Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  \ 
May  1, 1873.  J 
Glycerin  in  Fluid  Extracts. 
the  preceding.  Both  preparations  were  labelled,  dated  and  set  aside. 
At  the  expiration  of  five  weeks  the  fluid  extract  containing  glycerin 
had  changed  to  a  muddy  liquid,  very  unsightly  and  with  considerable 
precipitate ;  the  other,  on  the  contrary,  remained  clear,  with  but  a 
very  slight  precipitate.  The  glycerin  preparation  was  then  filtered  ; 
the  filtered  liquid  again  presenting  a  beautiful  clear  appearance,  and 
seeming  to  have  lost  but  little  of  its  strength,  and  by  many  would 
have  been  pronounced  the  best  preparation  of  the  two.  In  this 
instance  the  glycerin  served  merely  to  dissolve  the  coloring  matter 
(which  it  was  unable  afterwards  to  hold  up),  and  thus  placed  the  pre- 
paration in  a  false  light,  giving  rise  to  what  by  a  vulgar  expression  is 
called  "strong"  simply  on  account  of  its  depth  of  color. 
Similar  experiments  were  made  with  buchu,  cubebs,  lupulin  and 
ginger.  In  the  first  three  the  result  was  very  nearly  the  same  as  with 
the  valerian,  namely,  a  strong-looking  preparation,  but  one  which  in 
each  instance  precipitated  after  standing  some  time.  In  fact,  with 
the  cubebs  and  lupulin  it  was  apparent  that  glycerin  was  not  at  all 
suitable,  while  the  buchu  yielded,  instead  of  the  rich  green  color  noticed 
in  the  alcoholic  fluid  extract,  a  preparation  having  a  brownish  hue. 
The  fluid  extract  of  ginger  made  with  the  addition  of  glycerin  was, 
however,  superior  to  that  simply  made  with  alcohol,  not  only  present- 
ing a  much  nicer  appearance,  and  proving  on  dilution  to  be  equally  as 
strong,  but  remaining  permanent. 
While  performing  these  few  experiments  with  the  above  well-known 
drugs,  an  order  was  received  for  fluid  extract  of  poke  root.  Having 
previously  used  diluted  alcohol  as  a  menstruum,  and  with  considerable 
success,  we  thought  to  improve  on  the  same  by  addition  of  glycerin. 
A  dark  reddish-brown  preparation  was  the  result,  coming  up  fully  to 
our  expectations ;  and,  feeling  perfectly  satisfied,  we  placed  what 
remained  on  hand  after  filling  the  order,  on  a  shelf.  On  going  to 
the  bottle  some  three  weeks  after  we  found,  on  examination,  the  ex- 
tract had  gelatinized,  and  was  in  a  semi-solid  condition.  Since  then 
we  have  noticed  a  similar  change  in  several  other  fluid  extracts  which 
were  stable  before  glycerin  was  used  in  preparing  them,  yellow  dock, 
golden  seal,  and  elecampane  being  among  the  number. 
In  making  the  above  statements  we  do  not  wish  to  condemn  the  use 
of  glycerin  in  fluid  extracts ;  on  the  contrary,  we  rather  approve  of 
it ;  but  its  indiscriminate  use,  as  recommended  by  many,  we  do  cer- 
tainly disapprove  of.    In  many  cases  the  use  of  glycerin  seems  spe- 
