Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  \ 
Apr.  1, 1874.  J 
Cortex  Juglandis  Cinerece. 
169 
oal  bark  with  alcohol  (sp.  gr.  -835),  mixing  the  resulting  tincture  with 
half  its  bulk  of  water,  distilling  off  the  alcohol,  and  then  removing  the 
resin,  which  is  suspended  in  the  aqueous  residue,  and  washing  and 
drying  it.  This  resin,  in  doses  of  grs.  2 — 5,  is  said  to  act  as  a 
diuretic  and  cathartic,  but  that  which  I  obtained,  when  taken  in  5 
^rain  doses,  had  more  of  a  diuretic  effect  than  cathartic,  and  I  do  not 
think  that  any  decided  medicinal  virtues  can  be  attached  to  it.  But- 
ternut bark  has  for  a  long  time  been  used  in  domestic  practice,  and 
by  that  means,  probably,  became  known  to  our  medical  profession, 
with  whom,  at  one  time,  it  enjoyed  considerable  reputation,  but  has 
now  become  almost  obsolete  with  our  city  physicians,  although  it  is 
still  used  to  quite  an  extent  by  country  practitioners.  I  have  found 
that  a  tincture  of  the  bark,  of  such  a  strength,  that  fl.  §  xvi  of  it  will 
represent  two  troy  ounces  of  the  powdered  drug,  (the  menstruum 
being  diluted  alcohol),  forms  a  handsome,  permanent  preparation,  and 
when  given  in  doses  of  fl.  gi — ij,  acts  most  decidedly  as  a  cathartic. 
A  fluid  extract  made  according  to  the  Pharmacopoeia  formula  for  ex- 
tract, cinchonse  fl.,  forms  a  preparation  which  fully  represents  the 
•odor,  taste,  and  medical  properties  of  the  bark. 
Mr.  C.  0.  Thiebaud,  in  1872,*  made  a  very  interesting  investiga- 
tion of  the  constituents  of  butternut  bark,  and  found,  among  others, 
a  volatile  acid:  juglandic  acid,  which  he  considered  allied  to  chryso- 
phanic  acid,  and  also  an  acid  crystallizing  in  flat  tabular  crystals. 
The  solvent  used  by  him  in  isolating  the  above  constituents,  was  true 
benzole.  In  prosecuting  my  analysis  of  the  bark,  I  followed,  to  a 
certain  extent,  the  course  adopted  by  Mr.  T.,  substituting,  however, 
petroleum  benzin  for  a  solvent  in  place  of  benzole,  but  the  results  of 
my  investigation  do  not  entirely  correspond  with  his. 
In  the  cold  infusion,  which  had  an  acrid  taste,  the  author  found 
neither  albumen  or  alkaloid  ;  to  the  incompatibles  mentioned  by  Mr. 
Thiebaud  (loc.  cit.  p.  255),  Mr.  Dawson  adds  potassium  ferrocyanide, 
mercuric  chloride  and  tartar  emetic  ;  gelatin  likewise  produced  a  pre- 
cipitate, and  tannin  appears  therefore  to  be  present. f 
*  American  Journal  of  Pharmacy,  1872,  p,  253. 
fThe  discrepancy  between  the  statement  of  Mr.  Dawson  and  Mr.  Thiebaud 
may  perhaps  be  explained  by  the  bark  used  by  the  former  having  been  care- 
fully and  rapidly  dried  immediately  after  collection;  it  is  not  unlikely  that 
thereby  the  decomposition  of  the  tannin  may  be  partly  prevented. — Editor 
Amer.  Journ.  Ph. 
