36 
Tincture  of  Nux  Vomica. 
{Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
Jan.,  1884. 
would  wholly  dissolve  in  alcohol,  forming  a  solution  ,that  would  not 
deposit  upon  keeping. v 
Experiment  1. — An  extract  of  nux  vomica  was  prepared  with  recti- 
fied spirit  and  evaporated  upon  the  water-bath  until  it  had  the  con- 
sistence of  a  soft  extract.  Ten  grains  of  this  were  dissolved  with  the 
aid  of  a  gentle  heat  in  one  ounce  of  rectified  spirit,  by  which  means  a 
perfectly  clear  solution  was  obtained,  but  in  twenty-four  hours  this  had 
deposited  a  white  sediment. 
Experiment  2. — An  extract  was  prepared  in  the  same  way  as  in  experi- 
ment 1,  but  ten  grains  were  dissolved  in  one  ounce  of  a  mixture  of  two 
volumes  of  rectified  spirit  and  one  volume  of  water  with  the  aid  of  a 
gentle  heat.  A  large  quantity  of  oily  matter  refused  to  dissolve  and 
the  tincture  soon  deposited  a  copious  yellow  sediment. 
Experiment  3. — The  same  extract  was  used  as  in  the  former  experi- 
ments, but  the  solution  of  ten  grains  was  attempted  with  one  ounce  of 
proof  spirit.  Some  oil  remained  insoluble  and  the  tincture  deposited 
abundant  yellow  sediment. 
Experiment  4. — The  extract  was  prepared  with  rectified  spirit,  evapo- 
rated upon  the  water-bath,  and  exposed  for  eight  hours.  Ten  grains 
of  this  extract  dissolved  readily  in  one  ounce  of  rectified  spirit,  but 
the  tincture  deposited  a  small  quantity  of  brown  sediment. 
Experiment  5. — The  extract  in  this  case  was  prepared  with  proof 
spirit  and  evaporated  to  a  soft  consistence.  Ten  grains  of  this  were 
dissolved  in  one  ounce  of  proof  spirit,  yielding  a  nearly  clear  tincture, 
which  deposited  very  slightly  after  twenty-four  hours. 
The  above  experiments  indicate  that  there  is  no  very  ready  means 
of  obtaining  a  perfectly  stable  tincture  of  nux  vomica  from  the  solu- 
tion of  the  extract  in  alcohol,  although  experiments  4  and  5  might 
possibly  be  modified  to  yield  good  results.  However,  we  are  now 
engaged  in  elaborating  a  simple  and  direct  method  of  preparing  tincture 
of  nux  vomica  of  definite  strength  upon  different  lines,  and  hope  to 
bring  our  results  before  this  Society  at  a  future  meeting. 
Our  thanks  are  due  to  Professor  Attfield,  F.R.S.,  for  having  per- 
mitted this  investigation  to  be  carried  out  in  the  laboratories  of  the 
Pharmaceutical  Society,  and  to  the  British  Pharmaceutical  Conference 
for  having  aided  the  work  by  a  grant  from  its  Research  Fund. — Phar. 
Jour.  Trans.,  Dec.  1883. 
