AmApi^f  £s6.rm  }  Acetoplienone,  or  Hypnone,  a  new  Hypnotic  Agent  187 
M.  Vigier  has  proposed  to  administer  acetoplienone  under  the  form 
of  a  syrup,  prepared  according  to  the  following  formula : 
Hypnone  1  drop. 
Alcohol  (60°)  1  gram. 
Syrup  of  orange  flowers  6  grams. 
A  tea-spoonful  would  correspond  to  one  drop. 
M.  Vigier  has  also  suggested  the  form  of  an  elixir : 
Hypnone  1  drop. 
Alcohol  (90°)  3  grams. 
Syrup  of  peppermint  3  grams. 
M.  Petit  has  also  proposed  certain  analogous  formulae,  into  which 
he  introduces  glycerin,  but  this,  in  my  opinion,  is  useless,  since  aceto- 
plienone is  as  insoluble  in  glycerin  as  in  pure  water. 
Lastly,  Dr.  Constantine  Paul  administered  it  in  a  mixture  as 
follows : 
Hypnone  4  drops. 
Glycerin  2  grams. 
Looch  blanc  (Codex) 3  50  grams. 
In  this  preparation  the  acetoplienone  remains  mixed  with  the  looch ; 
this  is  probably  due  to  the  oil  contained  in  the  almonds,  and  not  to 
the  glycerin,  which  would  with  advantage  be  replaced  by  2  gms.  of 
oil  of  sweet  almonds. 
Considering  the  small  doses  in  which  this  medicine  should  be  ad- 
ministered, and  the  precision  necessary  in  its  measurement,  I  consider 
it  preferable  to  employ  gelatinous  capsules,  each  containing  two  drops 
of  hypnone  and  a  few  drops  of  oil  of  sweet  almonds.  In  this  way  the 
ingestion  is  avoided  of  a  certain  quantity  of  strong  alcohol  or  ether, 
which  is  relatively  large  considering  that  the  dose  of  hypnone  is  only 
a  few  drops. 
Whatever  may  be  the  future  reserved  for  this  medicament/  the 
experiments  by  Dr.  Dujardin-Beaumetz  will  remain  none  the  less  in- 
teresting as  showing  the  multiple  resources  presented  to  therapeutics 
in  the  new  compounds  created  every  day  by  modern  organic  chemistry. 
Phar.  Jour,  and  Trans.,  Jan.  9,  1886,  p.  582. 
3  A  preparation  resembling  mistura  amygdalae,  but  more  concentrated,  and 
containing  bitter  almonds  and  orange-flower  water. 
4  One  of  the  inconveniences  of  hypnone  is  that  it  communicates  to  the  breath 
a  disagreeable  odor,  due  to  its  elimination  by  the  respiratory  organs. — Ed. 
Archives. 
