mdTi,  wT'  \      Aqueous  lluid  Extract  of  Rhubarb.         '  483 
AQUEOUS  FLUID  EXTRACT  OF  RHUBARB. 
By  George  Bille. 
From  an  Inaugural  Essay. 
The  complaints  of  several  physicians  that  their  patients  had  a  de- 
cided aversion  to  mixtures  containing  the  officinal  fluid  extract  of 
rhubarb,  owing  to  their  unsightliness  and  disagreeable  taste,  induced 
me  to  make  an  attempt  to  find  a  method  of  preparing  a  liquid  prepa- 
ration of  rhubarb  which  does  not  possess  the  disagreeable  property  of 
being  precipitated  on  addition  to  water  or  aqueous  liquids. 
Several  small  experiments  with  an  aqueous  infusion  led  me  to 
think  that  I  had  found  what  I  was  looking  for  in  an  aqueous  fluid 
extract. 
I  reduced  sixteen  troyounces  of  rhubarb  to  a  coarse  powder  (tea 
meshes  to  the  inch),  moistened  with  eight  fluidounces  of  cold  water, 
and  introduced  it  into  a  properly  prepared  cylindrical  percolator, 
packing  it  gently.  I  exhausted  the  root  with  cold  water,  and  evapo- 
rated the  percolate,  by  means  of  a  water-bath,  to  twelve  fluidounces ; 
then  I  added  four  fluidounces  of  glycerin,  making  the  whole  measure 
a  pint.  This  fluid  extract  has  a  beautiful  dark  reddish-brown  color, 
and  to  all  appearance  keeps  well,  having  been  kept  in  the  store  for 
four  months  without  depositing  anything.  It  has  a  less  disagreeable 
taste  than  the  officinal  fluid  extract,  and  is  sufficiently  active,  one 
fluid-drachm  having  produced  four  evacuations  in  six  hours. 
I  had  now  to  determine  whether  the  water  had  extracted  all  the 
virtues  of  the  root.  I  poured  alcohol  (specific  gravity,  *838)  on  the  resi- 
due in  the  percolator,  displaced  the  remaining  water  (which  was  thrown 
away),  and  percolated  till  the  drops  came  through  with  a  slight  yel- 
low color  (three  quarts  of  percolate) ;  the  percolation  was  continued 
Tvith  two  quarts  of  diluted  alcohol,  and  finally  with  water,  till  two 
quarts  more  of  percolate  were  obtained,  making  five  quarts  of  alco- 
holic percolate  in  all.  This  was  divided  into  two  portions  of  two  and 
a  half  quarts  each. 
One  portion  was  evaporated,  by  means  of  a  water-bath,  to  one  pint ; 
eight  troyounces  of  sugar  were  added,  and  the  evaporation  continued 
until  twelve  fluidounces  were  left.  Drachm  and  half-ounce  doses  prov- 
ing ineffectual,  three  fluidounces  were  taken  at  once ;  the  result  was 
the  same — no  evacuation. 
From  the  second  portion  of  alcoholic  percolate  (2J  quarts)  aporetin* 
