572  Medicated  Solutions  of  Alumina.      { A%JeT^?7h8arm 
MEDICATED  SOLUTIONS  OF  ALUMINA. 
By  Henry  G.  Debrunner,  F.C.S. 
Read  at  the  Pharmaceutical  Meeting,  November  19. 
To  the  class  of  remedies  that  once  had  an  almost  general  reputation, 
and  now,  in  spite  of  their  therapeutic  value,  are  scarcely  used,  belongs 
the  benzoinated  solution  of  alumina,  the  preparation,  dose  and  mode  of 
application  of  which  we  find  in  the  U.  S.  Dispensatory,  page  1011, 
13th  edition. 
Similar  to  Pagliari's  styptic  liquid,  it  surpasses  the  same  in  efficiency 
and  purity  in  many  respects,  besides  being,  at  the  same  time,  by  no 
means  an  expensive  article  {vide  U.  S.  Dispensatory,  page  174,  13th 
edition). 
Instead  of  using  an  alum  solution,  as  done  by  the  before  named 
Roman  pharmaceutist,  a  solution  of  sulphate  of  alumina,  A1203,3S03, 
previously  saturated  with  alumina  hydrate  so  as  to  make  its  composi- 
tion approach  that  expressed  by  the  formula  (A1203)2,3S03,  is  sub- 
jected to  benzoination  by  being  heated  for  several  hours  with  a  certain 
quantity  of  bruised  benzoin.  By  this  treatment  a  number  of  the  con- 
stituents of  benzoin  are  dissolved  in  the  solution,  among  which  benzoic 
acid,  and  a  resinous,  brownish  body  possessed  of  aromatic  odor  are  the 
most  important.  By  this  mode  of  preparation  the  existence  of  free 
non-combined  sulphuric  acid,  which  might  be  found  in  Pagliari's  origi- 
nal solution,  is  rendered  impossible. 
If  properly  prepared,  the  specific  gravity  of  this  compound  is  1*26; 
it  is  perfectly  clear  and  of  sweet  balsamic  odor  and  taste.  As  to  its 
medicinal  qualities  and  value,  I  wish  to  refer  to  the  authorities  quoted 
in  the  U.  S.  Dispensatory,  page  1011,  13th  edition. 
The  styptic  properties  of  this  preparation  are  due  to  the  immediate 
coagulation  of  blood  or  albuminous  substances  in  general  which  it  pro- 
duces, assisted  by  the  presence  of  benzoic  acid.  Unlike  carbolic  acid, 
which  is  possessed  of  a  destructive  action  over  the  lower  grades  of 
organic  life,  whether  vegetable  or  animal,  it  acts  by  mere  coagulation, 
thus  excluding  the  air,  the  vehicle  of  numerous  spores.  These  con- 
siderations induced  me  to  make  experiments,  with  the  view  of  obtain- 
ing a  carbolixed  benzoinated  solution  of  alumina,  and  of  uniting  the 
disinfecting  power  of  carbolic  acid  with  the  antiseptic  properties  of  the 
benzoinated  solution.     I  found  that  3  per  cent.  (J  f.oz.  to  pint)  of 
