^o'vimbe?,1!!™'}    Balsam  Copaiba  and  Gurjun  Balsam.  579 
The  requirements  of  the  Pharmacopoeia  for  oleoresin  of  copaiba 
(balsam  copaiba)  are  also  quite  inadequate  for  the  end  in  view.  The 
range  of  specific  gravity  for  solidifiable  is  rather  too  low ;  0-9800- 
1-0173  would  be  better.  On  removing  the  oil,  the  residue  may  or 
may  not  be  brittle,  in  the  absence  of  any  fixed  oil.  I  have  removed 
90  and  92  per  cent,  of  oil  from  Para  copaiba,  and  the  residue  was 
even  then  far  from  being  brittle. 
The  test  for  detecting  gurjun  balsam  when  the  article  is  heated  to 
1300  C.  must  be  in  error,  since  none  of  the  samples  of  gurjun  sub- 
mitted to  this  test  by  me  have  ever  congealed,  but  became  only 
slightly  more  viscous.  Such  a  test  becomes  worthless  in  mixtures. 
The  other  test  for  gurjun  balsam  is  unreliable. 
The  tests  for  oil  of  copaiba  are  fairly  good.  According  to  my 
work,  the  range  of  specific  gravity  ought  to  be  a  little  greater.  A 
test  for  oil  of  gurjun  should  be  given.  The  specific  gravity  of  the 
latter  is  a  little  higher  than  that  of  the  oil  of  copaiba;  gurjun  oil  is 
also  somewhat  darker  in  color,  but  in  mixtures  these  can  readily  be 
adjusted. 
Resin  copaiba  might  well  be  dismissed  from  the  Pharmacopoeia 
without  any  inconvenience  to  the  drug  trade.  If  it  is  retained, 
more  stringent  requirements  ought  to  be  added.  As  it  is,  almost 
any  resin  will  answer. 
The  therapeutical  side  of  the  copaiba  compounds  is  an  interesting 
one.  The  various  authorities  are  generally  agreed  that  an  oleoresin 
containing  from  40  to  60  per  cent,  of  oil  is  the  one  best  suited  for 
gonorrhoeal  affections  and  kindred  diseases.  Those  writers  who 
make  any  comparisons  between  the  oil  and  the  oleoresin  almost 
universally  concede  the  oil  to  be  less  efficient  than  the  oleoresin. 
One  recent  eminent  authority  says  the  oil  distilled  from  the  oleo- 
resin is  of  little  value.  The  same  writer  considers  mass  copaiba  as 
a  useless  and  clumsy  form  of  giving  the  pill. 
In  U.  S.  Dispensatory,  17th  edition,  foot-note,  page  445,  is  the 
following  t  "As  the  virtues  of  copaiba  depend  mainly  on  the  oil, 
this  variety  (Para)  should  be  more  efficacious  than  the  copaiba  in 
common  use."  Here  is  room  for  more  therapeutical  study.  It  is 
evident  that  the  oleoresin  containing  from  40  to  60  per  cent,  of  oil, 
and  the  oil  ought  to  be  recognized  by  the  U.S. P.,  but  the  other 
copaiba  compounds  could  be  dismissed. 
