282 
Matt,  or  Paraguay  Tea. 
A.m  Jour  Pharm. 
June,  1878 
insoluble  ash  was  made  as  follows  :  10  grams  of  mate  was  burned  and 
the  resulting  ash  weighed,  then  boiled  in  a  little  distilled  water,  and 
filtered  while  hot  through  a  weighed  filter,  and  the  filter  washed  with 
boiling  distilled  water.  The  filtrate,  upon  evaporation  and  ignition, 
gave  the  weight  of  the  soluble  ash,  which  was  verified  by  drying  the 
the  filter  and  its  contents,  and  subtracting  the  weight  of  the  filter  from 
the  total  weight.  The  insoluble  ash  was  then  treated  with  hydro- 
chloric acid,  and  after  washing  by  decantation,  the  insoluble  portion  was 
dried,  ignited  and  then  weighed,  the  loss  in  the  weight  being  taken  as 
the  quantity  soluble  in  the  acid.  The  portion  insoluble  in  the  hydro- 
chloric acid  was  principally  sand. 
Owing  to  the  usual  mode  of  preparing  mate,  it  is  rendered  certain 
that  the  ash  is  not  all  from  the  constituents  of  the  leaves  themselves, 
but  partly  from  earthy  matter  introduced  during  the  process  of  prep- 
aration. 
Pharmaceutical  Preparations.  — The  following  preparations  of  mate 
are  suggested  :  The  simple  infusion  which  is  the  form  in  which  it  is 
always  used  in  South  America  ;  a  solid  extract  prepared  with  alcohol 
of  sp.  grav.  "822,  and  a  fluid  extract  prepared  with  alcohol  of  sp.  grav. 
•941,  in  such  proportion  that  when  finished  its  weight  will  be  equal  to 
the  weight  of  mate  used  in  its  preparation.  A  considerable  quantity  of 
fluid  extract  prepared  by  this  formula  has  been  used  in  debility  and  in 
various  derangements  of  the  nervous  system,  generally  with  satis- 
factory results. 
The  reputed  therapeutical  properties  of  mate  have  been  fully  stated 
in  a  number  of  heretofore  published  papers,  some  attributing  the  most 
deleterious  effects  to  its  continued  use,  and  others  lauding  it  to  the 
utmost  limit  of  credibility,  almost  equaling  the  marvelous  statements 
made  of  the  action  of  the  somewhat  similar  substance,  Coca.  In 
regard  to  mate,  however,  the  writer  is  fully  convinced  that  it  does 
really  possess  properties  which  render  it  worthy  of  careful  therapeutical 
investigation. 
The  thorough  desiccation  it  undergoes  in  its  preparation,  and  the 
compact  and  hermetical  character  of  the  packages  in  which  it  is  con- 
tained, tend  greatly  to  the  preservation  of  whatever  virtues  it  may  have 
originally  possessed. 
