424 
Progress  in  Pharmacy. 
(  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
\  September,  190y. 
diamine  containing  77  per  cent,  of  theocine. — Bull.  Sc.  Pharmacol, 
1909,  v.  16,  p.  297. 
Euphorphine  is  the  name  for  a  bromomethylate  of  apomorphine 
which  is  said  to  possess  all  of  the  desirable  physiological  properties 
of  apomorphine  without  the  irritant  action  of  the  latter.  It  is  also 
said  to  be  more  stable  and  more  soluble  than  apomorphine.  It  may 
be  given  in  doses  of  0.01  to  0.04. 
Ghico  si  de-containing  Extracts. — Rosenthaler  and  Meyer  review 
the  work  that  has  been  done  to  determine  the  influence  of  various 
substances  on  the  glucosides  contained  in  various  drugs.  They 
record  a  number  of  additional  experiments  and  conclude  that  gluco- 
sides are  readily  decomposed  by  the  usual  method  of  extracting. 
Calcium  carbonate  does  not  appear  to  prevent  this  decomposition. 
Boiling  alcohol  appears  to  inhibit  decomposition  and  is  recommended 
for  the  extraction  of  such  drugs  as  gentian,  cascara  and  rhubarb. — 
Ztschr.  d.  all  gem.  osterr.  Apoth.  Ver.,  1909,  v.  47,  pp.  257,  265,  277, 
289. 
Honey  as  a  Vehicle  for  Iodides. — An  abstract  from  a  paper  by 
L.  de  Prado  (Bull.  gen.  de  Therap.)  suggests  the  use  of  honey  as  a 
vehicle  for  potassium  iodide  and  for  iodides  generally.  It  is  claimed 
that  a  mixture  of  honey  and  water,  which  may  be  flavored  with  a 
small  quantity  of  brandy  or  made  alkaline  by  the  addition  of  potas- 
sium carbonate,  is  particularly  well  suited  to  prevent  the  gastric 
disturbances  frequently  caused  by  potassium  iodide. — Apoth.  Ztg., 
1909,  v.  24,  p.  467. 
Ipecacuanha  Cultivation. — E.  M.  Holmes  reports  a  systematic 
examination  of  several  samples  of  ipecacuanha  to  determine  the 
nature  of  the  soil  constituents  required  for  successful  cultivation. 
The  detailed  results  of  this  examination  indicate  that  phosphate 
of  lime  and  salts  of  magnesium  and  potassium  are  the  principal 
ingredients  required  by  the  plant. — Pharm.  I.  (Lond.),  1909,  v.  28, 
P- 765-  !  ;  ^ 
Jalap. — A  study  of  the  chemistry  of  jalap  was  presented  at  the 
International  Congress  of  Applied  Chemistry,  by  Power  and  Roger- 
son,  who  conclude  that  the  resin  of  jalap  is  of  much  more  complex 
nature  than  has  hitherto  been  assumed  and  that  none  of  the  amor- 
phous products  obtained  from  it  possess  the  attributes  of  a  homo- 
geneous substance.  It  follows  that  the  formulae  which  have  hitherto 
been  assigned  to  these  substances  are  devoid  of  any  significance  or 
scientific  value.— Ph arm.  I.  (Lond.),  1909,  v.  29,  pp.  7-8. 
