252 
Purification  of  Petroleum  Benzin. 
f  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
\      May,  1883. 
PHARMACEUTICAL  PREPARATIONS. 
The  active  principles  of  cheken,  as  seen  above,  reside  wholly  in  the 
leaves,  and  are  a  volatile  alkaloid,  in  combination  with  an  organic  acid, 
volatile  oil,  tannin,  fixed  oil,  resin,  and  minor  proximate  bodies.  It  is 
obvious  that  the  best  preparations  of  the  leaves  are  those  containing 
all  the  active  ingredients.  By  various  experiments,  alcohol  diluted 
with  one-third  of  water  was  found  to  be  the  best  solvent,  and  macera- 
tion followed  by  percolation,  the  best  method  for  extraction.  A  fluid 
extract  submitted  was  prepared  according  to  the  general  process  of  the 
United  States  Pharmacopoeia  ('70)  with  a  menstruum  composed  of  alco- 
hol three  parts,  water  one  part ;  its  dose  is  one  to  three  fluidrachms. 
A  20  per  cent,  tincture  may  be  made  with  the  same  menstruum,  and  a 
convenient  strength  of  the  infusion  is  10  per  cent. 
THERAPEUTIC  PROPERTIES. 
Cheken  has  lately  been  brought  quite  prominently  into  notice  by  the 
writings  of  Dr.  Henry  Von  Dessauer,  of  Valparaiso,  and  Drs.  Wm. 
Murrell  and  E.  M.  Holmes,  of  London,  in  the  treatment  of  bronchitis, 
laryngitis,  diphtheria,  haemoptysis,  etc.;  tonic,  diuretic,  expectorant 
and  antiseptic  properties  are  claimed  for  it. 
Note. — In  connection  with  the  foregoing  abstract  we  give  place  on  the 
next  i^age  to  the  paper  by  Mr.  J.  Hoehn,  which  we  copy  from  the  "  Thera- 
peutic Gazette  "  of  Detroit,  to  whose  publisher  we  are  indebted  for  the  loan 
of  the  wood  cuts. — Editor. 
Elixir  Gascara  Sagrada. — W.  T.Wenzell  recommends  the  follow- 
ing: Fluid  extract  of  rhamnus  Purshiana  foiv,  simple  elixir  fgxxvii ; 
potassium  carbonate  ^ii. — Proc.  Cal.  Phar.  Soc,  1883. 
Purification  of  Petroleum  Benzin. — The  disagreeable  odor  of 
-petroleum  benzin  is,  according  to  the  experiments  of  Fred.  Grazer,  not 
removed  by  percolation  through  wood  or  animal  charcoal,  or  by  treat- 
ment with  carbonate  of  sodium  or  lead  carbonate.  Agitation  with  potas- 
sium plumbate  removed  a  portion  of  the  odor,  but  satisfactory  results 
were  obtained  by  using  two  ounces  of  potassium  bichromate,  12  ounces 
of  water  and  3  ounces  of  sulphuric  acid,  and  when  cool  agitating  with 
this  a  pint  of  benzin  ;  finally,  washing  with  water  is  necessary.  A 
very  useful  method  for  disguising  the  remaining  odor  is  to  shake  the 
product  with  a  portion  of  cologne  water  and  setting  aside  for  two  or 
three  weeks,  when  it  may  be  decanted ;  the  odor  of  the  perfume  will 
predominate.-^ J6i(i.,  pp.  45,  46. 
