164 
Compound  Cathartic  Pills, 
(Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
I      April,  1878. 
Mohr,  in  his  "  Commentary  on  the  Prussian  Pharmacopoeia,"1 
according  to  which  this  extract  is  obtained  by  two  digestions  of  colo- 
cynth, the  first  with  rectified  spirit,  sp.  gr.  '892,  and  the  second  the 
same  diluted  with  an  equal  weight  of  water,  says:  U  The  yield  of  15 
ozs.  of  colocynth  without  seed  is  2  ozs.  5 j  drs.  of  dry  extract." 
Hager,  in  his  "  Commentary  to  the  Pharmacopoea  Germanica," 
states  that  "  100  parts  of  peeled  dry  colocynth,  of  the  inferior  Cyprian 
or  the  better  Egyptian  kind,  yields,  after  separating  the  seeds,  35  and 
50  parts  of  pulp,  and  of  dry  extract  from  10  to  15  or  20  parts." 
According  to  this,  the  inferior  would  yield  to  15  troyounces  of  seedless 
colocynth  at  the  least  4*27  troyounces,  and  the  better  kind  6  troyounces 
of  extract. 
The  United  States  Pharmacopoeia  says  :  "  The  extract  obtained  by 
this  process  weighs  about  7  ozs."  Comparing  the  weight  of  the  pro- 
ducts of  the  different  processes,  the  Pharmacopoeia  claims  the  largest. 
I  will  not  say  that  7  ozs.  of  extract  from  48  troyounces  of  colocynth 
cannot  be  obtained  \  but  if  the  soundest  and  fleshiest,  in  short  the  best 
colocynth  is  not  used,  such  a  yield  would  seem  somewhat  difficult  to 
obtain.  A  colocynth  as  just  mentioned  is  not  readily  obtainable.  From 
48  troyounces  of  common  colocynth,  which,  deprived  of  the  seeds, 
weighed  16  troyounces,  I  have  by  thorough  exhaustion  obtained  6 
troyounces  of  dry  extract  •>  but  in  this  case  exhaustion  was  carried 
beyond  the  common  limit,  just  to  ascertain  how  much  could  be 
extracted. 
There  is  some  difference  in  the  menstrua  of  the  different  processes. 
The  Pharmacopoeia  uses  dilute  alcohol,  sp.  gr.  '941  ;  the  Prussian 
Pharmacopoeia  directs  rectified  spirit,  sp.  gr.  0*894 — 0*890,  and  the 
Pharmacopoea  Germanica  the  same,  spec,  grav.,  0*892 — 0*893.  ^  have 
used  alcohol  spec.  grav.  '825,  and  dilute  alcohol  spec.  grav.  941. 
Recapitulating,  the  yield  of  extract  in  per  cent,  from  seedless  colo- 
cynth by  the  several  processes  would  be  as  follows  : 
Process,    TJ.  S.  P.    Ph.  Ber.       Ph.  Germ.  Own  make. 
Yield,        ,  46  6         14-5         28*46  to  40*0  35'o  to  40*0  per  cent. 
Of  the  other  ingredients  in  compound  extract  of  colocynth,  there  is 
no  difficulty  in  making  purified  aloes,  and  powdering  it  if  sufficiently 
1  "  Pharmacopcea  Germanica,1'  which  has  superseded  the  Prussian,  has  retained 
the  same  formula.— Editor. 
