252  Method  of  Cleaning  Digitalis.      {Am^{;  * 
which  may  be  present  would  seem  to  demand  that  the  process  of 
elimination  be  carried  just  as  far  as  practical. 
The  small  amounts  of  digitalis  lost  in  the  processes  of  cleaning 
are  not  sufficient  to  give  satisfactory  reactions  for  digitoxin  by  quali- 
tative chemical  tests. 
The  digitalis  lost  in  the  cleaning  process  consists  chiefly  of  the 
hairs  of  the  leaf  which  apparently  contain  no  digitoxin. 
The  advisability  of  discarding  the  finer  portions  of  digitalis 
during  the  process  of  grinding  is  dependent  upon  the  nature  of  the 
foreign  matter  and  the  method  of  milling  employed.  All  digitalis 
should  be  well  cleaned  before  being  milled. 
The  total  ash  of  leaves  from  cultivated  plants  usually  averages 
higher  than  the  ash  of  leaves  from  wild-growing  plants. 
The  rapid  increase  in  the  supplies  of  digitalis  from  cultivated 
plants  suggests  the  necessity  of  giving  special  attention  to  the  clean- 
ing process. 
The  U.  S.  P.  requirement  that  digitalis  for  infusion  be  bruised 
does  not  insure  uniformity  in  degree  of  fineness  of  drug,  which  dif- 
ferent pharmacists  use  in  making  infusions.  It  would  be  advisable 
if  the  U.  S.  P.  formula  directed  the  use  of  digitalis  in  number  6 
powder  for  the  same.  A  mechanical  process  may  be  employed  to 
reduce  the  drug  to  a  uniform  number  6  powder.  The  petioles  are 
deficient  in  digitoxin,  appear  to  contain  much  mucilaginous  mate- 
rial and  may  largely  be  separated  in  producing  a  uniform  number 
6  powder. 
Gelatin  capsules  afford  an  excellent  means  for  packing  digitalis 
to  be  used  in  making  infusions. 
The  total  percentage  ash  of  clean  petioles  of  digitalis  is  approxi- 
mately the  same  as  the  clean  lamina  portions. 
Manganese  appears  to  be  a  constant  constituent  of  digitalis 
leaves  but  varies  in  amount  in  samples  obtained  from  different 
sources. 
Siliceous  foreign  matter  insoluble  in  HQ  may  be  almost  entirely 
separated  by  a  cleaning  process. 
Digitalis  produced  in  Minnesota  normally  contains  iron,  calcium, 
magnesium,  manganese,  potassium  and  sodium. 
The  small  percentage  of  aluminum  occurring  as  a  silicate  in  the 
Minnesota  digitalis  would  indicate  that  the  therapeutic  activity  of 
preparations  made  from  this  drug  would  not  be  seriously  impaired 
by  the  adsorptive  properties  of  the  silicate. 
