Am.  Jour.  Pharru.  \ 
August,  1903.  f 
Tincture  of  Kino. 
38i 
G.  W.  Kennedy  (American  Journal  of  Pharmacy,  1880,  folio 
78)  attributes  the  success  of  his  formula  to  the  addition  of  logwood, 
but  it  is  to  be  noted  that  he  likewise  used  diluted  alcohol. 
R.  Rother  (American  Journal  of  Pharmacy,  1886,  folio  333) 
considers  glycerin  "  as  unsatisfactory  as  all  other  agents  previously 
tried,"  and  says  "  the  addition  of  glycerin  before  or  after  the  gela- 
tinization  had  no  visible  effect  either,  in  preventing  the  alteration 
or  regenerating  the  spoiled  tincture."  He  proposes  the  use  of  Cate- 
chu as  a  preventive,  but  strangely  attributes  no  value  to  the  alco- 
holic weakness  of  his  formula,  which  contains  only  four  fluid  ounces 
of  alcohol  in  a  pint. 
The  British  Pharmacopoeia  directs  twelve  fluid  ounces  of  rectified 
spirit  in  twenty  fluid  ounces  of  tincture  of  kino  equivalent  to  about 
50  per  cent,  alcohol  in  the  finished  tincture. 
These  various  excerpts  indicate  that  I  am  only  digging  out  a  half 
buried  truth.  The  fact  is  that  if  proper  gum  kino  is  used,  diluted 
alcohol  will  satisfactorily  extract  it,  and  is  preferable  to  a  stronger 
alcoholic  menstruum  because  less  stimulating. 
(3)  The  proper  preservation  of  the  product.  Not  only  should 
the  tincture  be  divided  into  small  well-stoppered  vials,  but  they 
should  be  preserved  in  a  cool  place  protected  from  the  light.  The 
effect  of  the  sunlight  in  causing  the  change  in  this  tincture  is  quite 
pronounced,  yet  the  pharmacopoeia  fails  to  caution  against  such 
exposure,  and  the  various  papers  examined  also  fail  to  direct  atten- 
tion to  this  cause  of  change,  which  is  probably  quite  as  potent  as 
the  atmospheric  exposure.  It  has  been  my  custom  to  keep  only 
the  one  small  vial  in  use  in  the  prescription  department,  the  re- 
mainder of  the  stock  in  small  vials  being  stored  in  the  dark  in  the 
cellar. 
In  concluding  this  paper  I  exhibit  the  following  specimens : 
No.  1,  a  two-ounce  bottle,  that  contained  tincture  of  kino  made 
January,  1899,  which  was  gradually  used  up  leaving  only  a  few 
drops.  This  bottle  has  since  been  preserved  intact  to  note  if  a 
change  would  take  place.  No.  2,  a  four-ounce  bottle  that  contained 
some  tincture  made  June,  1900.  On  June  10,  1902,  this  had  been  all 
used  up  but  about  2  c.c,  and  was  set  aside  for  preservation.  Under 
this  unfavorable  condition  the  tincture  shows  no  signs  of  gelatiniz- 
ing. No.  3,  a  full  four-ounce  vial  of  the  same  lot  of  tincture,  made 
June,  1900,  shows  no  precipitation  or  tendency  to  thicken. 
