Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  I 
November.  1906.  / 
Tincture  of  Nux  Vomica. 
527 
chair  then  announced  as  the  committee  of  the  Philadelphia  College 
of  Pharmacy  on  "  Shorter  Hours  and  a  Day  for  Rest,"  Mr.  R.  W. 
Cuthbert,  Mr.  J.  C.  Peacock  and  Mr.  Theodore  Campbell.  The 
committee  appointed  for  the  Philadelphia  Branch  of  the  American 
Pharmaceutical  Association  is :  Wm.  L.  Cliffe,  Mrs.  Bertha  De  G. 
Peacock  and  Franklin  M.  Apple.  The  committee  for  the  P.  A.  R.  D. 
will  be  appointed  at  the  next  stated  meeting  of  that  organization. 
M.  I.  Wilbert, 
Secretary  of  Conjoint  Meeting. 
TINCTURE  OF  NUX  VOMICA,  U.  S.  P.,  1900 1 
By  Joseph  W.  England. 
Under  the  title  of  Nux  Vomica,  or  Vomica  Nut,  the  seeds  of 
Strychnos  nux  vomica,  W.  I.,  1052,  were  officially  mentioned  by  the 
U.  S.  Pharmacopoeia  of  1820,  but  the  tincture  of  nux  vomica  was 
not  recognized  until  the  issue  of  1850,  when  a  formula  was  given 
for  its  preparation  from  the  rasped  seeds  by  maceration  with  alcohol 
in  the  cold,  for  fourteen  days,  expression  and  filtration ;  or,  macer- 
ation for  two  days,  transferal  to  a  percolator,  and  percolation  with 
alcohol,  until  the  requisite  quantity  of  clear  liquid  was  obtained. 
The  strength  was  eight  ounces  of  drug  to  two  pints  of  alcohol. 
In  the  U.  S.  P.  of  i860  and  of  1870  the  seeds  were  directed  to 
be  used  in  "  a  fine  powder,"  and  this  was  digested  with  one-half  the 
quantity  of  alcohol,  at  a  gentle  heat,  transferred  to  a  percolator,  and 
percolated  with  sufficient  alcohol  to  make  the  required  amount. 
The  strength  was  eight  troy  ounces  of  the  drug  to  two  pints  of 
alcohol. 
In  the  U.  S.  P.  of  1880  a  more  complicated  formula  was  adopted. 
The  seeds  in  a  No.  60  powder  were  macerated,  and  then  percolated 
with  a  menstruum  of  alcohol  8  parts  and  water  1  part.  The  first 
90  parts  of  percolate  were  reserved,  and  the  remainder  of  the  per- 
colate evaporated  to  10  parts,  and  mixed  with  the  reserved  portion. 
Then  the  percentage  of  anhydrous  extractive  was  determined  in  a 
small  quantity  of  the  mixed  percolates,  and  the  finished  product 
1  Presented  to  the  Scientific  Section,  American  Pharmaceutical  Associations 
September  7,  1906. 
