ij6 
Fluid  Extract  of  Nux  Vomica. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
April,  1902. 
One  thousand  parts  of  ground  drug  were  practically  exhausted 
by  percolation  with  the  U.  S.  P.  menstruum  for  fluid  extract  of  nux 
vomica,  the  alcohol  was  recovered  by  distillation  and  the  residue 
diluted  with  water  to  500  parts.  Forty  parts  of  paraffin  were  added 
and  the  mixture  heated  to  70  or  8oc  C.  and  briskly  stirred  for  half 
an  hour.  It  was  then  set  aside  for  twenty-four  hours  in  a  place 
where  it  cooled  slowly  so  that  the  paraffin  had  a  chance  to  rise  to 
the  top  before  congealing.  The  congealed  paraffin  and  what  it  car- 
ried with  it  was  separated  and  the  aqueous  liquid  was  then  treated  in 
the  same  manner  with  thirty  parts  of  paraffin.  The  paraffin,  etc., 
that  was  separated  was  warmed  and  stirred  with  sixty  parts  of  water 
acidulated  with  acetic  acid  and  then  set  aside  to  cool,  when  the 
liquid  was  separated  and  added  to  the  more  concentrated  solution  of 
extract.  The  mixed  solutions  were  strained  through  a  closely  woven 
but  comparatively  thin  muslin.  The  aqueous  solution  was  carefully 
evaporated  to  about  403  parts  and  the  percentage  of  extractive 
determined  by  drying  10  grammes  at  100°  C.  The  amount  of 
extractive  was  deducted  from  the  total  weight  of  the  solution,  which 
gave  the  amount  of  water  present.  For  every  1000  grammes  of 
water  present  in  the  solution  3000  c.c.  of  alcohol  was  added.  The 
percentage  of  total  alkaloids  was  then  determined  and  the  prepara- 
tion diluted  with  a  mixture  consisting  of  one  volume  of  water  and 
three  volumes  of  alcohol  until  100  c.e.  represented  1-5  gramme  of 
total  alkaloids. 
After  settling,  a  perfectly  clear  fluid  extract  resulted.  Its  odor 
was  not  as  disagreeable  as  when  prepared  in  the  ordinary  way.  A 
tincture  prepared  from  it  had  a  pale  color  in  comparison  with  a 
tincture  prepared  from  the  powdered  extract.  This  tincture  which 
was  first  clear  soon  became  turbid,  but  after  standing  for  a  few  days 
became  perfectly  bright  except  for  a  little  sediment. 
Twenty-five  cubic-centimeters  of  the  fluid  extract  was  evaporated, 
the  extract  dissolved  in  water  acidulated  with  sulphuric  acid,  and 
then  shaken  with  benzine  and  later  with  ether.  The  benzine 
removed  0-0130  gramme  or  0  052  of  1  per  cent,  of  fat.  The  ether 
removed  0*0230  gramme  or  0  092  of  1  per  cent,  of  resin. 
Laboratory  of  Lehn  &  Fink,  New  York. 
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