Am.  Jour.  Praama.  I 
December,  1907.  J 
Progress  in  Pharmacy. 
575 
102 1)  reviews  the  available  literature  of  Cactus  grandiflorus  and 
records  a  number  of  control  experiments  made  with  the  supposed 
active  principle  of  the  drug. 
Hatcher  concludes  that  cactina,  as  marketed  at  the  present  time 
by  the  Sultan  Drug  Company,  and  cactin,  as  sold  by  the  Abbott 
Alkaloidal  Company,  are  absolutely  devoid  of  any  action  resembling 
that  of  digitalis  or  strychnine,  and  that  they  are  evidently  inert  when 
used  on  animals  in  doses  that  are  hundreds,  and  even  thousands,  of 
times  as  large  as  those  recommended  by  their  exploiters. 
Calcidin  [Abbott). — According  to  an  analysis  made  in  the  chemical 
laboratory  of  the  American  Medical  Association,  this  preparation  is 
essentially  a  mixture  of  iodin,  calcium  iodid,  lime  and  cornstarch 
made  by  mixing  iodin,  lime  and  cornstarch. 
According  to  the  makers,  "  calcidin  (Abbott)  is  an  entirely 
unique  substance,  being  neither  a  true  chemical  compound  nor  a 
simple  mixture  of  its  ingredients.  Briefly,  it  is  calcium  carrying  an 
excess  of  freely  available  iodin."  (Jour.  A.  M.  A.,  September  7, 
1907,  page  865.) 
Calcidin  Tablets  do  not  have  the  same  composition  as  calcidin 
itself.  While  1  grain  of  the  latter  was  found  to  contain  approxi- 
mately -JL-  grain  of  iodin,  three  calcidin  tablets,  which  are  said  to 
represent  1  grain  of  calcidin,  were  found  to  contain  the  equivalent  of 
but  -Jg-  grain  of  iodin. 
Iodide  of  Lime  (Nichols). — An  analysis  of  this  substance  shows 
that  it  is  essentially  a  mixture  of  lime  and  iodin,  containing  about 
10  per  cent,  of  the  latter. 
Iodid  of  Lime  Tablets  (JSJicholls)  were  found  to  differ  in  composi- 
tion from  the  original  substance,  each  i^-grain  tablet  containing  the 
equivalent  of  yl-g-  grain  of  free  iodin  and  colored  brown  by  iron 
oxide.    (Jour.  A.  M.  A.,  November  2,  1907,  page  1540.) 
Probilin  Pills. — From  a  chemical  examination  of  probilin  pills, 
made  for  the  Council  on  Pharmacy  and  Chemistry  of  the  American 
Medical  Association  (Jour.  A.  M.  A.,  August  24,  1907,  page  702), 
it  appears  that  the  true  composition  of  this  preparation  differs 
materially  from  the  formula,  as  published  at  that  time,  and  is  about 
as  follows : 
Phenolphthalein,  0-008  ;  sodium  salicylate,  o-oi  ;  sodium  oleate 
and  free  oleic  acid,  o-io;  menthol,  o-oi  ;  moisture,  o  006 ;  dusting 
powder,  0-065. 
