270 
Editorial. 
(Am.  Jour.  Phann. 
t       May,  1877. 
fuge ;  supposing  it  to  be  a  new  preparation,  we  inquired  among  a  number  of  our 
friends,  to  all  of  whom  the  preparation  was  unknown.  A  lengthy  leading  article 
of  the  "Medical  Press  and  Circular"  (Dublin),  of  Feb.  21,  contains  a  fuller 
account  of  Dr.  Broadbent's  paper,  published  in  the  "  Practitioner,"  and  for  the 
benefit  of  our  readers  we  make  a  few  extracts,  which  are  of  pharmaceutical  interest  : 
Warburg's  tincture  has  long  held  a  high  reputation  in  India  as  a  remedy  of  "  undoubted  and,  indeed, 
unequaled  power  "  in  the  treatment  of  the  malignant  malarial  fevers  of  that  country  and  of  cholera.  For 
a  long  time  it  was  a  secret  remedy,  but  in  1875  Prof.  McLean  made  knewn  its  composition,  and  gave  his 
unqualified  support  to  all  that  had  been  said  in  its  favor. 
The  ingredients  of  this  compound  are  very  numerous,  and  in  this  respect  its  composition  reminds  us  of 
the  complex  formulae  to  be  found  in  our  old  dispensatories — such,  for  instance,  as  the  once  celebrated 
Theriaca  Andromachi,  or  the  still  more  celebrated  Mithridate.  It  consists  of  aloes,  rhubarb,  saffron,  fen- 
nel, gentian,  cubebs,  myrrh,  camphor,  zedoary  root,  enula  and  angelica  seeds.  It  also  contains  the  confection 
"  Damocratis,"  consisting  of  innumerable  aromatic  substances,  and  which  was  officinal  in  the  "  London 
Pharmacopoeia"  of  1746.  Prepared  chalk,  which  was  added  to  correct  the  otherwise  acrid  taste  of  the 
tincture  ;  and  Boletus  Laricis,  or  larch  agaric,  formerly  used  as  a  drastic  purgative.  Its  most  important 
ingredient,  however,  is  quinine,  each  ounce  of  the  tincture  containing  as  much  as  nine  grains  and  a  half  of 
the  alkaloid.  The  tincture  is  of  a  deep  brown  color,  has  an  aromatic  and  slightly  terebinthinate  odor, 
and  an  intensely  bitter  and  warm  aromatic  taste.  But  its  spirit  is  not  perceptible  either  to  taste  or  smell 
and  it  seems  (remarks  Dr.  Broadbent)  as  if  the  alcohol  were  entirely  saturated  and,  as  it  were,  extin- 
guished by  the  substances  taken  up. 
In  reference  to  the  large  quantity  of  quinine  the  tincture  contains,  in  combination  with  what  some  might 
term  "a  farrago  of  inert  substances,"  Prof  McLean  observes  tnat  he  has  treated  remittent  fevers  of every 
degree  of  severity,  in  various  parts  of  India  and  China,  but  he  has  never  seen  quinine,  when  given  alone, 
act  in  the  manner  characteristic  of  this  tincture.  He  has  never  seen  a  single  dose  of  nine  grains  and  a 
half  suffice  to  arrest  an  exacerbation  of  remittent  fever,  much  less  prevent  its  recurrence  ;  while  nothing 
is  more  common  than  to  see  the  same  quantity  of  the  alkaloid  in  Warburg's  tincture  bring  about  similar 
results. 
Dr.  Broadbent  is  disposed  to  attribute  the  extraordinary  virtues  of  this  tincture  to  three  therapeutical 
principles,  namely,  the  combination  of  quinine  with  powerful  aromatics,  the  highly  concentrated  state  of 
the  tincture,  and  the  powerful  impression  made  by  it  upon  the  nervous  system. 
The  formula  for  this  tincture,  as  given  in  the  "  Med.  Times  and  Gazette,"  Nov. 
3,  1875,1  by  Prof.  McLean,  apparently  upon  the  authority  of  Dr.  Warburg  himself., 
is  as  follows:  Socotrine  aloes,  ibi  5  rhubarb,  angelica  fruit,  confection  of  Damo- 
crates  (containing  40  to  50  ingredients),  of  each  5iv  ;  elecampane,  saffron,  fennel,; 
prepared  chalk,  of  each  ^ii  5  gentian,  zedoary,  cubebs,  myrrh,  camphor,  agaric,  of 
each  5L  Digest  the  whole  with  500  oz.  proof  spirit,  in  a  water-bath,  for  12  hours  j 
express,  add  10  oz.  sulphate  of  quinia,  dissolve  by  the  aid  of  a  water- bath,  cool  and 
filter. 
On  referring  to  "  Dorvault's  rOfficine,"  1872,  p.  934,  we  find  the  following  states 
ment  concerning  the  teinture  febrifuge  de  Warburg : 
"  It  is  supposed  to  have  the  following  composition  :  Hepatic  aloes  4  grams,  zedo- 
ary 4  grams,  angelica  root  o*i  gram,  camphor  o*i  gram,  saffron  015  gram,  alcohol 
100  grams.  Digest,  filter,  and  dissolve  in  the  filtrate  sulphate  of  quinia  2  grams. 
Dose,  20  grams  a  day.  According  to  some  authors,  the  base  of  Warburg's  tinc- 
ture is  picrolichenin,  the  principle  obtained  from  several  species  of  Variolaria  $  but 
Dr.  van  den  Corput  and  several  other  chemists  have  positively  found  quinia  in  it." 
Hager's  "  Manuale  Pharmaceuticum  "  gives  the  following  formula  for  tinctura 
antifebrilis  Warburgii ;  Elixir  proprietatis  22  parts,  alcohol  16  parts,  spirit  of  cam- 
phor 2  parts,  and  sulphate  of  quinia  1  part. 
aSee  '*  Amer.  Jour.  Med.  Sciences,"  Jan.,  1876. 
