148 
Oleoresiris. 
Am.  Jonr.  Pharm. 
March,  1892. 
the  large  yield  obtained.  By  thorough  exhaustion  with  acetone  it 
yielded  18  per  cent,  of  oleoresin  of  a  brownish  color,  which  soon 
deposited  a  resinous  bulky  sediment.  It  yielded  a  clear  solution 
with  ether,  alcohol,  chloroform  and  glacial  acetic  acid.  Portions  of 
the  same  rhizome  extracted  with  concentrated  ether  by  the  officinal 
process  yielded  1 6- 1 8  per  cent,  of  oleoresin.  The  increased  yield 
with  acetone  is  accounted  for  by  the  pectin  and  red-brown  coloring 
matter  which  soon  deposits.  In  the  final  evaporation  of  the  last 
portions  of  the  acetone  on  the  water-bath,  care  must  be  taken  not 
to  heat  the  oleoresin  too  high  or  unnecessarily  long  or  a  gelatiniza- 
tion  may  result.  A  temperature  of  700  to  8o°  C.  is  as  high  as 
there  is  any  necessity  to  maintain. 
Owing  to  the  unsatisfactory  quality  of  the  drug  experimented 
with,  and  the  peculiarities  of  product  just  mentioned,  the  advisa- 
bility of  substituting  acetone  for  the  ether  of  the  officinal  process 
must  be  decided  by  additional  experiments.  While  the  writer  has 
no  doubt  that  acetone  will  thoroughly  extract  the  drug,  he  hopes 
that  others  so  situated  as  to  collect  the  fresh  aspidium  will  repeat 
the  experiment. 
The  green-colored  oleoresins  of  male-fern  in  the  market  are 
largely  imported  from  Germany,  where  it  is  doubtless  prepared 
from  the  green  drug.  It  all  deposits  after  keeping  for  a  short  time 
a  bulky  sediment  consisting  of  resin  and  filicic  acid.  As  this  latter 
is  now  considered  medicinally  as  valuable  as  the  more  fluid  portion 
of  the  oleoresin,  the  Pharmacopoeia  adds  a  note  directing  that  this 
be  thoroughly  mixed  with  the  fluid  portion  before  dispensing. 
Frequently,  this  is  simply  impossible,  as  it  adheres  firmly  to  the 
container  and  is  the  source  of  annoyance  to  the  dispenser.  It  is  the 
custom  of  most  pharmacists  to  add  sufficient  ether  to  permit  this 
admixture.  Instead  of  this  I  would  suggest  the  addition  of  a  few 
drops  of  aqua  ammoniae,  which  will  readily  liquefy  the  sediment  and 
furnish  a  uniform  preparation,  and  is  believed  not  to  affect  the 
medicinal  value.  The  samples  shown  have  been  thus  prepared  and 
now  furnish  solutions  with  ether,  alcohol  and  chloroform,  which  are 
not  entirely  clear. 
Oleoresma  Capsici — The  yield  of  oleoresin  from  capsicum  is 
stated  in  the  accepted  text-books  as  being  4  to  5  per  cent.  This 
statement  most  likely  refers  only  to  the  more  fluid  portion,  the  fatty 
matters  presuming  to  be  separated,  as  directed  by  the  Pharma- 
