Am,  Jour.  Pharm. ") 
February,  1911.  j 
Book  Reviews. 
87 
s-Suprarininum  with  adrenalinum  as  a  synonym  is  rather  interest- 
ing because  of  the  comparatively  small  amount  of  attention  that 
appears  to  have  been  given  this  product  on  the  Continent  of 
Europe.  It  is  also  interesting  to  note  that  the  Dutch  title 
1-suprarenine "  and  the  final  requirement  that  the  product  on 
incineration  is  to  leave  no  residue  would  indicate  that  the  synthetic, 
Isevorotatory,  product  is  preferred. 
The  corrections  affect  no  less  than  no  of  the  official  titles 
and  are  mainly  changes  in  requirements  and  tests.  All  of  the 
changes  are  important  in  that  they  suggest  precautions  that  should 
be  taken  in  connection  with  a  work  of  this  kind  to  insure  fair 
and  equitable  standards  and  requirements. 
In  this  connection  it  is  interesting  to  note  that  in  place  of 
making  definite  fixed  requirements  for  the  alkaloid  content  of 
drugs  and  pharmaceutical  preparations  the  Ph.  Ndl.  IV  now 
permits  of  a  range  of  standard  or  a  variation  of  approximately  20 
per  cent,  from  the  original  re^quirements. 
The  greater  number  of  changes  embodied  in  this  first  instal- 
ment of  corrections  are  due  to  an  elaboration  of  the  requirements 
for  the  specific  gravity  of  liquid  preparations,  usually  a  material 
increase  of  the  permissible  variation. 
The  directions  for  keeping  many  of  the  official  drugs  and 
preparations  are  also  somewhat  elaborated,  particularly  in  con- 
nection with  narcotic  leaves  and  herbs  which  are  now  directed  to 
be  protected  from  the  influence  of  light. 
Apart  from  the  changes  mentioned  it  may  be  noted  that  the 
comprehensive  and  in  many  ways  elaborate  descriptions  for  organic 
drugs  appear  to  be  satisfactory,  only  one  additional  change  being 
embodied  in  the  present  list.  This  change  is  an  increase  in  the 
permissible  ash  content  of  lupulin  from  6  to  10  per  cent.,  making 
it  similar  to  that  of  the  U.S. P. 
The  pamphlet,  apart  from  the  suggestions  on  requirements  to 
be  avoided  or  at  least  interpreted  liberally,  is  a  commendation  of 
the  care  exercised  by  the  Committee  of  Revision  which  prepared 
and  published  the  Netherlands  Pharmacopoeia  of  1905. 
M.  T.  W. 
