and 
100  c.c.  of  the  water  replaced  by  liquor  calcis. 
Methyl  Alcohol  may  now  be  obtained  of  a  high  degree  of  purity,  and  the  use 
of  such  purified  wood  alcohol  should  be  sanctioned  in  the  manufacture  of  such 
preparations  as  linimentum  saponis,  linimentum  saponis  mollis,  linimentum 
sinapis  compositum,  spiritus  myrciae,  tinctura  arnicse  fioruni,  tinctura  benzoini, 
tinctura  cantharidis  and  tinctura  iodi.  Samples  of  these  preparations  made  with 
purified  wood  alcohol  were  submitted  for  inspection  by  Mr.  Kliel. 
It  was  the  intention  to  submit  at  this  meeting  a  line  of  samples  of  fluid  and 
solid  extracts  of  alkaloidal  drugs  with  wood  alcohol  as  a  solvent,  but  in  order 
to  obtain  trustworthy  results,  the  committee  found  that  individual  experiments 
have  to  be  repeated  a  great  many  times.  The  practicability  of  using  methyl 
alcohol  in  the  manufacture  of  alkaloidal  solid  extracts  was  tested  on  the  follow- 
ing drugs : 
Aconite,  belladonna,  cinchona,  henbane  and  stramonium.  Methyl  alcohol 
does  wholly  extract  the  alkaloids  of  these  drugs. 
In  the  cases  of  aconite,  belladonna  and  nux  vomica,  the  volume  of  menstruum 
for  complete  exhaustion  was  ascertained.  Two  portions  of  the  drug  (100  gm. 
each)  were  packed  in  separate  percolators  and  were  exhausted  under  the  same 
conditions  and  at  the  same  rate  of  flow,  one  portion  being  exhausted  with 
official  menstruum,  the  other  with  a  menstruum  differing  from  the  official  in 
containing  purified  methyl  alcohol  in  place  of  official  ethyl  alcohol. 
The  percolation  was  conducted  with  ordinary  percolators,  and  in  the  manner 
ordinarily  employed  in  retail  stores,  who  follow  the  specifications  of  the 
U.S. P. 
The  results  were  as  follows  : 
Volume  of  menstruum  required  for  complete  exhaustion. 
1  »  * 
Ethyl  Methyl 
Drug-.  Alcohol  Menstruum.  Alcohol  Menstruum. 
Aconite  450  c.c.  550  c.c. 
Belladonna  695  c.c.  700  c.c. 
Nux  vomica  950  c.c.  1060  c.c. 
The  first  and  the  second  100  c.c.  of  percolate  were  assayed  for  total  alkaloids, 
with  the  following  results  : 
First  100  c.c.  of  First  100  c.c.  of 
Ethyl  Methyl 
Drug.                                  Alcohol  Percolate.  Alcohol  Percolate. 
Aconite  0*49  gm.  0*43  gm. 
Belladonna    .  0-437  gm.  0-458  gm. 
Nux  vomica                           1*437  gm.  1*427  gm. 
Second  100  c.c.  of  Second  100  c  c.  of 
Ethyl  Methyl 
Drug.  Alcohol  Percolate.  Alcohol  Percolate. 
Aconite   .  .  0-135  gm.  0*135  gm. 
Belladonna   '0578  gm.  -04814  gm. 
Nux  vomica  733   gm.  *668  gm. 
