AUG 8 1884 ASS'N. CRARY PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL VOL. IX, No.5. TORONTO, DECEMBER, 1875. WHOLE NO. XC Original and Selected Papers. ON SOME ERRORS IN THE STATED STRENGTHS AND DOSES OF THE OFFICINAL PREPARATIONS OF OPIUM. BY E. B. SHUTTLEWORTH. Teachers of pharmacy, and others accustomed to classify and compare the various officinal compounds, must have noticed occasional discrepancies and inconsistencies in pharmacopoeial statements which are difficult to explain away and which give rise to much uncertainty and confusion in the mind of the student. To direct attention to some of these is the design of the present paper, and the writer is encouraged to believe that this criticism will be received in as kindly a feeling as it is offered. To call into question the correctness of the national pharmaceutical standard was at one time deemed an evidence of bad taste, but that time has happily passed away, and it is now the interest of all to cultivate and exercise a spirit of inquiry, so that our Pharmacopoeia may be rendered as nearly perfect as possible. In the edition of 1867, on page 230, under the head of Opium, is an enumeration of the officinal preparations of that drug, and also an estimate of their relative strengths. In this table there are some omissions and errors. The Suppositoria Plumbi Comp, which contain, in each, one grain of powdered opium, are omitted. Morphic Acetas and the Liquor are given, though the hydrochlorate is the only salt directed to be prepared directly from opium. It is stated that the proportion of opium (moist) in Trochisci Opii is one-tenth of a grain in each, while on pages 124 and 350 they are said to contain one-tenth of a grain of extract, which is at least double the strength of moist opium. The proportion of opium in Pil. Ipecac. cum Scilla is said to be I in 16 nearly. The treacle ordered in the formula has evidently been omitted in this calculation. It will be found that this will bring the mass up to a strength of about 1 in 24. In the Reprint of 1874 the compilers publish, on page vi, "a list of corrections made in 1874 in the reprint of the British Pharmacopoeia of 1867." Only one of these relates to opium preparationsthat of the Pil. Ipecac. c. Scilla, above noted, of which the correction is made “instead of 16 read 231." On referring, however, to the page indicated, it will be found that another proportion-1 in 23— is given. The notes for this paper were made with reference to the edition of 1867, but we find that in the reprint of 1874 some of the errors have been corrected, though they do not appear in the list of corrections referred to. This is an omission originating in carelessness, or perhaps some other cause, but, in any case, the list should be made complete. In regard to the doses of the opium preparations there are some strange inconsistencies. Some of these would at first appear to be explained by the supposition that the stated doses of preparations have been established and perpetuated by long usage, but this view is not correct, as many of the preparations were either entirely new or of altered strength in the edition of 1864, and of those compounds which were taken from the other pharmacopoeias the doses do not coincide. On page 230 of the edition of 1867, and also 1874, the dose of ordinary opium is stated to be from grain to 2 grains. This may then be assumed as a standard to which may be referred other preparations which owe their activity entirely to opium. The dose of Ext. Opii is stated (page 123 in 1867 and 1874) to be from grain to 2 grains, or the same as that of opium, though 2 parts of opium are said to yield about one of extract. It is obviously inconsistent that while the latter is double or more generally more than double the strength of the former the dose should be the same. Ext. Opii Liquid, and Vin Opii, of which 11 (109) minims equal one grain of moist opium, are directed to be administered in doses of from 10 to 40 minims, equal to nearly 1 to 4 grains of opium. The dose of Tinct. Opii is given as from 5 to 40 minims. 143 (1463) minims equal one grain dry opium, making the dose range from about to nearly 3 grains. Estimating the amount of moisture in commercial opium to average 15 per cent. (an amount which by trials of many hundreds of pounds of opium I have found to be nearly correct), one grain of moist opium would be contained in about 12 (1243) minims, and the stated dose would range from to 3 grains. 5 12 This want of uniformity is rendered more evident by reducing to grains of moist opium the pharmacopoeial dose: It is not for a pharmacist to say what the correct dose of opium is, but whatever may be the amount fixed upon by competent authorities, it seems but reasonable that the doses of the various preparations should be made to correspond as nearly as possible. It may also be maintained that some uniform system of posology should be followed. Whether the average adult dose, or the maximum and minimum dose should be stated, I do not wish to determine, but one or other plan should be rigidly adhered to. From the table above given it is evident that the compilers of the British Pharmacopoeia regarded this no more than their alleged rule of reducing to a uniform dose of 15 or 25 minims the more active medicinal tinctures. Before drawing these remarks to a close I may state that in a foot-note to an article on Vinum Opii (p. 368 in editions of 1867 and 1874), that preparation is stated to be one-fifth weaker than Vinum Opii, P. L. The B. P. wine contains in each pint 437'5 grains of extract of opium; the P. L. wine 600 grains. The difference is 162 grains, which is over one-fourth instead of one-fifth. I append an enumeration of the nearest quantities of the officinal preparations of opium which are equal to one grain of dry opium. The amount of moisture in ordinary opium is taken at 15 per cent.: Pil. Saponis Co..... 6" ... Supposit. Plumbi co........I supp. Ung. Gallæ c. Opio......... 14'6 gr. OLEO-PARAFFIN-A SUBSTITUTE FOR LARD IN OINT. MENTS*. BY JAMES F. BABCOCK. The use of lard as a basis for onitments and cerates has always been a source of trouble to pharmacists. Good lard, suitable for pharmaceutical uses, not being always easy to obtain, most pharmacists at the present time prepare their own, by trying out leaf Îard. This is generally a long and tedious operation, and the product obtained, even where great care is used in its preparation, not unfrequently disappoints the operator, by becoming rancid in a few weeks or months, according to conditions which are imperfectly understood, or, at least, incapable of control. The purpose of the present paper is to suggest a substitute for lard as a basis for ointments and cerates, which, while it has the cheapness of lard, is purer, cleaner, not so liable to become rancid, and yields a much handsomer product. Perfectly pure fatty bodies or glycerides, as stearin, olein, margarine, &c., or mixtures of them, do not become rancid; but the changes which constitute rancidity are due to the presence of foreign matters of an albuminoid character, derived from the cellular tissue of the plant or animal from which the fatty substance has been obtained. *From the Laboratory, November, 1875. These albuminoid substances act as ferments, and, under the influence of moist air, absorb oxygen, undergo decomposition, and influence a change in a small quantity of the fatty bodies in their immediate vicinity. The fatty acids are set free, and these by oxidation produce minute traces of butyric, caproic, and other volatile bodies having a disagreeable odor. The secret, then, of preserving lard, ointments, or other fatty bodies, consists simply in making them as pure as possible; but as the preparation of lard so that it shall be quite free from the albuminous substances, which cause the trouble, is extremely difficult and always uncertain, we propose a kind of artificial lard, prepared from materials which closely resemble the components of natural lard, and may always be obtained in a state of great purity. Ordinary lard contains about 62 per cent. of a fluid fat called oleine, and 38 per cent. of a mixture of various other fatty bodies, solid at ordinary temperatures, containing stearin, margarin, &c. The fluid portion of lard-oleine, or lard-oil, as it is called in commerce--is produced in immense quantities in all of the principal cities of the North and West. It is used for lubricating purposes, for oiling wool, for illumination, and many other purposes. It is moderate in price, varying from 60 to 90 cents per gallon. What is known as "Extra" or "No. 1" lard-oil is very light colored, free from disagreeable odor, and keeps well for almost any length of time. This oil is cold-pressed from the lard, and is generally quite free from those impurities which are found in leaf-lard, and if of good quality does not readily become rancid. The writer has in his possession samples of lard-oil which are about a year and a half old, and still perfectly sweet. Extra No. I lard-oil is admirably suited for the preparation of artificial lard. To represent the solid portions of lard, we propose paraffin-a body of great commerical purity, of moderate price, and well adapted to replace the stearin in lard, as it always has, to a great extent, replaced it in the manufacture of candles. Pharmacists have hitherto made but little use of paraffin, because this substance, though perfectly miscible with oils when melted, separates in crystalline scales on cooling, in consequence of which, its use has been abandoned as impracticable. This difficulty may, however, be almost wholly overcome, so that paraffin may be used as a substitute for wax in ointments, for spermaceti in cold-cream, for stearin in artificial lard; the tendency to separate being obviated by the addition of about one part of wax to every nine parts of paraffin used. This suggestion was made by the writer in a paper presented to the Amer. Pharm. Association and published in the Proceedings for 1867, and also by Carney, some years previous, but it appears to have been unacted upon. |