182 
VARIETIES. 
private  practice,  and  it  is  said  (Lancet,  Nov.  C,  1852)  with  very  satisfactory 
results. 
The  peculiarity  of  M.  Jozeau's  saccharated  capsules  is  stated  to  be  that 
they  are  easy  and  agreeable  to  take,  that  they  produce  no  nausea,  sickness, 
or  unpleasant  purging,  and  that,  when  continued  for  a  sufficient  period, 
they  cure  gonorrhoea  in  a  short  time.  Considering  the  insuperable  dislike 
of  some  patients  for  copaiba,  these,  if  verified  by  experience,  are  certainly 
most  valuable  improvements; 
The  following  is  the  account  given  by  M.  Jozeau  of  the  preparation  of 
copahine  mege,  and  the  pathological  facts  which  led  to  the  peculiar  manner 
of  preparing  this  remedial  agent : 
It  was  noticed  that  such  patients  as  were  purged  by  the  copaiba,  evacu- 
ated per  anum  large  quantities  of  this  drug  in  an  unaltered  state,  their 
urine  not  containing  any  of  it.  These  persons,  though  sometimes  cured, 
generally  had  a  relapse.  Those,  however,  who  were  not  purged  became 
well  more  slowly,  and  had  no  recurrence  of  the  disease  ;  their  stools  con- 
tained no  copaiba,  and  their  urine  a  great  deal.  From  these  facts  it  became 
evident  that,  in  order  to  obtain  regular  and  speedy  effects,  the  copaiba  should 
be  made  to  undergo  much  modifications  as  to  insure  its  more  complete  ab- 
sorption into  the  system.  Experiments  were  now  instituted  respecting  the 
effects  of  the  two  principal  substances  contained  in  the  copaiba — viz.,  the 
oil  and  the  resin.  These  were  separately  tried.  The  oil  produced  a  de- 
cidedly purgative  effect ;  the  resin  purged  less  ;  but  no  complete  cure  was 
obtained  by  either  substance  taken  separately. 
It  was  now  pretty  clear  that  both  the  resin  and  essential  oil  were  indis- 
pensable for  obtaining  curative  effects,  and  the  question  arose  how  these 
could  be  modified  so  as  to  allow  the  stomach  to  digest  them  completely. 
This  end  was  attained  in  surcharging  the  copaiba  with  oxygen,  by  means 
of  nitric  acid,  the  latter  being  added  in  proportions  which  varied  according 
to  the  kind  of  copaiba  acted  upon.  The  nitric  acid  yields  some  of  its  oxygen 
to  the  essential  oil,  and  the  nitrogen  is  given  off  in  the  form  of  hyponitrous 
acid,  by  combining  with  the  oxygen  of  the  atmosphere.  The  copaiba  thus 
treated  is  then  well  washed  with  water,  until  it  no  longer  reddens  litmus 
paper,  and  to  it  are  added  one  tenth  part  of  cubebs  in  fine  powder,  the 
same  proportion  of  carbonate  of  soda,  and  one  sixteenth  part  of  calcined 
magnesia.  The  mixture  is  allowed  to  stand  until  it  is  quite  solidified,  and 
in  that  state  it  is  made  into  small  masses.  The  latter  are  then  carefully 
covered  with  sugar,  to  which  a  pleasant  pink  color  (coccus  cacti)  is  given, 
and  they  then  look  like  very  pretty  sugar  plums. 
To  these  saccharated  capsules  the  name  of  copahine  mege  was  given, 
because  the  experiments  had  been  made  conjointly  by  M.  Jozeau  and 
M.  Mege,  and  the  latter  had  first  thought  of  making  the  saccharated  cap- 
sules. For  lymphatic  patients  and  delicate  females  a  second  mass  was 
prepared,  into  which,  besides  the  above  mentioned  ingredients,  some  steel 
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