THE  AMERICAN 
JOURNAL  OF  PHARMACY 
By  F\  W.  Haussmann, 
Research  Committee  E,  Pharmacopoeia  Revision. 
SYRUPUS  ALTH^fL'E. 
APRIL,  1899. 
The  desirability  of  a  formula  for  this  syrup,  which  would  furnish 
a  preparation  possessing  greater  stability,  has  been  expressed  by 
American  as  well  as  Continental  pharmacists. 
To  the  former  the  present  official  cold  process  is  extremely 
unsatisfactory,  and  almost  every  step  in  the  course  of  preparation 
has  been  subjected  to  criticism. 
Prominent  objections,  as  pointed  out  by  different  writers,  are  the 
short  time  directed  for  macerating  the  root,  the  neglect  of  making 
allowance  for  the  amount  of  menstruum  absorbed  by  the  althaea 
and  consequent  failure  of  dissolving  all  the  sugar  in  the  strained 
liquid. 
By  far  the  greatest  difficulty  which  confronts  the  pharmacist,  lies 
however,  in  the  instability  of  the  syrup. 
The  Pharmacopoeia  of  1880  directs  recent  preparation  which,  if 
the  time  necessary  for  completion  is  considered,  is  impracticable. 
The  present  Pharmacopoeia  omits  directions  for  recent  prepara- 
tion, but  recommends  the  syrup  to  be  kept  in  filled  bottles  in  a  cool 
place. 
To  secure  greater  stability  the  addition  of  10  per  cent,  by  vol- 
ume of  glycerin  is  ordered. 
It  is,  nevertheless  a  fact,  that  in  warm  weather  the  syrup  will 
rapidly  decompose,  and  in  not  a  few  instances  fermentation  takes 
place  before  the  syrup  is  even  completed. 
Stability  of  a  pharmaceutical  preparation  in  the  hands  of  the  con- 
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