ON ALCOHOLIC TINCTURES. 
117 
The two last tinctures are so mucilaginous, they can 
scarcely be filtered. 
As we see by this table, there is no great difference be- 
tween the quantities of matter dissolved by alcohol of these 
different degrees of strength, but, considering that the weak- 
er the alcohol is, the more mucilaginous the tinctures are, 
and that the active principle of this bark resides in its es- 
sential oil, I give the preference, as in the Codex, to alcohol 
at SO° ; and rejecting the trifling excess of matter dissolved 
by six parts of this solvent, I should adopt the proportion 
of five parts. 
29. Saffron. 
gjrs. 
at 80° total ext. S-10 
70 " 8-69 
56 " 9-06 
id. " 10-86 
id. " 10-80 
45 '< 889 
SO <• 8-71 
1 pt. 15 gr. by 60 gr. or 4 pts. alco. 
(6 
60 
u 
4 
a 
a 
60 
u 
4 
a 
a 
75 
a 
5 
a 
90 
a 
6 
it 
a 
60 
a 
4 
a 
u 
75 
i( 
5 
a 
The last two tinctures are very mucilaginous. We see 
according to these experiments, that weak alcohol at 55° 
extracts more from the saffron than alcohol at 80° ; but, as 
it has been observed that a tincture prepared with weak 
alcohol, deposits, after a certain time, a considerable quan- 
tity of coloring matter, and that it can, therefore, be no lon- 
ger identical in composition, while that prepared with alco- 
hol at 80°, is much more stable, I retain, according to the 
Codex, alcohol at 80, for the preparation of this tincture, 
only I should employ five parts of this solvent, which is the 
proportion that produces the greatest quantity of extract 
from the same weight of the substance. 
11 
