Tinctura Aconiti (U. S. P.)—Tincture of Aconite.
Related entry: Aconitum (U. S. P.)—Aconite
(Modern shorthand: 3.5:10 70 %)
SYNONYMS: Tinctura aconiti radicis (U. S. P., 1870), Tincture of aconite root.
Preparation.—"Aconite, in No. 60 powder, three hundred and fifty grammes (350 Gm.) [12 ozs. av., 151 grs.]; alcohol, water, each, a sufficient quantity to make one thousand cubic centimeters (1000 Cc.) [33 fl℥, 391♏︎]. Mix alcohol and water in the proportion of seven hundred cubic centimeters (700 Cc.) [23 fl℥, 321♏︎] of alcohol to three hundred cubic centimeters (300 Cc.) [10 fl℥, 69♏︎] of water. Having moistened the powder with two hundred cubic centimeters (200 Cc.) [6 fl℥, 366♏︎] of menstruum, macerate for 24 hours; then pack it firmly in a cylindrical percolator, and gradually pour menstruum upon it, until one thousand cubic centimeters (1000 Cc.) [33 fl℥, 391♏︎] of tincture are obtained"—(U. S. P.).
Special care should be observed in the selection of aconite root, and it should be thoroughly powdered and the percolation carefully conducted. It yields a yellow-brown tincture, which, when added to water, renders the latter milky through precipitation of aconite resin.
Action, Medical Uses, and Dosage.—(See Aconitum.) This is a much stronger preparation than the tincture of the leaves, and care should be employed not to use the two tinctures indiscriminately. It may be used for the same purpose, but in smaller doses, commencing with a fraction of a drop, in a teaspoonful of water, and gradually increasing it to 5 drops.
Related Tinctures.—TINCTURA ACONITI, Fleming (N. F.), FIeming's tincture of aconite. (Modern shorthand: 1:1.5 91 %) (1) "Aconite (root), in fine powder, seven hundred grammes (700 Gm.) [1 lb. av., 8 ozs., 303 grs.]; alcohol, a sufficient quantity to make one thousand cubic centimeters (1000 Cc.) [33 fl℥, 391♏︎]. Moisten the aconite with enough alcohol to render it distinctly damp and to maintain it so after 24 hours maceration in a well-covered vessel. Then pack it tightly in a percolator, and percolate it slowly, in the usual manner, with alcohol, until one thousand cubic centimeters (1000 Cc.) [39 fl℥, 391♏︎] of tincture are obtained. Note.—This preparation is still prescribed by many physicians. It is recommended that their attention be directed to the official fluid extract and tincture of aconite, so that the above preparation may be gradually abandoned. When this preparation is required for immediate use, and it is not otherwise available, it may be prepared in the following manner (see note to F. 396): (2) Fluid extract of aconite (U. S. P.), seventy cubic centimeters (70 Cc.) [2 fl℥, 176♏︎]; alcohol, thirty cubic centimeters (30 Cc.) [1 fl℥, 7♏︎]. Mix them"—(Nat. Form.). Dose, 1/4 to 1 drop.
TINCTURA ACONITI FOLIORUM, Tincture of aconite leaves.—(Modern shorthand: 1:8 41 %) Take of the recently dried leaves of aconite, finely powdered, 2 ounces; diluted alcohol, 1 pint, or a sufficient quantity. Form into a tincture by maceration or percolation, as explained under Tincturae, and make 1 pint of tincture. Tincture of aconite leaves possesses all the properties of Aconitum napellus, and may be used whenever the drug is indicated, in doses of from 1 to 15 drops. It should not be confounded with the tincture of the root, which is a much more powerful preparation and is the preparation now generally employed.
