Tinctura Guaiaci (U. S. P.)—Tincture of Guaiac.
Related entry: Guaiaci Lignum (U. S. P.)—Guaiacum Wood
SYNONYM: Tincture of guaiacum.
Preparation.—"Guaiac, in coarse powder, two hundred grammes (200 Gm.) [7 ozs. av., 24 grs.]; alcohol, a sufficient quantity to make one thousand cubic centimeters (1000 Cc.) [33 fl℥, 391♏︎]. Mix the powder with eight hundred cubic centimeters (800 Cc.) [27 fl℥, 25♏︎] of alcohol, and macerate, for 7 days, in a closed vessel; then filter through paper, adding, through the filter, enough alcohol to make the tincture measure one thousand cubic centimeters (1000 Cc.) [33 fl℥, 391♏︎]"—(U. S. P.).
Action, Medical Uses, and Dosage.—This tincture is used in gout, rheumatism, dysentery, amenorrhoea, and dysmenorrhoea (see Guaiacum). The dose is from 1 to 3 fluid drachms, 3 or 4 times a day, given in mucilage, milk, or sweetened water.
Related Tinctures.—DEWEES' TINCTURE OF GUAIACUM (Tinctura guaiaci alkalini), recommended in suppression of the menses and dysmenorrhoea, is made as follows: Take of the best guaiac, in powder, 4 ounces; carbonate of sodium or potassium, 1 ½ drachms; pimenta, in powder, 1 ounce; diluted alcohol, 1 pound. Digest for a few days. Dose, a teaspoonful, 3 times a day, to be gradually increased, if necessary (Dewees, on Diseases of Females, 1826, p. 81). Or, as modified by the National Formulary:
TINCTURA GUAIACI COMPOSITA (N. F.), Compound tincture of guaiac, Dewees' tincture of guaiac.—"Guaiac (U. S. P.), one hundred and twenty-five grammes (125 Gm.) [4 ozs. av., 179 grs.]; potassium carbonate, six grammes (6 Gm.) [93 grs.]; pimenta, in moderately fine powder, thirty grammes (30 Gm.) [1 oz. av., 25 grs.]; pumice, in fine powder, sixty grammes (60 Gm.) [2 ozs. av., 51 grs.]; alcohol, four hundred and thirty-five cubic centimeters (435 Cc.) [14 fl℥, 340♏︎]; water, four hundred and thirty-five cubic centimeters (435 Cc.) [14 fl℥, 340♏︎]; diluted alcohol, a sufficient quantity to make one thousand cubic centimeters (1000 Cc.) [33 fl℥, 391♏︎]. Triturate the guaiac and potassium carbonate with the pimenta and the pumice, and afterward gradually with the alcohol. Next add slowly four hundred and thirty-five cubic centimeters (435 Cc.) [14 fl℥, 340♏︎] of cold water, and triturate the mixture thoroughly. Then filter, and pass enough diluted alcohol through the filter to make one thousand cubic centimeters (1000 Cc.) [33 fl℥, 391♏︎]. Each fluid drachm represents 7 ½ grains of guaiac"—(Nat. Form.).
TINCTURA GUAIACI AROMATICA, Aromatic tincture of guaiacum, Greenhow's cholera mixture.—Take of guaiacum, cloves, and cinnamon, each, in moderately fine powder, 1 ounce; brandy, 2 pints. Macerate for 14 days; then filter. This tincture is an excellent aromatic stimulant, astringent, and diaphoretic. It was extensively used in Cincinnati, by practitioners, during the cholera of 1849-50-51, and with excellent effect. The late Prof. T. V. Morrow, M. D., considered it as one of the best agents in the treatment of that disease. The dose is from a teaspoonful to a tablespoonful, in sweetened water, every 15 or 20 minutes, until relief is obtained. The addition of an ounce of prickly ash berries to this tincture will materially enhance its efficacy (J. King).
TINCTURA ANTACRIDA (N. F.), Antacrid tincture, Dysmenorrhoea mixture, Fenner's guaiac mixture.—"Corrosive chloride of mercury, five and one-half grammes (5.5 Gm.) [85 grs.]; guaiac (U. S. P.) in fine powder, one hundred and twenty-five grammes (125 Gm.) [4 ozs. av., 179 grs.]; Canada turpentine, one hundred and twenty-five grammes (125 Gm.) [4 ozs. av., 179 grs.]; oil of sassafras, thirty cubic centimeters (30 Cc.) [1 fl℥, 7♏︎]; alcohol, a sufficient quantity to make one thousand cubic centimeters (1000 Cc.) [33 fl℥, 391♏︎]. Introduce the guaiac and the Canada turpentine into a flask, together with seven hundred and fifty cubic centimeters (750 Cc.) [25 fl℥, 173♏︎] of alcohol, cork the flask loosely, and heat the contents, on a water-bath, slowly to boiling. Then cool the flask, and filter the contents through a small filter. Dissolve the corrosive chloride of mercury in thirty cubic centimeters (30 Cc.) [1 fl℥, 7♏︎] of alcohol, and add this solution, as well as the oil of sassafras, to the filtrate. Lastly, pass enough alcohol through the filter to make the product measure one thousand cubic centimeters, (1000 Cc.) [33 fl℥, 391♏︎]. Each fluid drachm contains nearly ⅛ grain of corrosive chloride of mercury. Note.—The dose of this preparation is about 10 to 20 minims"—(Nat. Form).
