Am.  Jour. Pharm. 
Feb.,  1883 
Deodorized  Tincture  of  Opium. 
77 
ingredients  contained  within  a  plant  are  frequently,  if  not  generally, 
chemically  allied,  and  are  either  derivatives  of  one  another  or  of  some 
common  source.  The  odorous  constituents,  although  generally  character- 
ized by  extreme  potency,  become  most  usually  dissipated  by  reason  of 
their  volatility,  or  if  not  evaporated,  are  changed  by  oxidation  into 
less  fugitive,  less  odorous,  and  also  less  active  resinous  bodies.  There- 
fore, many  plants  when  used  in  the  fresh  condition  have  different 
degrees  of  activity  and  quality  than  when  consumed  in  a  dried  or  in  a 
prepared  state.  Modern  pharmacy  has  isolated  many  of  these  special 
agents,  and  in  some  instances  modified  or  attempted  to  modify  the  raw 
material  in  such  a  manner  as  to  cancel  or  wholly  abolish  certain  objec- 
tionable features. 
It  was  found  that  opium  contained  a  perturbing  body,  at  one  time 
supposed  to  be  alkaloidal,  but  now  presumed  to  be  of  a  resinous 
nature.  In  order  to  avoid  this  substance  in  certain  of  its  preparations, 
ppium  or  its  aqueous  extraction  was  treated  with  ether,  having  in  view 
the  removal  of  this  noxious  impediment.  Such  a  preparation  is  the 
so-called  deodorised  tincture  of  opium.  The  fact  has  been,  however, 
ascertained  that  aqueous  treatment  alone,  by  excluding  the  resinous 
matter,  yields  a  deodorised  and  otherwise  analogous  product,  showing 
that  the  washing  of  the  watery  extract  with  ether  is  superfluous  and 
wasteful.  In  order  to  prevent  the  possible  solution  of  the  resinous 
matter  during  the  extraction  of  the  opium  and  incidentally  avoid  the 
unnecessary  etherial  treatment,  but  especially  circumvent  the  decidedly 
objectionable  and  untimely  application  of  heat  needed  in  the  extensive 
evaporation,  the  writer  changed  the  operation  accordingly.  Most  vola- 
tile oils,  resins  and  semi-resins  are  soluble  in  fixed  oily  menstrua,  aside 
from  their  various  special  solvents.  Hence,  the  writer  concluded  that 
should  there  be  a  tendency  in  any  of  the  opium  resins  or  odorous 
principles  to  pass  into  aqueous  solution,  the  presence  of  a  fixed  oily 
substance  would  be  likely  to  prevent  it.  Vaselin  was  added  to  the 
heated  mixture  of  opium  and  water,  but  since  the  vaselin  did  not 
promptly  solidify  in  the  cooling  mixture,  spermaceti  was  further  incor- 
porated with  desirable  effect.  So  thorough  was  the  extraction  of  the 
activity  and  exclusion  of  the  malodorous  matter,  and  so  admirably  were 
the  dregs  gathered  up  by  the  solidifying  fat,  that  the  solution  permitted 
of  ready  removal  by  simple  decantation.  The  mixed  decantates  fil- 
tered clear  and  rapidly,  and  as  no  evaporation  was  necessary  the  tinc- 
ture could  be  completed  at  once  by  the  admixture  of  the  requisite 
