Am.  Jonr.  Pharm. 
May,  1885. 
Tincture  Deposits. 
243 
TINCTURE  DEPOSITS.^ 
By  R.  a.  Cripps. 
In  November,  1883,  I  had  the  honor  of  reading  before  the  School 
of  Pharmacy  Students'  Association  "  a  report  upon  "  Tincture  De- 
posits," by  which  I  mean  that  sediment  which  is  formed  in  a  tincture 
after  filtration.    (See  "  Amer.  Jour.  Phar.,"  1884,  p.  101.) 
That  report  included  notices  of  the  following  tinctures :  Tinct. 
calurabse,  cardam.  comp.,  chloroformi  comp.,  cinchonse  comp.,  cinchonse 
flavse,  ferri  acetatis,  gentian^e  comp.,  ipecac,  lobelise  inf.  ?ether.,  quinise 
and  rhei,  and  it  was  there  shown  that  the  deposits  in  most  of  these  are 
of  little  importance;  the  two  cinchona  tinctures  and  that  of  acetate  of 
iron  being  exceptions  to  the  rule. 
I  now  purpose  to  continue  that  report,  giving  the  results  obtained 
with  a  few  more  deposits  received  since  that  time. 
Tinctura  Digitalis. — The  deposit  from  this  tincture  is  of  a  pale 
greyish-green  color  and  small  in  amount.  It  was  first  washed  slightly 
with  proof  spirit,  then  digested  for  a  short  time  with  dilute  acetic  acid, 
and  the  solution  filtered.  The  filtrate  was  only  slightly  colored,  it  was 
shaken  twice  with  chloroform,  the  chloroformic  solution  removed  by 
a  separatory  funnel  and  evaporated  slowly  to  dryness.  The  residue 
was  then  tested  for  digitalin  by  the  following  method :  A  few  drops 
of  strong  sulphuric  acid  were  added  to  the  contents  of  the  dish,  and 
the  vapor  of  bromine  applied,  a  slight  violet  coloration  was  produced 
showing  the  presence  of  a  small  amount  of  digitalin ;  but  it  was  very 
small  indeed,  quite  insufficient  for  estimation,  perhaps  5  per  cent,  of 
the  whole  deposit,  which  from  1  gallon  of  the  tincture  weighed  barely 
20  grains. 
Tindura  Ferri  Acetatis. — Another  sample  of  this  deposit  having 
been  sent  to  me  I  estimated  the  amount  of  ferric  oxide  it  contained  ; 
this  amounted  to  76*44  per  cent.,  showing  that  the  deposit  varies  in 
composition,  the  former  sample  giving  69'77  per  cent.  It  was  similar 
in  appearance  to  the  last,  and  the  quantity  obtained  from  1  pint  was 
33  grains. 
Tinctura  Lobeliw  jEtherea. — This  deposit  was  similar  in  appearance 
to  that  previously  examined,  and  like  it  contained  no  lobeline,  but 
1  Read  at  a  meeting  of  the  "  School  of  Pharmacy  Students'  Association." 
February  5,  1885. 
