Am.  Jour.  Pharm  ) 
Nov.,  1882.  J 
Preparations  of  Aconite. 
561 
and  that  of  Duqiiesnel  about  |105.00  an  ounce,  or  $3.75  per  gram, 
by  wholesale. 
It  is  the  general  object  of  this  note  to  ascertain  the  strengths  of 
these  various  forms  in  which  this  important  medicine  is  used,  and  to 
compare  them  so  that  equivalent  doses  may  be  known,  thus  endeavor- 
ing to  clear  up  some  of  the  dangerous  confusion  of  dosage  as  it  is  now 
found  in  the  books. 
In  order  to  do  this  in  the  simplest  way,  a  standard  of  strength  must 
be  adopted  by  which  to  measure  all  the  preparations;  and  the  process 
by  which  the  strength  of  the  standard  is  obtained  must  be  applied 
to  all. 
The  best  standard  would  of  course  be  the  proportion  of  aconitia,  as 
that  is  the  most  important,  though  perhaps  not  the  only  useful  active 
principle.  But  aconitia  is  in  such  very  small  proportion  that  no 
process  of  assay  as  yet  prepared  is  practically  applicable,  or  within 
ability  of  the  writer  to  apply.  Besides,  as  will  be  seen  later,  aconitia, 
as  met  with,  is  quite  as  variable  as  the  preparations  of  aconite,  and  this 
probably  from  dilFerent  processes  of  extraction  as  well  as  from  diflPerent 
species  of  aconite. 
Some  years  ago  (see  Proceedings  of  The  Amer.  Pharm.  Asso.  for 
1872,  p.  229,)  the  writer  published  a  note  on  aconite  root,  in 
which  he  gave  a  very  easy  test  of  the  value  of  the  root.  At  that 
time  by  careful  selection  bales  of  aconite  root  could  be  found  in 
which,  from  an  ordinary  handful  sample,  eight  roots  out  of  ten,  when 
broken  at  about  the  middle  of  the  root,  and  a  very  small  fragment 
bitten  off  and  chewed  for  a  moment  between  the  front  teeth,  and  in 
contact  with  the  tip  of  the  tongue,  would  give  the  peculiar  aconite  ting- 
ling sensation  to  the  tongue  and  lips.  This  would  be  perceived 
within  a  few  minutes,  and  would  continue  for  a  longer  or  shorter 
time  in  proportion  to  the  size  of  the  piece  taken,  and  the  strength 
of  the  root,  as  no  two  roots  have  precisely  the  same  activity.  This 
simple  mode  of  testing  has  now  served  the  writer  well  for  some 
fifteen  years  past,  and  in  1872  eight  pieces  out  of  ten  was  a  pretty 
high  standard  to  adopt,  but  for  two  or  three  years  past  it  is  not 
uncommon  to  find  bales  in  every  large  lot,  of  which  every  piece  will 
give  the  distinct  aconite  tingling  or  numbness  in  some  degree,  and 
any  one  can  get  such  an  aconite  root  who  will  take  the  time  and  pains 
to  select  it.  Therefore  such  root  is  now  adopted  as  the  standard 
for  the  purposes  of  this  paper,  and  this  physiological  measurement 
86 
