THE  AMERICAN 
JOURNAL  OF  PHARMACY. 
FEBRUARY,  188& 
MEDICATED  WATERS. 
By  Joseph  W.  Engkland,  Ph.  Gr. 
Read  at  the  Pharmaceutical  Meeting,  January  15,  1884. 
The  term  "  Medicated  Waters  "  is  applied  in  a  general  sense  to  all 
those  aqueous  liquids  holding  in  solution  the  volatile  oils  of  plants,  or 
in  some  cases  the  stearopten  of  a  volatile  oil  e.  g.  Aqua  camphorse. 
This  definition  is  only  partially  adhered  to  by  the  Pharmacopoeia  which 
also  admits  under  the  same  heading,  aqueous  solutions  of  certain 
odorous  gases  and  liquids  not  directly  derived  from  plant  life.  Through 
misplacement,  therefore,  Aqua  ammonise,  Aqua  amnionic  fortior, 
Aqua  chlori  and  Aqua  creasoti  have  been  classified  among  the 
officinal  waters,  the  position  of  which,  it  is  thought,  from  their  com- 
position should  have  been  among  the  "  Liquors."  The  present  paper 
will  deal  only  with  the  waters  first  named  ;  that  is  those  derived  from 
volatile  oils ;  and  will  have  for  its  scope  the  various  methods  of  pre- 
parations employed,  explanations  of  the  several  advantages  and  disad- 
vantages peculiar  to  each ;  while  a  substitutive  process  will  be  offered 
and  the  principles  involved  in  the  workings  of  the  same  set  forth. 
The  U.  S.  Pharmacopoeia  of  1870,  in  the  formulae  for  these  waters, 
gave  in  all  cases,  either  one  or  the  alternative  of  two  processes.  First : 
Distillation  of  the  odorous  part  of  the  plant  with  water,  after  previous 
comminution  and  maceration  if  necessary ;  or,  second  :  Trituration  of 
the  volatile  oil  of  the  plant  with  magnesium  carbornate,  the  addition 
of  distilled  water  and  filtration. 
During  the  process  of  "  distillation  "  the  water  carries  over  with  it 
in  suspension  the  vapor  of  the  oily  product  used  and  both  are  con- 
densed in  the  receiver  in  separate  layers.  The  oily  portion  is  separated 
by  suitable  apparatus,  leaving  the  water  impregnated  with  its  taste  and 
fragrance.  The  fragrance  is  at  first  masked  with  a  foreign  odor  that 
gradually  dissapears  on  exposure  to  air ;  leaving  the  true  one,  partially 
modified  to  one  of  finer  quality,  through  the  supposed  presence  of 
certain  volatile  acids  and  compound  or  mixed  ethers.  Distillation 
while  admittedly  the  best  in  comparison  with  the  present  methods 
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