474 
Sydenham's  Lauda num . 
f  Am.  Jour.  Pharm 
(       Sept.,  1884. 
produce  no  apparent  disturbance,  cause  no  precipitate,  and  yield  mix- 
tures which  remain  unaltered,  practically,  for  an  indefinite  period. 
The  preparation  of  Sydenham's  Laudanum  has  been  the  subject  of 
numerous  investigations;  many  regard  it  as  a  pharmaceutical  prepara- 
tion leaving  much  to  desire,  and  all  agree  that  the  precipitate  forming 
therein  contains  a  portion  of  the  opium  alkaloids.  For  further  inves- 
tigation in  this  direction,  9  Gm.  each  of  Ceylon  cinnamon  and  of  cloves 
were  exhausted  with  sufficient  Malaga  wine  to  obtain  600  Gm.  of 
liquid;  and  67  Gm.  of  extract  of  opium  were  dissolved  in  sufficient 
Malaga  wine  to  obtain  400  Gm.  of  liquid.  Both  liquids  were  perfectly 
transparent,  but  on  being  mixed,  became  at  once  strongly  turbid.  On 
passing  it  now  through  a  filter,  weighing  25  Gm.,  the  weight  of  the 
latter  was  increased  to  08  Gm.,  or  33  Gm.  of  dry  matter  were  precipi- 
tated from  the  laudanum.  The  precipitate  was  diffused  in  water, 
acidulated  with  acetic  acid,  and  the  mixture  heated  and  filtered;  the 
filtrate  was  dark  colored  and  yielded  a  precipitate  with  ammonia. 
After  repeating  this  operation  three  times,  the  precipitate  was  collected 
upon  a  filter  washed  with  distilled  water  and  dried;  it  weighed  0*15 
Gm.  and  gave  all  the  characteristic  reactions  of  morphine. 
It  is  shown  from  these  experiments  1,  that  cinnamon  as  well  as 
cloves,  causes  in  solutions  of  opium  a  precipitate  containing  a  portion 
of  the  alkaloids,  and  2,  that  the  oils  of  cinnamon  and  of  cloves  do  not 
produce  such  precipitates. 
In  proposing  a  modification  in  the  preparation  of  a  medicine  which 
has  been  used  for  more  than  two  centuries,  it  is  not  sufficient  to  show 
pharmaceutical  incompatibility,  but  it  should  also  be  considered  whether 
the  change  would  not  likewise  alter  the  therapeutic  action. 
In  opium  preparations  we  generally  endeavor  to  modify  the  narcotic 
action  by  associating  it  with  various  ingredients  as  correctives.  These 
ingredients  present  two  particularities,  either  by  acting  upon  the  opium 
itself,  modifying  its  chemical  nature  and  changing  its  action  and  the 
nature  of  the  impression  produced,  as  is  the  case  with  Rousseau's 
laudanum  (by  fermentation) ;  or  without  changing  its  constitution,  by 
acting  with  it  and  directing  its  influence.  The  former  seem  to  diminish 
the  stupefying  action  of  opium,  while  the  latter  yield  mixtures  having 
narcotic  and  stimulating  properties.  Cinnamon  and  cloves  are  stimu- 
lants used  in  connection  with  opium ;  if  deprived  of  tannin,  their  effect 
is  a  useful  modification  of  the  stupefying  action  of  poppy  juice. 
The  modification  proposed  by  me  follows  from  the  foregoing  and 
