THE  AMERICAN 
JOURNAL  OF  PHARMACY 
AN  EXAMINATION  OF  COMMERCIAL  FLUID 
EXTRACTS. 
By  Frederick  W.  Haussmann. 
Every  pharmacist  who  has  handled  fluid  extracts  obtained  from 
different  manufacturers,  must  have  noticed  the  variation  in  their 
physical  properties,  as  pertaining  to  color,  odor  and  taste,  and  also 
as  shown  in  their  miscibility  with  water  or  other  liquids. 
These  variations,  which  were  in  a  number  of  instances  of  a  strik- 
ing nature,  induced  the  writer  to  make  a  series  of  examinations,  not 
primarily  regarding  their  chemical  composition,  such  as  the  alkaloidal 
percentage,  but  more  particularly  the  menstruum,  as  compared 
with  that  required  by  the  Pharmacopoeia,  and  also  to  determine  the 
causes  which  led  to  the  differences  mentioned  in  their  physical 
properties. 
The  first  feature  to  which  our  attention  is  called,  lies  in  the  vari- 
ous shades  of  color  which  are  frequently  observed  in  fluid  extracts 
prepared  from  the  same  drug. 
Due  to  the  high  degree  of  heat  at  which  some  fluid  extracts  are 
evaporated,  variations  in  odor  and  taste  are  also  noticeable  at  times. 
Extracts  whose  properties  are  due  to  volatile  principles,  such  as 
buchu,  cubeb,  eucalyptus,  etc.,  are  liable  to  be  affected  in  this  manner. 
The  physical  condition  of  fluid  extracts,  as  regards  their  fluidity, 
varies  considerably,  and  in  this  respect,  as  probably  in  no  other,  the 
preparations  of  some  manufacturers  are  characterized. 
Some  we  find  of  a  decidedly  syrupy  consistence,  especially  those 
with  a  low  alcohol  percentage,  while  others  are  more  approximate 
to  the  pharmacopceial  products.  These  variations  may  be  partly  due 
to  differences  in  the  physical  properties  of  crude  drugs,  but  in  many 
.(291) 
