THE 
AMERICAN  JOURNAL  OF  PHARMACY. 
JULY,   1  8  67. 
PHARMACY  OF  THE  CINCHONAS. 
By  Edward  R.  Squibb,  M.  D.,  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 
There  are  perhaps,  few  articles  of  the  Materia  Medica  of 
more  importance  than  the  Cinchonas,  even  when  considered  apart 
from  their  relations  to  the  sulphate  of  quinia  as  an  antiperi- 
odic.  The  proper  and  judicious  use  of  tonics  has  of  late  years, 
been  practically  recognized  to  be  one  of  the  prominent  studies 
of  the  physician  who  is  skilful  in  the  practice  of  his  art ;  and 
the  best  and  most  generally  applicable  of  all  tonics  are  the 
Cinchonas. 
That  the  artificially  prepared  salts  of  quinia  are  tonic  there 
can  be  little  doubt,  though  this  has  been  questioned  by  good 
authorities,  and  yet  this  is  not  their  original,  nor  their  most  ap- 
propriate use.  They  should  be  held  and  used  only  as  antipe- 
riodics,  and  as  agents  for  the  production  of  quinism.  Many 
good  authorities  have  taught  that  the  alkaloids  and  acids  of  the 
Cinchonas,  in  their  natural  condition  and  combinations,  are  best 
adapted  to  use  as  tonics,  and  the  writer  desires  to  add  his  testi- 
mony to  that  of  such  authorities,  and  to  go  still  fuither,  believ- 
ing that  these  natural  combinations  alone  are  well  adapted  to  use 
as  tonics  ;  and  that  sulphate  of  quinia  is  as  inferior  to  them  as 
tonics,  as  it  is  superior  as  an  antiperiodic.  The  main  advantage 
gained  by  the  extraction  of  quinia  and  its  recombination  with 
