Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  I 
Aug.,  1876.  J 
Fluid  Extract  of  Ipecac. 
339 
weighed.  From  the  various  dregs  I  obtained  amounts  of  extract  as> 
follows  : 
No.  1,  120  grs.,  entirely  soluble  in  alcohol,  insoluble  in  water. 
"    2,  1 12  grs.,  soluble  in  alco.,  insoluble  in  water,  gummy,  resinous.. 
"    3,  138  grs.,  contained  considerable  glycerin,  semi-fluid. 
u   4?    95  grs*>  freely  soluble  in  alcohol,  insoluble  in  water. 
Of  all  these  preparations  I  prefer  most  decidedly  No.  4.    The  pre- 
paration represents  the  medical  virtues  of  the  drug,  and  the  syrup  made 
therefrom  six  months  ago  still  remains  clear  and  transparent,  having  no- 
signs  of  precipitation. 
The  syrups  made  with  the  extract  from  process  No.  1  precipitated 
slightly,  but  fermented  ;  with  No.  2,  a  precipitate  was  formed  soon 
after  preparation  ;  no  syrup  made  with  No.  3.  Of  the  fluid  extracts,.. 
Nos.  1  and  2  have  copious  precipitates,  but  No.  4  is  perfectly  trans- 
parent, and  free  from  sediment  of  any  kind. 
I  cannot  see  that  there  is  any  special  advantage  in  using  acetic  acid  ; 
there  may  be  a  disadvantage,  which  Prof.  Maisch  has  once  hinted  at 
("Amer.  Journ.  Pharm.,"  Feb.,  1871).  He  says  "  that  acetic  acid,  in 
contact  with  organic  bodies,  is  very  liable  to  undergo  decomposition  \, 
and,  since  an  organic  body  in  such  a  condition  is  apt  to  predispose 
others  with  which  it  may  be  in  direct  contact  to  similar  changes,  it  is 
a  matter  of  great  moment  whether  the  addition  of  acetic  acid  to  our 
officinal  fluid  extract  of  ergot  and  ipecac  may  not  be  more  detrimental: 
than  useful."  On  the  contrary,  Prof.  Procter  suggested  that  change 
seems  to  be  arrested  by  the  introduction  of  acetic  acid  to  such  prepara- 
tions, whose  active  principle  in  the  natural  condition  seems  to  be  held 
loosely  by  a  weak  acid,  upon  the  principle  (not  entirely  proven)  of  the; 
substitution  of  a  more  permanent  acid  for  a  less  permanent  one.  Dr.. 
Squibb  corroborates  this  idea  in  his  note  on  "  Ergot,"  published  in  the 
"  Proceedings  of  the  American  Pharmaceutical  Association,"  1873,  Pv 
641,  where  he  says  that  the  addition  of  1  per  cent,  of  acetic  acid  to  the 
fluid  extract  of  ergot  renders  this  liquid  preparation  permanent  and 
without  apparent  change  in  activity,  after  keeping  it  for  six  years.  My 
experiments  with  ipecac  seem  to  substantiate  the  opinion  of  Prof. 
Maisch.  The  preparation  containing  acetic  acid,  after  keeping  it  a 
few  months,  began  to  change  ;  both  the  fluid  extract  and  the  syrup, 
made  therefrom  by  this  time  (six  months)  seem  to  have  undergone^ 
