THE 
AMERICAN  JOURNAL  OF  PHARMACY. 
MARCH,  1857. 
EXTRACTUM  COLOCYNTHIDIS  COMPOSITUM. 
By  Edward  R.  Squibb,  M.  D.,  U.  S.  Navy. 
Assistant  Director  Naval  Laboratory. 
"  Take  of  Colocynth,  deprived  of  seeds  and  sliced,  six  ounces. 
Aloes  in  powder,       -  twelve  ounces. 
Scammony  in  powder,        -        -        four  ounces. 
Cardamom  seed  in  powder,         -        one  ounce. 
Soap,      -  three  ounces. 
Diluted  alcohol,        -  one  gallon. 
Macerate  the  colocynth  in  the  diluted  alcohol,  with  a  gentle  heat, 
for  four  days.  Express  and  filter  the  liquor,  and  add  to  it  the 
aloes,  scammony  and  soap  ;  then  evaporate  to  the  proper  con- 
sistence, and,  near  the  end  of  the  process,  mix  the  cardamom 
with  the  other  ingredients." — U.  S.  Pharm. 
Judging  from  the  inefficiency  of  this  important  preparation,  as 
it  is  frequently  found,  there  are  some  points  in  its  manufacture 
that  do  not  meet  with  the  requisite  attention  on  the  part  of  those 
who  make  and  use  it. 
In  the  first  place,  apart  from  the  quality  of  the  other  materials, 
there  are  two  chief  elements  of  uncertainty  in  the  preparation, 
namely,  the  state  of  maturity  and  dryness  of  the  colocynth  used, 
and  the  amount  of  water  in  the  soap.  Colocynth  not  well  ma- 
tured, with  white  flattened  seed  that  float  in  the  menstruum, 
yields  Jess  extract ;  and  soap,  as  usually  found,  varies  in  the 
amount  of  moisture  from  10  to  19  per  cent.  In  the  second  place, 
it  is  almost  impossible,  and  quite  impracticable,  to  separate  ail 
the  seed  from  the  colocynth  as  usually  met  with  in  the  market ; 
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