EXTRACTUM  PRUNI  VIRGINIANS  FLUIDUM.  21 
EXTRACTUM  PRUNI  VIRGINIANiE  FLUIDUM. 
By  William  Procter,  Jr. 
Wild  cherry  bark  is  a  favorite  remedy  with  American  physi- 
cians, and  is  equally  popular  in  domestic  practice.  It  was,  for  a 
long  time,  prepared  pharmaceutically  only  in  the  form  of  in- 
fusion with  cold  water,  gss  to  Oj.  The  necessity  of  having 
daily  to  prepare  the  infusion,  lead  Joseph  C.  Turnpenny  and  my- 
self, in  1842,  (see  vol.  xiv.  p.  17,  of  this  Journal,)  to  propose  a 
syrup  made  by  maceration  and  percolation,  of  the  strength  of 
one  part  of  bark  in  six  of  syrup.  This  preparation  met  the 
favorable  opinion  of  both  physicians  and  apothecaries,  was  adopt- 
ed into  the  Pharmacopoeia  of  1850,  and  continues  in  use.  But 
the  large  portion  of  sugar  it  contains  renders  its  continued  use 
as  a  sedative  tonic,  by  some  patients,  attended  with  gastric  de- 
rangement, to  overcome  which  difficulty  several  preparations, 
under  the  name  of  "  wine  of  wild  cherry,"  have  been  introduced 
by  B.  J.  Crew,  and  others,  which  appear  to  be  concentrated 
cold  aqueous  infusions,  to  which  sufficient  alcohol  has  been  added 
to  preserve  them,  say  20  per  cent.  When  used  merely  as  a  tonic, 
this  addition  may  be  unobjectionable  or  even,  in  some  cases,  ad- 
vantageous, but  where  the  sedative  properties  of  the  drug  are 
sought,  the  addition  of  alcohol?  in  any  form,  is  directly  antagonis- 
tic in  its  effects  to  those  of  hydrocyanic  acid,  and  consequently 
ineligible  as  an  associated  ingredient.  In  the  preparation  now 
offered  to  the  medical  profession,  the  use  of  alcohol  is  avoided 
altogether,  and  in  lieu  of  cane  sugar,  sugar  of  milk  has  been 
substituted  as  the  preservative  agent,  which  not  only  avoids  the 
cloying  effects  of  the  former,  but  is  itself  specially  recommended 
as  a  dietetic  agent  in  pulmonic  diseases.  Further,  the  strength 
of  the  preparation  is  much  greater  than  any  heretofore  offered, 
and  the  process  is  such  that,  if  practically  carried  out,  the  whole 
of  the  sedative  and  tonic  virtue  of  the  bark  will  be  represented, 
whilst  a  portion  of  the  tannic  astringency,  (the  continued  action 
of  which  causes  costiveness,)  is  removed  in  course  of  preparation. 
The  strength  of  the  fluid  extract  is  such  that  a  teaspoonful  (f-3j) 
faithfully  represents  thirty  grains  of  the  bark,  which  is  equal  to 
two  fluid  ounces  of  the  infusion,  or  a  table  spoonful  of  the  syrup. 
Sugar  of  milk  is  less  sweet,  and  much  less  soluble  in  water?  than 
