EXTEACTUM  SUMBUL  FLUIDUM. 
233 
nutrient,  therefore,  it  is  much  in  the  same  category  with  beef-tea.  Sixteen 
ounces  of  beef-tea,  made  with  the  contents  of  one  tin,  yield  only  114  grains 
of  solid  extract.  It  contains  no  fibrin,  no  albumen,  no  gelatin.  It  does 
not  even  gelatinize  on  exposure  to  the  air  for  days  ;  it  is  ozmazome,  with 
the  salts  and  sapid  and  odorous  principles  of  meat,  and  is  materially  dif- 
ferent from  all  boiled  extracts." 
EXTRACTUM  SUMBUL  FLUIDUM. 
By  William  Procter,  Jr. 
Sumbul,  or  mush  root,  was  introduced  into  German  Pharmacy 
about  the  year  1840,  and  from  thence  has  gradually  made  its 
way  into  France,  England  and  the  United  States  ;  first  as  a 
curiosity  of  the  Materia  Medica,  and  afterwards  as  the  basis  of 
several  pharmaceutical  preparations.  Musk  root  enters  Russian 
commerce  through  Kiakta,  from  Central  Asia,  where  it  has  long 
been  in  use  as  a  medicine,  and  through  Russia  other  countries 
are  supplied.  Notices  of  this  root  have  already  been  published 
in  this  Journal  (vol.  xvi.  119,  and  vol.  xxiii.  223)  and  the  last 
editions  of  the  U.  S.  Dispensatory  and  Pereira's  Materia  Medica 
describe  it.  Reinsch  has  examined  the  root  and  found  an  essen- 
tial oil,  (not  the  source  of  its  musk  odor,)  a  nearly  colorless  co- 
paiba-like oleo-resin,  a  waxy  substance,  a  bitter  substance,  color- 
ing matter,  starch  and  gum.  He  also  found  that  the  oleo-resin, 
by  treatment  with  potash  and  water,  yielded  a  crystallizable  sub- 
stance having  a  powerful  musk  odor.  As  the  substance  giving 
musk  odor  to  this  root  does  not  distil  over  with  water,  and  is 
communicated  to  water  in  the  decoction,  it  is  probably  consti- 
tuted, in  some  respects,  like  that  of  vanilla.  The  oleo-resin  is 
chemically  the  most  interesting  ingredient,  and  is  best  extracted 
by  ether  and  alcohol.  The  chemistry  of  musk  root  deserves  more 
attention  than  it  has  yet  received. 
Within  a  few  months  past  several  physicians  of  Philadelphia 
have  prescribed  a  fluid  extract  of  sumbul,  which  is  stated  by  Mr. 
Simes  to  be  of  the  strength  of  a  grain  to  the  minim.  As  musk 
root  is  analogous  in  its  therapeutic  properties  to  valerian,  the 
following  recipe  has  been  made  to  correspond  in  strength'  with 
the  officinal  fluid  extract  of  valerian  for  this  reason,  as  well  as 
because  its  peculiar  constitution  seems  to  require  more  men- 
struum than  the  proportion  stated  by  Mr.  Simes. 
