Syrupus Allii (U. S. P.)—Syrup of Garlic.
Related entry: Allium (U. S. P.)—Garlic
Preparation.—"Fresh garlic, sliced and bruised, two hundred grammes (200 Gm.) [7 ozs. av., 24 grs.]; sugar, eight hundred grammes (800 Gm.) [1 lb. av., 12 ozs., 96 grs.]; diluted acetic acid, a sufficient quantity to make one thousand cubic centimeters (1000 Cc.) [33 fl℥, 391♏︎]. Macerate the garlic with three hundred cubic centimeters (300 Cc.) [10 fl℥, 69♏︎] of diluted acetic acid during 4 days, and express the liquid, avoiding the use of metallic utensils. Then mix the residue with two hundred cubic centimeters (200 Cc.) [6 fl℥, 366♏︎] more of diluted acetic acid, and again express. Mix the expressed liquids, and filter. Pour the filtrate upon the sugar, contained in a suitable vessel, and stir or agitate until the sugar is dissolved. Lastly, add enough diluted acetic acid to make the product measure one thousand cubic centimeters (1000 Cc.) [33 fl℥, 391♏︎], and mix thoroughly. Keep the syrup in well-stoppered, completely filled bottles, in a cool place. Syrup of Garlic may also be prepared in the following manner: Prepare a percolator or funnel in the manner described under syrup (see Syrupus). Pour the filtrate obtained as directed in the preceding formula upon the sugar, return the first portions of the percolate, until it runs through clear, and, when all the liquid has passed, follow it by diluted acetic acid, until the product measures one thousand cubic centimeters (1000 Cc.) [33 fl℥, 391♏︎]. Mix thoroughly"—(U. S. P.). This produces a syrup which is more or less opalescent.
Action, Medical Uses, and Dosage.—This syrup is useful in cough and chronic catarrhal affections of infants, acting also as a mild stimulant to the nerves; to a child under 1 year old, 1 fluid drachm may be given for a dose. The active principle of garlic is more readily taken up by vinegar than water. A syrup of onions is often prepared extemporaneously for coughs, by slicing 1 or 2 onions, and laying the slices upon each other with sugar between. This is set by the fire in a saucer or glass vessel, and kept there until the juice of the onion and the sugar have, by the aid of the heat, formed a syrup in the vessel. It may be given freely.
