QUININE  AND  CARBONATE  OF  AMMONIA  IN  PILLS. 
809 
QUININE  AND  CARBONATE  OF  AMMONIA  IN  PILLS. 
By  J.  M.  Maisch. 
In  Washington,  D.  C,  several  years  ago,  I  often  had  to  pre- 
pare pills  composed  of  sulphate  of  quinia  and  sesquicarbonate 
of  ammonia.  I  did  not  meet  with  similar  prescriptions  again 
until  lately  here.  Of  such  a  combination  some  physicians  seem 
to  think  very  highly,  and  a  few  remarks  on  the  subject  may  not 
be  out  of  place. 
Sulphate  of  quinia  and  carbonate  of  ammonia  decompose  each 
other,  and  under  the  evolution  of  carbonic  acid,  form  sulphate 
of  ammonia  and  the  alkaloid  quinia  ;  the  carbonic  acid,  therefore, 
must  be  got  rid  of  before  the  two  salts  can  be  made  into  pills, 
as  a  generation  of  the  gas,  after  the  pills  are  rolled,  causes  them 
to  swell  considerably  and  burst  into  pieces.  The  quickest  way 
to  attain  that  end,  is  to  rub  both  salts  with  strong  alcohol,  which, 
acting  as  a  solvent,  induces  their  mutual  decomposition,  and 
being  itself  volatile,  evaporates  easily  from  under  the  pestle ; 
the  residue  is  then  to  be  mixed  with  the  extract  of  gentian,  which 
is  usually  prescribed.  Prepared  in  this  way,  the  pills  keep  well, 
but  the  question  arises,  do  they  really  contain  what  the  physician 
intends  to  give  ?  The  carbonate  of  ammonia  is  ordered  for  its 
stimulating  power  it  appears,  and  sulphate  of  ammonia  cannot 
have  it  in  the  same  degree.  It  may  therefore  be  best,  and  the 
physician  consented  to  this  suggestion,  to  prepare  first  the  quinia 
from  its  sulphate,  which  may  then  be  mixed  without  decomposi- 
tion with  the  sesquicarbonate  of  ammonia. 
If  it  should  be  desirable  to  exhibit  the  medicine  in  form  of 
powder,  the  bicarbonate  of  ammonia  must  be  used  in  place  of 
the  sesquicarbonate,  and  if  it  is  to  be  mixed  with  the  sulphate  of 
quinia,  it  is  well  to  dry  this  salt  first  at  212°  F.,  and  to  make 
the  powder  fresh  every  day ;  the  best  plan,  however,  is  to  use 
the  alkaloid  in  lieu  of  the  salt,  and  enclose  the  powder  in  waxed 
paper  or  tin  foil. 
Fresh  prepared  sulphate  of  quinia  after  being  pressed  and 
dried  between  bibulous  paper,  commences  to  decompose  as  soon 
as  rubbed  together  with  the  medicinal  carbonate  of  ammonia ; 
but  after  6  equivalents  of  its  water  of  crystallization  are  expelled 
by  exposure  to  dry  air,  it  may  be  kept  in  a  dry  place,  mixed 
