Am.  Jour.  Pharm. ) 
Nov.,  1882.  ; 
Compound  Cathartic  Pills. 
577 
turbid,  but  the  turbidity  disappeared  when  a  little  more  hydrochloric 
acid  was  added  to  the  mixture.  The  results  of  several  hours'  diges- 
tion were,  however,  negative,  but  the  pancreatic  ferment,  upon  the 
other  hand,  rendered  the  tannic  acid  incapable  of  precipitating  gelatin 
or  isinglass,  because  of  the  transformation  into  gallic  acid. 
These  are  a  few  of  the  results  obtained  by  digesting  drugs  with 
extracts  from  the  digestive  organs ;  they  throw  open  a  wide  field  for 
the  pharmacist,  and  one  deeply  interesting  to  the  physiologist. 
The  digestive  process  seems  to  consist  of  the  hydration  or  splitting 
up  of  insolubles,  and,  as  far  as  my  observation  has  gone,  the  microzy- 
mous  or  bacteroidal  fermentation  need  not  occur  until  the  primary 
digestion  is  in  an  advanced  stage.  For  instance,  in  the  digestion  of 
the  proteids,  albumen  and  fibrin,  I  have  noticed  occasionally  a  point 
when  the  solution  or  hydration  of  these  substances  by  the  acidulated 
pancreatic  secretion  passes  into  the  formation  of  leucin  and  tyrosin.  I 
refer  to  the  acidulated  pancreatic  solution,  as  the  researches  of  Dr. 
Roberts  and  others  upon  the  amylolytic  power  of  a  neutral  or  feebly 
alkaline  pancreatic  extract  have  seemed  to  throw  into  the  shade  the 
proteolytic  power  of  acidified  pancreatic  juice,  which,  although  incap- 
able of  transforming  starch  paste  into  sugar  and  dextrine,  yet  still  pos- 
sesses the  power  of  dissolving  fibrine  or  albumen,  and  ultimately  split- 
ting them  up  into  leiicin,  tyrosin,  and  an  organic  acid.  This  is  not 
the  result  of  the  putrid  fermentation  of  albuminous  bodies,  as  in  this 
latter  case  the  formation  of  ammonia  renders  the  reaction  alkaline 
instead  of  acidulous. 
The  emulsive  ferment  as  well  as  the  proteolytic  inaction  produces 
acidity,  although  in  the  emulsification  of  fat  the  acidity  is  generally 
very  slight  and  insufficient  by  itself  to  account  for  the  minute  subdi- 
vision of  large  portions  of  fat.  In  the  digestion  of  proteids  the  acidu- 
lous body  is  glutamic  acid,  and  I  think  it  may  also  occur  in  the  emul- 
sification of  fats,  as  I  have  often  sought  for  fatty  acid  and  glycerin  as 
separate  bodies  in  emulsified  fats ;  but  I  have  always  failed  in  my 
attempts  to  obtain  any  proportionate  quantity  which  would  justify  me 
in  ascribing  emulsification  of  fat  to  their  formation  and  presence. — 
Fhar.  Jour,  aud  Transactions. 
Compound  C^-thartic  Pills.— The  following  slight  change  in 
the  formula  for  Compound  Cathartic  Fills,  U.  S.,  is  strongly  recom- 
37 
