108 
NOTE  ON  GLYCEROLE   OF  IODIDE  OF  IRON. 
NOTE  ON  GLYCEROLE  OF  IODIDE  OF  IRON. 
By  R.  Lewellen. 
St.  Lonis,  Mo.,  Jan.  24,  1868. 
To  the  Editor. 
Dear  Sir. — Having  tried  for  several  years  various  formulas 
for  the  formation  of  Liquor  Ferri  Iodidi,  and  having  found  that 
sugar  would  preserve  it  from  the  action  of  oxygen  only  a  short 
time,  I  was  led  to  try  glycerin  as  a  substitute  for  the  syrup  of 
the  U.  S.  Pharmacopoeia.  It  preserves  the  Iodide  of  Iron  and,  I 
think,  adds  to  its  therapeutic  effects.  I  send  herewith  a  sample 
which  has  been  exposed  to  the  light  for  three  years.  Believing 
this  will  meet  a  desideratum  and  prove  a  valuable  substitute, 
I  remain,  &c, 
R.  Lewellen. 
Note  by  the  Editor. — It  has  long  been  known  that  glyce- 
rin will  substitute  sugar  as  a  preservative  from  oxidation  in  the 
case  of  iodide  of  iron.  It  was  suggested  at  the  meeting  of  the 
American  Pharmaceutical  Association,  held  in  Philadelphia, 
Sept.  1857,  by  Frederick  Stearns,  of  Detroit,  and  again  by  Mr. 
Gordon,  at  the  Cincinnati  Meeting,  Sept.  1864,  (see  the  pro- 
ceedings of  those  years).  The  specimen  sent,  three  years  old,  is 
in  perfect  condition,  and  at  the  College  of  Pharmacy,  Mr. 
Steam's  specimen,  over  ten  years  old,  yet  exists  in  good  order, 
but  it  is  hermetically  sealed,  just  as  Mr.  Lewellen's  specimen  is, 
and  hence  is  free  from  oxidation.  Exposure  to  the  air  will 
gradually  change  it.  We  believe  a  properly  made  officinal  syrup 
of  the  iodide  of  iron,  enclosed  in  small  bottles  to  suit  the  de- 
mand of  a  business,  is  the  dispenser's  best  method  of  protecting 
this  preparation,  using  dry  bottles,  closing  them  effectually  and 
keeping  the  syrup  exposed  to  the  light.  Mr.  W.  A.  Tilden 
(Pharm.  Jour.,  Dec.  1867,)  is  of  the  opinion  that  direct  sunlight, 
in  decolorizing  previously  colored  syrup  of  iodide  of  iron,  de- 
oxidizes it  at  the  expense  of  the  hydrogen  of  the  sugar.  Be 
this  as  it  may,  our  experience,  for  many  years  past,  is  that  the 
carefully  made  syrup,  put  up  in  vials  as  above,  and  kept  where 
the  direct  sunlight  reaches  it  daily,  neither  undergoes  change  of 
color  nor  deposits  any  sediment,  and  is  free  from  acidity.  If, 
however,  a  vial  is  left  half  full,  with  the  cork  imperfect,  a  color- 
ation commences,  followed,  after  a  time,  by  a  sediment. 
