504 
Extract  of  Guarana,  etc. 
J  Am.  Joira.  Pha.rm 
t     Nov.  1, 1874. 
in  their  preparation.  It  is  not  only  at  the  close  of  the  operation 
that  some  of  these  extracts  may  be  rendered  almost  entirely  inert  by 
the  decomposition  or  dissipation  of  their  active  principles,  but  there  are 
well  known  reactions  and  changes,  that  are  apt  to  occur  at  any  stage  of 
the  process  unless  the  greatest  care  and  vigilance  be  observed  in  the 
regulation  of  temperature,  etc.,  and  especially  is  this  the  case  with 
rhubarb  and  cinchona. 
In  large  manufacturing  establishments  the  same  careful  attention 
is  not  always  given  to  the  little  details  of  the  operation,  which  so 
greatly  influence  the  quality  of  these  products,  that  the  retail  pharm- 
acist would  give  in  his  own  laboratory. 
There  are,  however,  several  of  the  narcotic  extracts,  such,  for 
instance,  as  belladonna,  hyoscyamus,  etc.,  that  are  better  obtained 
from  abroad,  owing  to  the  foreign  manufacturer  having  greater  facil- 
ities for  procuring  the  plants  from  which  they  are  made  in  a  more 
recent  and  better  condition.  I  have  generally  found  these  extracts, 
us  prepared  by  several  of  the  more  prominent  English  manufacturers, 
to  be  of  uniformly  good  quality  and  reliable,  seemingly  to  have  been 
prepared  with  much  care,  and  with  a  conscientious  regard  to  their 
excellence. 
This  paper  will  not  be  complete  until  I  shall  have  said  something 
in  regard  to  the  dose  of  guarana,  especially  as  there  seem  to  be  such 
■conflicting  views  among  medical  men  in  this  regard.  I  shall  therefore 
endeavor  to  contribute  my  mite  towards  giving  physicians  who  are 
unaccustomed  to  its  use  some  guide  in  its  administration. 
In  the  United  States  Dispensatory,  page  1670,  edition  1870,  gua- 
rana is  directed  to  be  given  in  substance,  in  the  dose  of  from  one  to 
two  drachms,  while  of  the  extract  only  from  eight  to  ten  grains  are 
directed  to  be  given,  during  the  day,  in  pill  form.  Here  seems  to  be 
a  great  and  unaccountable  disparity  of  dose  between  the  extract  and 
the  powder.  Either  the  dose  of  the  powder  is  unnecessarily  large  or 
that  of  the  extract  is  much  too  small.  The  dose  in  which  the  pow- 
der is  directed  I  have  no  doubt  is  excessive.  I  should  think  that  the 
proper  dose  of  guarana,  in  substance,  would  be  from  fifteen  to  thirty 
grains. 
Taking  this  as  a  basis,  the  dose  of  the  fluid  extract  would  be  from 
fifteen  minims  to  a  half  fluidrachm,  or  from  about  twenty-three  to 
forty-five  drops,  as  a  fluidrachm  was  found  to  contain  about  ninety 
drops,  as  dropped  from  the  lip  of  an  ordinary  six-ounce  prescription 
