On the organic materia medica of the British Pharmacopoeia : two lectures delivered before the Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain, on February 24th and March 23rd, 1864 / by Robert Bentley.

  • Bentley, Robert, 1821-1893.
Date:
[1865?]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On the organic materia medica of the British Pharmacopoeia : two lectures delivered before the Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain, on February 24th and March 23rd, 1864 / by Robert Bentley. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    |, Hemidesmvis. *Indigo. Jalapae Eesina. •^^^amela. Lavirocerasus. Lini Farina. Matico. *Nectandra. Oleum Myristicse. Cubebse. * Coriandri. *Oxalic Acid. The number of new organic substances introduced into the British Pharma- j copoeia as compared with the last London Pharmacopoeia, and the number ex- I eluded, may thus be seen to be precisely equal. We feel that some other organic substances in great demand in certain parts of the country might, with advantage, have been also introduced ; as Physostigma venenosum, (the plant from which the Calabar Bean, now completely established as a most valuable remedial agent, is derived), Actaja racemosa, Prunus Virginiana, Veratrum viride, Pepsine, etc. ; at all events, these have at least equal claims for insertion as Sulphate of Beberia, Nectandra, Arnica, Oleum Coriandri, and Pel Bovinum. We should like to see a similar plan adopted by the framers of the British Pharmaco- poeia as has been for a long period employed with great advantage in the United States Pharmacopceia,—that is, to have a Secondary List of the Materia Medica, in which should be inserted substances possessing no very evident medicinal properties, and which do not enter into any of the preparations and compounds ; as also those of recent introduction which are upon their trial, but not sufficiently established to warrant their being placed in a prominent posi- tion in a national Pharmacopoeia. In such a list, articles as Actsea racemosa, Prunus Virginiana, Pepsine, Sulphate of Beberia, Cocculus, Cusso, Hemidesmus, Kamela, Chirata, Terebinthina Canadensis, Veratrum viride, Tormentilla, and very many others might be placed. We feel sure that a list of this kind would be of great advantage, and we hope to see the plan acted upon in the next edi- tion of the British Pharmacopoeia. Having now given a general sketch of the design, object, arrangement, and changes which have taken place in the organic Materia Medica of the British Pharmacopoeia, as compared with the last published Pharmacopoeias of the United Kingdom, together with some suggestions for further alteration and, as we believe, improvement, we proceed to make a few remarks upon those articles of the Materia Medica which appear to require them, and more especially of those that are altogether new, or which are new, at least, to an English Pharmaco- poeia. The first substance we notice is also that which comes first in the alpha- betical arrangement of the Materia Medica, namely,— Acacia.—The test of gum arable in powder is given as follows in the British Pharmacopceia :— The powder does not become blue on the addition of solution of iodine. This test, which is introduced for the purpose of detecting the adulteration of powdered gum-arabic with flour or starch, would be useless as ordinarily applied, and as the solution of iodine would be commonly prepared, for then the starch granules, unless previously broken up by heat, would not be affected. The following test would be far better, and should be inserted instead : —A decoction of the powder when cold, or the mucilage made with boiling water when cold, does not become blue on the addition of a solution of iodine. It is indeed true that impure dextrin, and a few commercial starches which have been previously submitted to heat, might, if certain precautions be taken, be detected by the Pharmacopoeia test, but as such are scarcely likely to be *Podophylli Eesina. *PodophyUum peltatum. *Pyroxylin. Sabadilla. Saccliarum Lactis. *Santonica. *Santoninum. *Scammoniae Radix. *Scammoni8B Eesina. Spiritus Pyroxyficus Eeetificatus. Terebinthina Canadensis.