Extractum Belladonnae Exsiccatum, B.P.C. Dried Extract of Belladonna.
Format explanation.
Related entries: Belladonna
Synonyms.—Extractum Belladonnae Foliorum Exsiccatum; Dried Extract of Belladonna Leaves.
| Belladonna Leaf, in No. 40 powder | 100.00 | | | 16 ounces |
| Alcohol (70 per cent.), a sufficient quantity. | | | ||
Moisten the drug with 25 (4 fluid ounces) of the alcohol, pack in a percolator, and percolate until the product measures 400 (64 fluid ounces). Press the marc, mix the liquids, and filter. Assay the filtrate for dry extract and for alkaloid. Having thus ascertained the amount of extract that the remainder of the filtrate will yield and the amount of alkaloid that will be contained in it, calculate the quantity of powdered belladonna leaves of known alkaloidal value that must be added to reduce the alkaloidal value of the extract to 1 per cent. Add rather less than this quantity of powdered leaves to the remainder of the filtrate. Recover the alcohol by distillation, and dry the residue in a flat tared dish, first over a water-bath, and then in a current of warm air from 60° to 80° until the weight is fairly constant. Calculate the additional weight of diluent required, and add to the product. Transfer the whole to a warm mortar, and triturate until well mixed. Pass through a No. 20 sieve, and transfer to a well-stoppered bottle. Dried extract of belladonna leaf must be preserved in a cool dry place. The extract is hygroscopic, and to counteract this it is desirable to use as diluent a powdered leaf of sufficiently high alkaloidal content so that the finished product contains at least two of diluent to one of extract.
Dose.—15 to 60 milligrams (1/4 to 1 grain).
