Am.  Jour  Pharm.  "I 
Jim.,  1884.  J 
Tincture  of  Nux  Vomica. 
TABLE  III. 
35 
Proportion  of  rectified 
spirit  to  water. 
(By  volume.) 
Percentage  of  Na  CI 
dissolved  in  spirit. 
Amount  of  total  alka- 
loid in  50  cc.  of 
tincture. 
Percentage  of  alka- 
loid extracted  from 
nux  vomica. 
100  :  25 
0-125 
100  :  25 
1-5 
0-130 
2-6 
In  the  first  experiment  the  marc  was  slightly  bitter,  but  in  the 
second,  where  sodium  chloride  was  used,  the  marc  was  entirely  free 
from  bitterness,  indicating  complete  exhaustion.  It  will  be  seen  from 
these  experiments  that  a  spirit  made  by  the  addition  of  25  volumes  of 
water  to  100  volumes  of  rectified  spirit  extracts  nearly  the  whole  of 
the  alkaloid  from  nux  vomica  when  used  in  the  proportion  of  1  of 
nux  vomica  to  10  of  the  spirit.  When  sodium  chloride  to  the  extent 
of  1*5  per  cent  is  dissolved  in  spirit  of  the  above  strength  the  whole 
of  the  alkaloid  is  withdrawn  from  the  seeds,  the  sodium  chloride  no 
doubt  acting,  not  chemically  as  Rother  maintains,  but  physically,  by 
softening  and  dissolving  the  albuminous  matter  of  the  seeds,  as  it  is 
known  to  do  in  other  cases.  As  the  ultimate  gain  effected  by  the  use 
of  sodium  chloride  is  but  small,  it  becomes  a  question  for  consideration 
whether  it  should  be  adopted  in  practice. 
It  has  frequently  been  suggested  that  tincture  of  nux  vomica  should 
be  prepared  by  dissolving  a  definite  quantity  of  extract  of  nux  vomica 
in  alcohol.  Apart  from  any  practical  difficulties  that  may  stand  in  the 
way  of  this  suggestion,  it  is  based  upon  the  supposition  that  extract  of 
nux  vomica  is  a  product  of  definite  alkaloidal  strength,  and  therefore 
that  when  a  tincture  contains  a  known  quantity  of  the  extract  it  may 
be  considered  as  uniform  in  action  and  composition.  This  supposition, 
as  we  shall  subsequently  prove,  is  entirely  erroneous,  extract  of  nux 
vomica  being  in  reality  very  variable  in  alkaloidal  strength,  just  as  the 
tincture  is,  when  prepared  in  the  ordinary  way.  The  new  edition  of 
the  United  States  Pharmacopoeia  contains  a  process  for  making  tincture 
of  nux  vomica  constant  in  the  amount  of  extract  which  it  contains. 
But,  it  appeared  to  us  that,  having  an  extract  known  to  contain 
a  definite  quantity  of  alkaloid  to  work  with,  there  would  be  a  distinct 
advantage  other  things  being  equal,  in  preparing  the  tincture  from 
such  an  extract.  We  therefore  made  experiments  to  determine  whether 
by  any  simple  means  an  extract  of  nux  vomica  could  be  prepared  that 
