VARIETIES. 
181 
results  will  not  continue  to  keep  pace  with  such  small  magnitudes. — Lon. 
Pharm.  Journ.,  from  Philosoph.  Magazine. 
On  the  Action,  and  on  the  Method  of  preparing  Cathartine. — Trenklek 
prepares  cathartine  from  the  unripe  green  berries  of  lihamnus  catharticus. 
It  resembles  pure  aloetine,  both  in  a  chemical  and  in  a  therapeutical  point 
of  view.  One  or  two  grains  of  cathartine  in  the  form  of  pills  usually 
produce  one  or  two,  or  in  a  susceptible  patient,  three  or  four  pulpy  stools, 
without  griping.  Three  grains  form  a  large  dose.  If  the  first  dose  should 
fail  to  produce  the  desired  effect,  a  second  may  be  given  in  three  or  four 
hours.  Dr.  Graff  (of  Darmstadt),  who  has  carefully  studied  its  therapeu- 
tic action,  employs  it  in  torpor  of  the  bowels,  in  hepatic  and  splenic  con- 
gestions, hemorrhoids,  dropsy,  and  gout. 
By  simply  treating  the  inspissated  juice  of  the  unripe  berries  with 
alcohol  and  ether,  we  may  obtain  an  impure  cathartine  in  considerable 
quantity  (oz.  viij.  from  12  lbs.),  which  acts  very  powerfully,  and  much 
like  aloes. — American  Journal  of  Medical  Science,  Prov,  Med.  and  Surg. 
Journ.,  Oct.  13,  1852.    From  Jahrb.f.pr.  Pharm.,  Jan.,  1852. 
Urea  as  a  Diuretic.— Dr.  T.  II.  Tanner  states  [Med.  Times  and  Gaz.  May 
8,  1852),  that  he  has  employed  urea  as  a  diuretic  and  found  it  very  efficient, 
and  in  no  case  has  it  given  rise  to  any  unpleasant  symptoms.  The  ordi- 
nary dose,  on  being  first  used,  is  ten  grains  every  six  hours,  dissolved  in 
water  flavored  with  syrup  ;  as  its  effects  decrease,  the  dose  may  be  aug- 
mented to  a  scruple  or  more.  At  the  same  time,  its  action  should  be  aided, 
as  that  of  all  diuretics  should  be,  by  the  free  administration  of  diluents,  as 
well  as  by  keeping  the  skin  moderately  cool. 
In  the  first  case  in  which  Dr.  T.  used  the  urea,  and  the  one  in  which  he 
more  particularly  noted  its  effects,  the  quantity  of  urine  secreted  in  the 
twenty-four  hours  previous  to  its  administration  was  only  fourteen  ounces 
(high-colored,  acid,  sp.  gr.  1018),  whereas,  in  the  succeeding  twenty-four 
hours,  during  which  three  doses  of  ten  grains  each  were  administered,  the 
secretion  amounted  to  forty-four  ounces  (pale,  acid,  sp.  gr.  1013).  The 
remedy  was  continued  for  the  ensuing  nine  days,  in  doses  of  ten  grains 
every  six  hours,  during  which  period  the  urine  varied  in  quantity  from 
forty-nine  to  thirty-eight  ounces.  At  the  end  of  this  time  it  was  discon- 
tinued, as  the  dropsy  had  been  temporarily  removed ;  and,  on  again  having 
recourse  to  it  three  weeks  subsequently,  its  effects  were  as  satisfactory. 
American  Journ.  Med.  Science. 
Copahine  Mege. — This  is  the  name  of  a  peculiar  preparation  of  oopaiba 
and  cubebs  proposed  by  M.  Joseau,  a  French  pharmacien  in  London,  with 
which  trials  have  lately  been  made  in  some  of  the  London  hospitals  and  in 
