Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  1 
January,  1899.  / 
Pharmaceutical  Meeting. 
47 
MINUTES  OF  THE  PHARMACEUTICAL  MEETING. 
Philadelphia,  December  20,  1898. 
The  regular  pharmaceutical  meeting  was  held  in  the  Museum  of  the  College, 
with  James  T.  Shinn  in  the  chair. 
The  first  paper  presented  was  on  "Some  Observations  on  Fluid  Acetracts  in 
Comparison  with  Fluid  Extracts,"  by  Wm.  B.  Thompson,  which  will  be  pub- 
lished in  a  later  issue  of  this  Journal.  After  making  some  general  observa- 
tions on  the  adoption  of  new  methods  and  procedures,  the  author  considered 
the  respective  merits  of  alcohol  and  acetic  acid  as  menstrua  and  solvents  in 
pharmaceutical  operations.  One  marked  feature  which  he  noticed  in  fluid  ace- 
tracts was  the  absence  of  a  certain  gravity  and  density  as  compared  with  the 
corresponding  fluid  extracts,  as  also  a  striking  difference  in  the  color  of  the 
two  classes  of  liquids.  In  cases  where  the  density  of  the  fluid  acetracts  was 
more  pronounced,  the  odor  of  the  drug  appeared  to  be  masked  by  the  acetous 
odor.  To  illustrate  the  subject  more  fully,  some  of  the  individual  members  of 
each  class  were  considered  as  to  physical  appearance  and  also  therapeutic 
activity  in  a  few  instances. 
Some  interesting  points  were  brought  out  in  the  discussion  of  this  paper, 
and  among  those  participating  in  it  were  Dr.  C  B.  L,owe,  Professor  Reming- 
ton, Mr.  K'ebler  and  the  chairman.  Professor  Remington  said  that  he  was 
glad  that  the  use  of  acetic  acid  was  attracting  attention  ;  that  he  had  been 
experimenting  with  this  solvent  for  the  past  twelve  years.  He  did  not  agree 
with  all  the  conclusions  of  the  author,  but  thought  that  he  had  been  fair  in, 
his  treatment  of  the  subject.  He  said,  in  addition,  that  it  was  necessary  to 
make  observations,  and  that  the  truth  was  what  we  want.  He  himself  was 
somewhat  conservative,  and  he  did  not  believe  that  acetic  acid  could  take  the 
place  of  alcohol,  but  that  some  drugs  could  be  exhausted  with  it,  and  that 
probably  one-half  of  the  official  preparations  could  be  made  with-this  solvent. 
With  reference  to  the  solid  preparations,  the  "acetracts,"  he  said  that  they 
were  sure  to  be  used,  as  the  acid  acted  as  a  solvent  for  the  alkaloids  ;  that  Mr. 
P.  B.  Kilmer  had  tried  acetract  of  belladonna  for  making  belladonna  plaster, 
and  found  it  to  be  20  per  cent,  stronger  than  the  ordinary,  the  reason  being 
that  probably  soluble  salts  of  the  alkaloids  were  formed,  and  thus  it  was  more 
effective.  The  statement  was  also  made  that  some  of  the  physicians  of  this  city 
were  trying  this  class  of  preparations,  and  that  they  had  obtained  distinctly 
noticeable  results.  The  speaker  then  referred  to  the  efficiency  of  acetic  acid  in 
exhausting  nux  vomica  (the  whole  beans  being  used  by  Dr.  Squibb),  and 
stated  in  this  connection  that  a  large  manufacturing  firm  of  this  city  had  been 
using  it  for  a  number  of  years.  Finally  he  alluded  to  a  recent  editorial  in 
Merck'' s  Report  on  "Acetracts  vs.  Fluid  Extracts,"  and  read  portions  there- 
from, which  were  humorous,  to  say  the  least. 
Replying  to  a  question  by  Dr.  Lowe,  Professor  Remington  said  that  glacial 
acetic  acid  was  an  excellent  solvent  for  volatile  oils,  and  that  such  solutions 
were  being  used  by  candy  manufacturers  for  flavoring  their  products. 
Mr.  Kebler  referred  to  the  work  of  Cripps  and  Paul  and  Cownley  along  this 
line.  They  found  that  in  an  acetract  of  ipecac,  made  by  reducing  it  to  powder 
by  evaporation,  there  was  a  lowering  of  the  percentage  of  alkaloid  to  the 
extent  of  \  to  £  ;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  a  powder  made  with  hydrochloric 
acid  lost  none  by  heating. 
