458  Proposed  U.  S.  P.  IX  Limitations.     {AmoJoZ-' \9um' 
been  found  to  contain,  on  the  average,  much  less  ash  than  does  the 
pulp. 
Gambir  varies  considerably  in  its  composition,  and,  being  an  ex- 
tract, is  not  infrequently  contaminated  by  the  deliberate  addition  of 
sand  and  dirt.  A  number  of  observers  in  this  country  have  stated  that 
6  per  cent,  of  ash  should  not  be  exceeded  by  a  drug  of  good  quality, 
and  this  would  in  a  general  way  conform  with  the  limitations  made 
for  the  closely  related  drug,  catechu,  in  foreign  pharmacopoeias. 
Lupulin  is  another  drug  that  has  rather  a  liberal  allowance  for 
ash,  and,  while  it  is  true  that  the  maximum  permitted  in  Austria  and 
Switzerland  is  usually  exceeded  by  the  commercially  available  prod- 
uct, it  has,  nevertheless,  been  repeatedly  shown  that  commercial 
lupulin  can  readily  be  freed  from  contaminating  sand  and  dirt  to  such 
and  extent  as  to  bring  it  below  the  10  per  cent,  limit  for  ash,  and  that 
absolutely  pure  lupulin  obtained  directly  from  the  strobiles  of  the 
hop  will  comply  with  the  Dutch  pharmacopceial  limitation  of  6  per 
cent. 
The  proposed  ash  content  for  squill,  while  it  agrees  with  the 
maximum  permitted  in  the  Austrian  pharmacopoeia,  appears  to  be 
unnecessarily  high,  when  one  considers  the  nature  of  the  drug  and  the 
lack  of  need  for  providing  for  inorganic  impurities. 
The  ash  content  limitations  for  the  several  seeds,  like  anise  and 
fennel,  while  in  accord  with  the  limitations  set  in  foreign  pharma- 
copoeias, are  generally  higher  than  the  figures  included  in  a  recent 
regulation  promulgated  by  the  Bureau  of  Chemistry  for  these  drugs 
when  entered  for  imports. 
The  proposition  to  include  limitations  for  ash  insoluble  in  diluted 
hydrochloric  acid,  in  connection  with  the  several  spices  and  with 
senna,  while  thoroughly  well  established  in  the  trade,  is  rather  a 
novel  one  in  pharmacopoeial  work,  and  there  may  be  considerable  dif- 
ference of  opinion  as  to  the  desirability  of  including  such  an  addi- 
tional complicating  requirement  at  this  time. 
Taken  as  a  whole,  it  must  be  said  that  the  proposed  limitations  for 
ash,  while  many,  are  reasonably  conservative  and  comply  fairly  well 
with  conditions  as  they  exist  in  the  drug  market  at  the  present  time. 
Some  further  comparative  study  of  the  requirements,  however,  should 
prove  interesting  and  will  no  doubt  lead  to  the  revision  of  the  figures 
in  connection  with  at  least  a  few  of  the  drugs  referred  to. 
