Aiu.  Jour.  Pharm.  1 
Not.  1, 1871.  j 
Syrup  of  Senna  ^ 
487 
As  the  British  process  is  the  only  one  that  the  late  edition  of  the 
U.  S.  Dispensatory  offers  to  American  pharmacists  for  their  guide  in 
the  preparation  of  this  syrup,  and  as  it  has  an  established  reputation, 
they  are  obliged  to  keep  it  in  stock,  I  think  it  highly  important  that 
it  should  be  reinstated  in  the  noxt  edition  of  our  Pharmacopoeia,  and 
a  good  working  formula  given,  which  will  yield  a  reliable  and  at  the 
same  time  a  permanent  preparation,  corresponding  in  strength  with 
that  of  the  U.  S.  P.,  1850. 
The  proportions  of  senna  and  fennel,  in  the  formula  given  above, 
correspond  precisely  with  those  of  the  formula  of  our  late  Pharmaco- 
poeia ;  but  in  the  latter  process  the  volatile  oil  of  the  fennel  was  only 
partially  extracted  by  the  aqueous  menstruum,  and  a  portion  even  of 
that  must  have  afterwards  been  lost  in  the  evaporation  of  the  syrup. 
This,  therefore,  necessitated  the  employment  of  a  large  excess  of  the 
fennel. 
Now,  since  in  the  process  proposed  by  me  the  aromatic  properties 
of  the  latter  are  entirely  extracted,  and  there  is  but  slight  if  any  loss 
by  subsequent  evaporation,  I  think  that  the  quantity  of  the  fennel 
might  with  propriety  be  reduced  one-half,  and  still  be  sufficient  to 
answer  all  purposes  for  which  the  aromatic  is  employed,  without  in 
the  least  impairing  the  virtues  of  the  syrup. 
It  will  be  observed  that  in  the  above  formula  I  have  employed 
diluted  alcohol  as  the  menstruum  in  the  place  of  water,  which  has 
heretofore  been  exclusively  used.  This  has  not  been  done  unadvis- 
edly, but  from  a  strong  conviction  that  the  alcoholic  menstruum  pos- 
sesses superior  advantages  over  that  of  the  aqueous  one  ;  for,  by 
means  of  it  there  is  obtained  directly,  by  the  process  of  percolation, 
a  more  highly  concentrated  solution,  obviating  the  long  and  tedious 
application  of  heat  necessary  to  reduce  the  aqueous  solution  to  a  pro- 
per strength,  thus  more  than  counterbalancing  whatever  advantages, 
if  any,  therapeutically,  the  aqueous  may  have  been  supposed  to  pos- 
sess over  the  spirituous  solvent. 
It  has  doubtless  been  owing  to  the  tedious  and  inefficient  methods 
heretofore  in  vogue  in  the  manufacture  of  this  syrup,  that  has  led  to 
the  discarding  of  its  formula  from  our  Pharmacopoeia,  and  to  its  par- 
tial disuse  in  professional  practice.  It  is  certainly,  however,  when 
properly  prepared,  an  efficient,  useful  and  convenient  preparation  for 
children,  for  whom  it  was  originally  intended ;  and,  if  a  reliable  and 
satisfactory  formula,  such  as  we  present,  should  be  adopted  in  its 
