A January  ^i™1'  }  Chan9es  ifl  Formulas  of  Galenicals.  19 
The  flavoring  with  compound  spirit  of  orange  was  likewise  criti- 
cized. In  the  formula  directed  in  the  U.  S.  P.  IX,  these  objections 
have  been  met  by  directing  the  use  of  pure  extract  of  glycyrrhiza 
and  a  change  in  the  aromatics  to  a  combination  of  the  oils  of  anise, 
cassia,  coriander,  and  methyl  salicylate.  Any  slight  tinge  of  bitter- 
ness remaining  is  drowned  by  the  further  addition  of  I  gramme  of 
saccharin  to  the  1,000  mils  of  product. 
In  Fluidextract  of  Cinchona,  the  addition  of  100  mils  of  diluted 
hydrochloric  acid  to  the  menstruum  was  found  necessary  in  order  to 
exhaust  the  drug.  Without  this  addition  of  acid,  the  resulting  fluid- 
extract  failed  to  represent  even  approximately  the  total  amount  of 
alkaloid  in  official  cinchona  bark. 
In  Fluidextract  of  Colchicum  Seed,  while  no  change  is  made  in 
the  menstruum  of  two  volumes  of  alcohol  and  one  volume  of  water, 
some  means  had  to  be  adopted  to  remove  the  oil  which  is  extracted, 
possibly  largely  mechanically,  and  separates  in  the  fluidextract. 
Hence,  in  the  formula  for  this  fluidextract,  the  preliminary  treat- 
ment of  the  drug  with  purified  petroleum  benzin  is  now  directed. 
The  Digitalis  preparations  present  an  interesting  study.  It  de- 
veloped that  in  the  preparations  of  digitalis  containing  a  large  per- 
centage of  water,  deterioration  rapidly  takes  place.  Further,  that 
the  deterioration  in  the  presence  of  acids  was  very  much  more  rapid 
and  that  an  acetic  preparation  of  digitalis  very  soon  lost  its  efficiency. 
This  can  be  explained  on  the  ground  that  digitalis  contains  glucosidal 
principles  and  likewise  an  acid  constituent,  and  in  aqueous  or  dilute 
alcoholic  preparations  a  reaction  takes  place  between  these  constit- 
uents by  which  the  glucosides  are  decomposed.  In  the  fat-free 
tincture  of  digitalis,  the  acid  is  neutralized  and  thus  the  increased 
permanency  of  this  preparation  is  explained. 
A  material  increase  in  the  percentage  of  alcohol  in  the  official 
preparations  of  digitalis  was  indicated  and  the  fluidextract  instead  of 
being  directed  to  be  made  with  a  menstruum  of  diluted  alcohol,  is 
now  directed  to  be  made  with  a  menstruum  of  five  volumes  of  al- 
cohol and  one  volume  of  water.  For  the  same  reason,  the  alcoholic 
strength  of  the  tincture  has  been  increased  by  the  use  of  a  men- 
struum composed  of  three  volumes  of  alcohol  and  one  volume  of 
water  in  place  of  diluted  alcohol. 
In  Fluidextract  of  Ergot,  the  U.  S.  P.  IX  has  returned  to  the 
recommendation  of  Dr.  E.  R.  Squibb  and  directs  in  the  menstruum 
the  use  of  20  mils  of  hydrochloric  acid  in  place  of  20  Cc.  of  acetic 
acid  of  the  U.  S.  P.  VIII. 
