Tinctura Opii Deodorati (U. S. P.)—Tincture of Deodorized Opium.
Related entry: Opium (U. S. P.)—Opium - Tincture of Opium - Camphorated Tincture of Opium
SYNONYM: Tinctura opii deodorata (U. S. P., 1880).
Preparation.—"Powdered opium, one hundred grammes (100 Gm.) [3 ozs., av., 231 grs.]; precipitated calcium phosphate, fifty grammes (50 Gm.) [1 oz. av., 334 grs.]; ether, two hundred cubic centimeters (200 Cc.) [6 fl℥, 366♏︎] alcohol, two hundred cubic centimeters (200 Cc.) [6 fl℥, 366♏︎]; water, a sufficient quantity to make one thousand cubic centimeters (1000 Cc.) [33 fl℥, 391♏︎]. Rub the powders in a mortar with four hundred cubic centimeters (400 Cc.) [13 fl℥, 252♏︎] of water, previously heated to the temperature of 90° C. (194° F.), until a smooth mixture is made, and macerate for 12 hours; then pour the mixture on a filter, or transfer it to a cylindrical percolator, and gradually pour on water until the opium is practically exhausted. Reduce the percolate, by evaporation on a water-bath, to one hundred cubic centimeters (100 Cc.) [3 fl℥, 183♏︎], and, when it has cooled, shake it repeatedly with the ether in a bottle. When the ethereal solution has separated by standing, pour it off, and evaporate the remaining liquid until all traces of ether have disappeared. Mix the residue with five hundred cubic centimeters (500 Cc.) [16 fl℥, 435♏︎] of water, and filter the mixture through paper. When the liquid has ceased to pass, add enough water, through the filter, to make the filtered liquid measure eight hundred cubic centimeters (800 Cc.) [27 fl℥, 25♏︎]. Lastly, add the alcohol, and mix them"—(U.S. P.).
Test.—"If 100 Cc. of tincture of deodorized opium be assayed by the process given under Tinctura Opii, it should yield from 1.3 to 1.5 Gm. of crystallized morphine"—(U. S. P.).
Several elixirs of opium and a denarcotized tincture of opium are upon the market, which this preparation is designed to displace. Tincture of denarcotized opium contains the same amount of opium as tincture of opium, i.e., 1 grain in about every 10.5 minims. It is not so dark in color as laudanum. The drug is deprived of its narcotine and odor-giving principles by means of the ether employed. This is successfully, though somewhat difficultly, performed by following the official directions. The trouble is due to the formation of an emulsion produced by shaking together the concentrated aqueous preparation and the ether. This may be avoided, according to Prof. Maisch, if the opium be first denarcotized and deodorized, and an infusion made and evaporated to the necessary quantity, and the requisite amount of alcohol added to bring the tincture to the desired strength. Benzin has been suggested to denarcotize and deodorize this preparation, but it is not suitable, as it leaves its own disagreeable odor.
Action, Medical Uses, and Dosage.—(See Opium.) Dose, from 10 to 20 minims.
Related Preparation.—The following was offered to the profession by Eugene Dupuy, a pharmacist of New York, as a substitute for McMunn's Elixir of Opium. It is said that none of the unpleasant effects attributed to laudanum have as yet attended its administration: Take of opium, 10 drachms, make it into a thin pulp, with a sufficient quantity of water; then allow the mixture to stand in a cool place 48 hours, after which transfer it to an elongated glass funnel containing filtering paper, and add a superstratum of water equivalent to the bulk of the whole mass. When 12 ounces of liquid have filtered, add to the filtered solution alcohol (95 per cent), 4 ounces. The solution is an aqueous solution of opium, nearly free from narcotine, preserved by alcohol, and contains about two-thirds of the substance of the opium—the residue consisting chiefly of resin, narcotine, caoutchouc, ligneous matter, etc.
