Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  ) 
May,  1909.  / 
Tincture  of  Strophanthus. 
213 
the  line  between  complete  and  incomplete  exhaustion,  and  that  the 
five  hours  more  of  percolation  and  the  eight  hours  more  of  macera- 
tion, together  with  the  fact  that  No.  5  was  slightly  more  firmly 
packed,  suffice  to  make  a  difference  of  20  per  cent.  This  illustrates 
how  easily  one  may  fail  to  completely  exhaust  the  seeds. 
Tincture  No.  6  was  found  to  contain  80  per  cent,  of  the  active 
principle  in  50  grammes  of  the  seed.  It  is  therefore  evident  that 
defatting  the  seeds  aided  materially  in  percolation,  for  we  found 
that,  unless  the  oil  was  first  removed,  75  hours  of  percolation  and 
maceration  would  not  extract  even  80  per  cent,  of  the  active  principle. 
Tincture  No.  7  fully  represented  the  seed.  The  defatting  and 
reduction  in  the  percentage  of  alcohol  in  the  menstruum  was  suffi- 
cient to  give  a  thoroughly  exhausted  marc. 
A  statement  has  been  widely  circulated  in  medical  literature  to 
the  effect  that  the  emetic  action  of  strophanthus  is  due  to  the  fixed 
oil,  and  that  fat-free  tinctures  are  therefore  devoid  of  such  action. 
The  experiment  detailed  below  proves  the  incorrectness  of  this 
claim. 
A  5  per  cent,  emulsion  of  the  oil  obtained  in  preparing  tinctures 
Nos.  6  and  7  was  made,  and  one  cubic  centimetre  per  kilo  was 
given  by  stomach-tube  to  a  cat.  No  emesis  occurred  and  the  animal 
remained  normal  for  several  days,  although  it  had  received  the  fat 
content  of  several  times  the  fatal  dose  of  seed. 
On  the  other  hand,  a  suitable  dose  of  the  fat-free  tincture,  made 
from  the  residue  in  the  Soxhlet  extractor  (Nos.  6  and  7),  injected 
subcutaneously  produced  prompt  emesis. 
The  following  conclusions  are,  we  believe,  justified  from  the 
facts  given  above : 
1.  The  active  principle  of  strophanthus  is  slowly  extracted  by 
the  menstruum  of  the  Pharmacopoeia  (about  65  per  cent,  alcohol), 
more  rapidly  by  a  menstruum  having  a  lower  percentage  of  alcohol. 
The  latter  makes  an  unsightly  tincture,  which  may  be  cleared  by 
chilling  (ice  and  salt),  and  filtering  while  cold. 
2.  Defatting  the  seeds  aids  percolation,  does  not  affect  the 
strength  of  the  tincture,  and  does  not  in  any  way  eliminate  the 
emetic  action  of  the  drug. 
3.  For  percolation,  the  moistened  seeds  should  be  firmly  packed 
in  a  long,  narrow  percolator. 
4.  Tincture  of  strophanthus,  when  made  in  small  quantities, 
requires  at  the  very  least  seven  days  of  percolation  with  1000  c.c. 
