484  Althaa  as  a  Pill  Excipient.  {^'SZ'^™* 
found  that  for  adhesiveness  and  plasticity  it  was  fully  equal  if  not  supe- 
rior to  the  best. 
Thus,  then,  for  reasons  already  mentioned,  and  for  its  general  adapt- 
ability, it  would  undoubtedly  prove  a  valuable  addition  to  the  prescrip- 
tion counter  were  it  not  for  one  great  objection,  viz.,  that  pills  prepared 
with  it  soon  become  hard  and  insoluble.1  This  seems  due  mostly  to 
the  althaea  itself ;  for  with  pills  prepared  with  an  excipient  in  which 
other  substances  were  substituted  for  the  tragacanth  and  syrup,  and 
especially  where  althaea  and  water  were  used  to  make  a  mass,  the  effect 
was  just  about  the  same.  Failing  to  remedy  this  tendency  to  harden, 
its  value  practically  is  naught. 
In  France,  althaea  is  said  to  be  much  employed  in  the  preparation  of 
pills  and  electuaries.  On  inquiring  as  to  the  manner  in  which  it  is  there 
used,  I  was  informed  that  in  the  preparation  of  pills  it  is  never  used  as 
an  excipient  or  ingredient,  but  simply  to  dust  or  place  among  them  for 
the  same  purposes  that  we  use  lycopodium,  powered  liquorice  and  rice 
flour,  and  when  used  in  the  preparation  of  electuaries,  etc.,  only  to 
give  them  bulk  and  consistence. 
Here  some  prefer  althaea  to  powdered  liquorice  in  the  preparation  of 
blue  pill.  In  this  I  fail  to  see  the  advantage,  as  it  produces  no  change 
other  than  making  the  mass  somewhat  harder  in  consistence.  In  con- 
clusion, to  show  the  adhesiveness  of  the  mixture  of  althaea,  tragacanth 
and  syrup  I  subjoin  a  list  of  some  substances  made  into  pills,  stating 
opposite  each  the  amount  of  excipient  required  to  form  a  mass  : 
Pyrophosphate  of  iron, 
45  grs. 
Excip.,  5  grs. 
No.  of  pills,  1 5 
Dried  sulphate  " 
30 
3 
J5 
Quevenne's  iron, 
30 
4 
15 
Sulphate  of  quinia, 
20 
2 
20 
<;  cinchonidia, 
20 
2 
10 
Calomel, 
5° 
3 
10 
Subnitrate  of  bismuth, 
5° 
3 
10 
Capsicum, 
45 
5 
15 
Powd.  digitalis, 
15 
3 
i5 
"  asafoetida, 
30 
2 
10 
1  Pills  made  with  powdered  marshmallow  root  soon  become  dry  and  hard  in  con- 
sequence of  the  absorbent  power  of  this  powder  for  liquids  5  but  we  do  not  believe 
that  they  become  insoluble,  because  marshmallow  is  capable  of  absorbing  a  large 
amount  of  liquid,  and  pills  made  with  it  are  readily  disintegrated. — Editor  Amer* 
Jour.  Pharm. 
I 
