140     THERAPEUTICAL  PROPERTIES  OF  SANGUINARINA,  ETC. 
Experiments  with  the  Impure  Acetate. 
I  determined  to  try  the  acetate  in  an  impure  form,  for  the 
purpose  of  ascertaining  whether  the  other  principles  associated 
with  the  alkaloid  in  the  plant  modify  to  an  appreciable  extent 
its  action  on  the  system.    To  effect  this  object,  four  ounces  of 
the  contused  root  were  macerated  in  a  pint  of  diluted  acetic 
acid,  then  placed  in  a  percolator,  and  a  pint  of  percolate  drawn 
off.    Thi3  preparation  is  so  acrid  to  the  taste  that  a  fluidounce 
of  syrup  will  scarcely  obtund  the  acrimony  of  a  fluidrachm. 
This  circumstance,  after  a  trial  of  the  medicine  in  ten  or  twelve 
cases  of  chronic  bronchitis,  induced  me  to  have  the  remedy  pre- 
pared in  a  more  palatable  form,  as  follows  :— 
Syrup  of  Sanguinaria. 
R.  Contused  bloodroot,  3ij. 
Diluted  acetic  acid.  Oj. 
Sugar,  lbs.  ij. 
Moisten  the  root  with  a  portion  of  the  acid,  place  in  a  perco- 
lator, add  the  remainder  of  the  acid,  exhaust  by  percolation, 
and  to  the  clear  liquid  add  the  sugar,  and  dissolve  by  a  gentle 
heat. 
The  strength  of  this  preparation  is  one  ounce  to  a  pint  of 
syrup,  and  the  dose  is  a  teaspoonful. 
The  syrup  was  extensively  used  at  the  Episcopal  Hospital 
during  last  winter  and  spring,  having  been  given  in  more  than 
an  hundred  cases  of  diseases  of  the  throat  and  lungs.  It  was 
generally  administered  in  combination  with  an  equal  quantity 
of  syrup  of  Tolu. 
The  results  of  the  trials  with  the  syrup  may  be  briefly  stated 
thus  : — When  given  regularly  at  short  intervals  for  three  days 
or  longer,  the  patient  would  speak  of  an  uneasiness  in  the 
stomach,  or  nausea,  and,  as  a  consequence,  of  impaired  appetite. 
The  pulse  remained  at  about  its  previous  average,  or  was  slightly 
diminished  in  frequency.  The  bowels  were  not  relaxed,  nor 
did  constipation  follow  its  employment. 
The  syrup  is  a  good  expectorant.  During  its  use  the  patient 
could  separate  and  raise  the  mucus  with  less  difficulty,  and  the 
secretion  of  mucus  appeared  to  be  diminished. 
The  condition  of  the  brain  was  carefully  observed,  but  no 
evidences  of  a  narcotic  action  were  manifested.    It  is  true  that 
