Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  \ 
December,  1919.  -* 
Tincture  of  Vanilla. 
799 
Macerate  the  vanilla  with  five  hundred  milliliters  of  alcohol  in 
a  stoppered  container,  in  a  moderately  warm  place,  for  two  days 
with  frequent  agitation ;  then  transfer  it  to  a  plain  filter  and  reserve 
the  filtered  liquid.  Spread  out  the  drug  on  the  filter  and  expose  it 
to  the  air  until  all  of  the  alcohol  has  evaporated.  Then  grind  the 
vanilla  and  sugar  to  a  uniform  powder,  pack  this  in  a  percolator 
and  slowly  percolate  it  with  a  mixture  of  the  reserved  filtrate  and 
an  equal  volume  of  water.  When  the  liquid  ceases  to  drop,  con- 
tinue the  percolation  slowly,  gradually  adding  the  remainder  of  the 
prepared  menstruum  and  then  sufficient  diluted  alcohol  to  make  the 
product  measure  1,000  milliliters. 
It  will  be  noticed  that  the  new  method  calls  for  a  preliminary 
extraction  with  alcohol  which  contains  not  less  than  94.9  per  cent, 
of  alcohol  by  volume ;  in  other  words,  "  Cologne  spirits  "  of  com- 
merce. Alcohol  of  this  strength  removes  a  resinous  extractive  from 
the  beans  which  is  precipitated  in  the  form  of  a  persistent  cloud 
when  the  menstruum  is  diluted  and  which  is  not  subsequently  re- 
moved by  percolation  or  by  any  ordinary  method  of  filtration.  This 
colloidal  material  adds  nothing  to  the  flavor  of  the  extract,  but  on 
the  other  hand  renders  it  unsightly  and  unsalable. 
Another  obvious  disadvantage  of  the  proposed  method  is  the 
loss  of  alcohol  which  its  use  entails.  Vanilla  beans  of  average 
moisture  content  will  retain  10  per  cent,  of  the  alcohol  used  when 
placed  upon  a  filter  to  drain,  which  is  lost  if  the  directions  are  fol- 
lowed to  expose  the  drug  "  to  the  air  until  all  of  the  alcohol  has 
evaporated." 
The  method  would  seem  to  be  of  greater  academic  interest  than 
of  practical  value,  which  is  unfortunate,  inasmuch  as  the  authori- 
ties having  the  enforcement  of  the  food  and  drug  laws  in  charge 
naturally  attach  great  importance  to  official  methods  of  procedure. — 
Baker  Extract  Co.,  Springfield,  Mass. 
Editorial  Comment. — The  statements  made  in  this  paper  which 
we  reprint  should  not  be  permitted  to  go  unchallenged.  As  one 
who,  on  many  occasions,  has  employed  the  process  of  the  National 
Formulary  for  the  manufacture  of  Tincture  of  Vanilla,  the  writer 
is  prepared  to  assert  that  this  formula  yields  with  vanilla  of  a  satis- 
factory quality  a  product  that  is  not  only  clear  but  that  likewise 
complies  with  the  standard  requirements. 
It  is  a  fact  well  known  among  vanilla  dealers  and  extract  manu- 
