556 
Granulated  Opium. 
j  Am.  Jour.  Pharu). 
i  November,  1895. 
precipitated  calcium  phosphate  in  the  official  process,  as  it  appears 
to  interfere  in  some  unknown  manner  with  the  thorough  extraction 
of  the  morphine  from  the  opium. 
The  following  experiments,  performed  by  the  authors  of  this  arti- 
cle, seem  to  support  this  theory :  10  grammes  of  powdered  opium 
were  assayed  in  the  usual  way,  and  yielded  14  48  per  cent,  of  mor- 
phine; 10  grammes  of  the  same  sample  were  mixed  with  5  grammes 
of  precipitated  calcium  phosphate  and  exhausted,  as  in  the  assay 
method,  using  diluted  alcohol.  The  resulting  filtrates,  which 
amounted  to  more  than  300  c.c,  were  assayed  by  the  U.  S.  P.  pro- 
cess for  tincture  of  opium,  and  yielded  1-317  per  cent,  of  morphine, 
showing  a  loss  of  1-31  per  cent. 
The  table  of  comparative  results  will  be  found  at  the  close  of  the 
article.    The  experiments,  in  detail,  were  as  follows : 
No.  1. — 100  grammes  powdered  Opium,  assaying  14  09  per  cent., 
were  used  in  the  preparation  of  1,000  c.c.  of  tincture  of  opium  by  the 
U.  S.  P.  1890  method.  The  finished  preparation  assayed  r-2  per 
cent,  morphine,  showing  a  loss  of  2  09  per  cent. 
No.  2. — 50  grammes  powdered  opium,  assaying  13  92  per  cent., 
were  used  as  in  No.  1.  The  resulting  preparation  assayed  1-195  Per 
cent.,  the  loss  being  slightly  less  than  in  the  previous  instance. 
No.  3  — 100  grammes  granulated  opium,  assaying  121 5  per  cent., 
were  used,  and,  after  placing  the  drug  in  the  percolator  in  the  man- 
ner previously  mentioned,  100  c.c.  of  water  were  poured  on  and 
allowed  to  macerate  for  twelve  hours.  Percolation  was  then  com- 
menced with  diluted  alcohol,  receiving  the  percolate  into  100  c.c.  of 
alcohol,  contained  in  a  graduated  receiver  ;  ten  hours'  time  was 
allowed  for  percolation,  and  the  assay  of  the  tincture,  when  finished, 
showed  r  1 83  per  cent,  of  morphine,  a  loss  of  but  0-32  per  cent. 
This  tincture  deposited  considerable  sediment  (a  defect  which  was 
not  observed  in  the  subsequent  cases  where  diluted  alcohol  was  used 
in  the  preliminary  maceration).  It  was  filtered  after  standing  one 
week,  and  re-assayed  with  the  same  results  as  before. 
No.  4. — In  this  case  1 00  grammes  of  the  same  drug  were  oper- 
ated upon  and  maceration  for  4  hours  with  diluted  alcohol  was 
allowed.  The  percolation  consumed  but  6  hours  in  this  case,  mak- 
ing a  total  of  only  10  hours  from  the  beginning  of  the  process  to 
the  end.  The  result  of  the  assay  was  practically  the  same  as  before, 
being  ri8o  per  cent. 
