Tinctura Cinchonae (U. S. P.)—Tincture of Cinchona.
Related entry: Cinchona wossname
SYNONYMS: Tincture of Peruvian bark, Tincture of yellow cinchona.
Preparation.—"Cinchona, in No. 60 powder, two hundred grammes (200 Gm.) [7 ozs. av., 24 grs.]; glycerin, seventy-five cubic centimeters (75 Cc.) [2 fl℥, 257♏]; alcohol, water, each, a sufficient quantity to make one thousand cubic centimeters (1000 Cc.) [33 fl℥, 391♏]. Mix the glycerin with six hundred and seventy-five cubic centimeters (675 Cc.) [22 fl℥, 396♏] of alcohol and two hundred and fifty cubic centimeters (250 Cc.) [8 fl℥, 218♏] of water. Having moistened the powder with two hundred cubic centimeters (200 Cc.) [6 fl℥, 366♏] of the menstruum, macerate for 24 hours; then pack it firmly in a cylindrical glass percolator, and pour on the remainder of the menstruum. When the liquid has disappeared from the surface, gradually pour on more of a mixture of alcohol and water, made in the same proportions as before, and continue the percolation, until one thousand cubic centimeters (1000 Cc.) [33 fl℥, 391♏] of tincture are obtained"—(U. S. P.). If too weak in alcohol, this tincture precipitates cinchona-red, together with cinchona alkaloids, in combination with kinic acid. The change is, in a measure, prevented, or at least retarded, by the addition of glycerin. This addition was suggested by Mr. A. B. Taylor (1865), who, upon experimentation, showed that the best menstruum for this tincture was one composed of 2 parts of alcohol and 1 part, each, of water and glycerin, The tincture has a reddish-brown color.
Action, Medical Uses, and Dosage.—This tincture is commonly used as an adjuvant to other preparations of cinchona or of quinine. It may be given in doses varying from 1 fluid drachm to ½ fluid ounce. However, it is seldom used alone.
Related Tincture.—TINCTURA CINCHONAE DETANNATA (N. F.), Detannated tincture of cinchona. "Fluid extract of cinchona (U. S. P.), one hundred and eighty-five cubic centimeters (185 Cc.) [6 fl℥, 123♏]; alcohol, five hundred cubic centimeters (500 Cc.) [16 fl℥, 435♏]; solution of tersulphate of iron (U. S. P.), three hundred and seventy-five cubic centimeters (375 Cc.) [12 fl℥, 327♏]; water of ammonia (U. S. P.), three hundred and seventy-five cubic centimeters (375 Cc.) [12 fl℥, 327♏]; water, diluted alcohol (U. S. P.), of each, a sufficient quantity to make one thousand cubic centimeters (1000 Cc.) [33 fl℥, 391♏]. To the water of ammonia, diluted with fifteen hundred cubic centimeters (1500 Cc.) [50 fl℥, 346♏] of water, gradually add the solution of tersulphate of iron, previously diluted with twenty-five hundred cubic centimeters (2500 Cc.) [84 fl℥, 257♏] of water, under constant stirring. Pour this mixture, containing ferric hydrate as a precipitate, upon a wet muslin strainer (which has been tared, after having been wetted and deprived of excess of water by moderate pressure), and, when the liquid has drained off, return the precipitate to the vessel, and mix it intimately with about four thousand cubic centimeters (4000 Cc.) [135 fl℥, 192♏] of water. Again drain it on the strainer, transfer it once more to the vessel, and treat it as before. Finally drain and press the precipitate on the strainer until it weighs five hundred grammes (500 Gm.) [1 lb. av., 1 oz., 278 grs.]. Mix the fluid extract of cinchona with five hundred cubic centimeters (500 Cc.) [16 fl℥, 435♏] of alcohol, and add the ferric hydrate, previously prepared. Agitate the mixture frequently, until the tincture is deprived of tannin, which may be known by the absence of a blackish-green color when a small portion of the clear tincture is treated with a drop or two of tincture of chloride of iron. insert a plug of absorbent cotton into a suitable percolator, and introduce the mixture. As soon as the liquid has disappeared from the surface, pour on enough diluted alcohol to make the product measure one thousand cubic centimeters (1000 Cc.) [33 fl℥, 391♏]. Note.—This preparation is practically identical, in strength of cinchona, (without the tannin), with the official Tinctura Cinchonae"—(Nat. Form.).
