402 
Reviews. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
July,  1896. 
The  Scientific  Papers  are:  ' '  Juglandaceae  of  the  United  States,"  by  William 
Trelease,  handsomely  illustrated  with  twenty-five  full-page  plates.  1 '  A  Study 
of  the  Agaves  of  the  United  States,"  by  A.  Isabel  Mulford,  also  fully  illus- 
trated. "The  Ligulate  Wolfl&as  of  the  United  States,"  by  Charles  Henry 
Thompson,  illustrated  with  three  plates. 
The  Anniversary  Publication  is  an  address  on  "The  Value  of  a  Study  of 
Botany,"  by  Henry  Wade  Rogers. 
The  whole  makes  a  handsome  and  valuable  book,  which  is  published  at  a 
price  which  barely  covers  the  cost  of  production. 
AskpToun.  A  formulated  treatment  for  tuberculosis,  septicaemia,  malaria 
and  la  grippe,  with  reports  of  cases.    By  Cyrus  Edson,  M.D. 
A  few  years  ago  Dr.  Edson  would  not  have  been  suspected  of  taking  part  in 
an  effort  to  introduce  to  the  medical  profession  and  the  public  a  remedy  under 
a  fanciful  name,  and  bearing  a  trade-mark.  His  pamphlet  of  seventy- nine 
pages  is  nothing  more  than  a  high-sounding  advertisement  of  a  preparation, 
which,  if  it  is  constituted  as  he  claims,  can  be  manufactured  by  any 
intelligent  pharmacist.  In  order  to  surround  this  wonderful  remedy  with 
as  much  mystery  as  possible,  the  author  has  not  been  satisfied  with  his 
own  "  rough  description  of  the  method  of  manufacture,"  but  has  published 
the  results  of  an  investigation  by  Henry  A.  Mott,  Ph.D.,  LX.D.,  who  says 
he  has  found  it  to  contain  "a  colorless,  crystalline  salt,  which  is  new  to 
the  medical  profession,  being  a  chemical  combination  of  absolutely  pure 
phenol  (C6H5OH)  and  the  alkaloid  pilocarpin.  This  pilocarpin-phenyl- 
hydroxide  (CnH16N202.OH.C6H5)  "  he  says,  "  exists  in  Aseptolin,  dissolved  in 
an  aqueous  275  per  cent,  solution  of  phenol."  Aseptolin,  therefore,  is  com- 
posed of : 
Not  satisfied  with  this  apparently  exhaustive  report  on  its  composition,  Dr. 
Mott  proceeds  to  describe  the  actual  process  of  manufacture  in  such  a  lucid  (?) 
manner  as  to  have  a  deterring  effect  on  the  would-be  imitator  before  beginning. 
After  describing  the  method  of  preparing  a  strictly  pure  phenol  by  distillation, 
in  which  the  first  and  last  10  per  cent,  are  rejected,  the  exact  procedure  is  given 
as  follows  : 
"In  the  preparation  of  pilocarpin-phenyl-hydroxide,  it  is  only  necessary  to  weigh  out  an 
equivalent  proportion  of  this  purified  phenol  solution  (after  determining  its  strength  by 
chemical  analysis),  heat  the  same  to  about  ioo°  C.  (2120  F.),  and  then  gradually  add  to  it  an 
equivalent  amount  of  the  pure  alkaloid  pilocarpin,  when,  on  standing  for  ten  or  twelve  hours, 
the  uncrystallized  pilocarpin-phenyl  hydroxide  will  separate  out.  From  this  salt,  Aseptolin 
may  be  directly  prepared  by  following  the  analysis  given  above.  The  usual  method,  how- 
ever, adopted  on  an  extensive  scale,  is  as  follows  :  The  highly  purified  phenol  is  diluted  with 
distilled  water  until  the  percentage  of  phenol  is  reduced  to  exactly  275  per  cent.,  which  can 
be  determined  by  the  phenolometer.  This  is  introduced  into  glass-stoppered  receivers,  which 
have  been  thoroughly  cleaned  with  boiling  water.  In  the  receivers  the  right  proportion  of 
the  alkaloid  pilocarpin  is  put,  so  that  as  the  phenol  distils  over  and  condenses,  it  immediately 
combines  with  the  pilocarpin  in  the  production  of  Aseptolin.  The  temperature  of  the  receiver 
is  kept  reduced  by  means  of  a  small  stream  of  water,  yet  sufficiently  high  to  insure  the  desired 
Per  Cent. 
Water  
Phenol   
Pilocarpin  phenyl-hydroxide 
97-2411 
27401 
0-0188 
