Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  ) 
January,  1920.  j 
Advances  in  Pharmacy. 
27 
that  they  act  as  shortening  to  any  baked  pastry.  To  make  an  oily 
extract  of  vanilla  or  tonka  beans  he  advises  that  i  part  of  the  solid 
be  heated  on  a  water  bath  to  from  70°  to  80°  C.  with  10  parts  of  oil 
for  30  minutes,  and  then  strained.  If  vanillin  or  coumarin  is  used 
he  suggests  that  a  solution  of  these  can  very  readily  be  made  in  the 
proportions  of  i  in  40  or  i  in  50;  these  will  give  a  flavor  about  10 
times  stronger  than  an  oily  extract  of  the  beans. — Midland  Druggist, 
I9i9>  PP-  53,  88. 
iNCOMPATiBiiviTms  OF  STRYCHNINE  Sui^PHATE. — Among  the 
requirements  of  strychnine  sulphate  in  the  French  Codex  is  one  that 
it  must  be  neutral,  in  contradistinction  to  the  U.  S.  P.  requirement 
which  allows  some  latitude,  it  stating  that  strychnine  sulphate 
should  be  neutral  or  slightly  acid.  A  perfectly  neutral  salt  naturally 
will  be  somewhat  incompatible  in  a  solution  such  as  the  following 
which  is  in  great  vogue  among  French  physicians  as  a  hypodermic 
injection:  Sodium  cacodylate,  0.50;  strychnine  sulphate,  0.02; 
distilled  water,  to  make  10  Mils.  At  first  this  solution  makes  up 
clear  but  after  a  short  time  a  crystalline  precipitate  of  strychnine 
cacodylate  slowly  makes  its  appearance  and  adheres  to  the  sides  of  the 
bottle  or  ampul.  This  is  due  to  the  lack  of  solubility  in  water  of  the 
strychnine  cacodylate  formed  by  double  decomposition.  There  are 
a  number  of  proprietary  ampuls  of  this  combination  on  the  market 
which,  although  they  have  the  correct  amount  of  these  very  active 
ingredients,  do  not  show  any  evidence  of  precipitation  of  this  potent 
salt.  This  is  brought  about  by  substituting  for  part  of  the  distilled 
water  a  small  amount  each  of  glycerin  and  alcohol.  The  modi- 
fied formula  for  this  injection  gives  a  solution  which  is  permanent 
and  without  any  possibility  of  dangerous  consequences. 
Strychnine  Sulphate   0.02 
One  Mil.,  which  is  the  dose  of  this  hypodermic  injection,  con- 
tains 5  centigrams  of  sodium  cacodylate  and  2  milligrams  of  neutral 
strychnine  sulphate. — E.  Cabannes,  Repertoire  de  Pharm.,  30: 
193,  1919^  through  The  Pharm.  Jour,  and  Pharmacist,  Aug.  23,  1919. 
Sodium  Cacodylate .  . . . 
Alcohol,  90  per  cent... 
Glycerine  
Distilled  Water,  boiled 
to  make    10.00  Mils. 
0.50 
4.00 
2  .00 
