166 
Tinctura  Cardamomi  Composita. 
f  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
t      April,  1882. 
in  the  officinal  honeyed  tincture  was  observable  traces  of  precipitation 
in  flocculfe;  in  two  weeks'  time  a  thick,  unsightly  sediment  had  fallen 
to  the  bottom.  At  this  time  the  tincture  containing  the  cane  sugar 
was  found  to  be  in  a  state  of  precipitation,,  though  not  to  the  extent 
of  the  officinal,  and  at  this  writing,  ten  months  from  date  of  manu- 
facture, contains  lifty  per  cent,  less  of  sediment.  The  sample  contain- 
ing glycerin  did  not  exhibit  signs  of  precipitation  for  some  weeks, 
but  at  the  end  of  three  months  had  cast  down  an  objectionable  amount 
of  extractive  matter,  but  much  less  than  either  of  the  others.  I 
could  have  stopped  here  and  complied  with  the  requirements  of  the 
query  by  offering  glycerin  as  a  proper  substitute  for  the  honey,  but 
my  three  samples  contained  precipitates  in  a  greater  or  less  degree, 
and  no  one  of  them  came  up  to  the  standard  of  a  perfect  tincture, 
which  should  be  a  perfect  solution^  i^emaining  transparent.  Inasmuch 
as  the  carminative  and  stimulating  properties  of  the  ingredients,  car- 
damom, caraway  and  cinnamon,  consist  in  their  volatile  oils,  and 
knowing  that  alcohol  was  the  better  solvent  of  these  active  principles, 
I  reasoned  that  an  increase  of  the  alcoholic  strength  of  the  menstruum 
would,  not  only  make  a  better  solution,  but  tend  to  prevent  precipita- 
tion. I  could  see  no  therapeutic  objection  to  thus  increasing  the  vol- 
ume of  alcohol,  as  the  tincture  would  hardly  be  administered  in  large 
doses ;  accordingly  I  prepared  a  tincture  by  the  following  formula : 
Cardamom,  .            .            .      4  parts  ^ 
Cinnamon,  .            .            4  " 
Caraway,  .            .            .      2  " 
Cochineal,  .            .            1  " 
Alcohol,  .            .            .    133  "    ]  To  be  mixed  in 
Glycerin,  .            .           12  "     [  the 
Water,  .            .            .     44  "    J  proportion  of. 
To  make  .  *  .         200  " 
Mix  the  solid  ingredients,  powder  them  together,  pass  through  a 
No.  ^0  sieve.  Moisten  the  mixture  with  half  an  ounce  or  q.  s.  of  the 
menstruum,  pack  in  a  cylindrical  percolator,  gradually  pour  the 
remainder  of  the  menstruum  upon  it,  afterwards  diluted  alcohol  to 
obtain  200  parts. 
This  sample  was  completed  June  15th,  and  placed  with  the  other 
three ;  it  has  stood  a  test  of  seven  months  and  presents  an  elegant 
appearance,  free  from  sediment.  I  would  offer  the  above  formula  as 
the  best  solution  of  the  query  my  limited  experiments  have  enabled 
me  to  deduce. 
j-  No.  50  powder. 
