Decoctum Hematoxyli.—Decoction of Logwood.

Related entry: Haematoxylon (U. S. P.)—Haematoxylon

Preparation.—Take 1 ounce (av.) of logwood (in chips), 55 grains of coarsely powdered cinnamon bark, and 1 pint (Imp.) of distilled water. Boil the logwood in a closed vessel for 10 minutes, adding the cinnamon toward the end of the boiling period. Strain, and, by pouring sufficient distilled water upon the contents of the strainer, bring the decoction to measure 1 pint (Imp.).

The British Pharmacopoeia directs the foregoing method which is improved by continuing the boiling longer in order to better exhaust the chips. A former U. S. P. process directed 1 ounce of logwood in 2 pints of water, to be reduced by boiling to 1 pint.

Action, Medical Uses, and Dosage.—(See Haematoxylon.) A mild astringent. Dose, from 1 to 2 fluid drachms (children), to 2 fluid ounces (adults)


King's American Dispensatory, 1898, was written by Harvey Wickes Felter, M.D., and John Uri Lloyd, Phr. M., Ph. D.