150  ON  THE  PEEPARATION  OF  FLUID  EXTRACTS. 
REMARKS    UPON   THE   PREPARATION   OF   FLUID  EX- 
TRACTS. 
by  the  process  proposed  by  mr.  samuel  campbell,  of  phila. 
By  Alfred  B.  Taylor. 
Many  of  you  have  no  doubt  read  an  article  upon  the  prepa- 
ration of  fluid  extracts,  published  in  the  September  number  of 
.the  American  Journal  of  Pharmacy^  on  page  385. 
From  the  importance  of  the  principles  involved,  and  the 
bearing  they  are  likely  to  have  upon  our  National  Pharma- 
copoeia, I  have  thought  that  some  remarks  upon  the  subject 
might  be  profitable  as  well  as  interesting. 
I  herewith  submit  to  your  inspection  samples  of  all  the 
fluid  extracts  officinal  in  the  U.  S.  Pharmacopoeia,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  two  or  three,  and  of  several  others  that  are  not  offici- 
nal, prepared  by  Mr.  Campbell,  in  accordance  with  his  sugges- 
tions. I  have  here  also  the  residues  from  which  these  extracts 
have  been  prepared.  Examination  of  these  specimens  will  show 
not  only  the  quality  of  the  various  extracts,  but  also  the  com- 
pleteness with  which  the  different  drugs  have  been  exhausted. 
The  importance  of  long  maceration  as  a  requirement  for 
thorough  and  concentrated  exhaustion  of  a  drug  by  percolation, 
is  so  marked  and  decided,  and  the  results  obtained  so  wonderful, 
that  it  is  certainly  somewhat  remarkable  that  they  have  not 
hitherto  been  noticed.  The  theoretical  idea  that  long  macera- 
tion would  be  beneficial,  may  have  suggested  itself  to  others  as 
it  did  to  myself  a  long  time  since,  but  its  immense,  unexpected 
practical  importance  has  not  been  appreciated  until  these  ex- 
periments of  Mr.  Campbell. 
In  order  to  test  the  subject  more  thoroughly,  and  to  satisfy 
myself  fully  as  to  the  importance  and  efficiency  of  maceration, 
the  following  experiments  were  instituted. 
Three  separate  portions  of  yellow  cinchona  of  four  troy 
ounces  each,  in  moderately  fine  powder,  were  carefully  displaced 
with  diluted  alcohol  ;  one  portion  having  been  allowed  to  mace- 
rate half  an  hour  (according  to  the  directions  of  the  U.  S. 
Pharmacopoeia  in  making  fluid  extract  of  cinchona  ;)  another 
portion  having  been  allowed  to  macerate  for  48  hours  ;  while  the 
