Extractum Alstoniae Constrictae Fluidum.—Fluid Extract of Alstonia Constricta.
Related entry: Alstonia Constricta.—Alstonia Bark
Preparation.—Take of the inner bark of Alstonia constricta, in very fine powder, 16 troy ounces; alcohol, a sufficient quantity. Moisten the powder with 8 fluid ounces of alcohol. Cork tightly in a wide-mouth bottle, and permit the mixture to stand an hour in a warm situation. Then introduce it into a cylindrical percolator, 3 inches in diameter, previously prepared for percolation, according to directions given on page 756, and press very firmly. Cover the surface of the powder with a circular piece of filtering paper, held in position with a few fragments of glass or marble, and add alcohol until the percolate appears at the exit. Then cork the exit tightly; cover the percolator, and place it in a warm situation. After 24 hours, loosen the cork, and permit. the percolate to pass as fast as it will drop, without running in a stream, until 4 fluid ounces are obtained. Again close the exit, macerate 24 hours, and, in a manner like unto the preceding, draw 4 fluid ounces of percolate. Repeat the maceration, and, in like manner, draw a third portion of 4 fluid ounces. Reserve, and mix the three percolates; then continue the percolation until 8 fluid ounces are obtained. Evaporate this latter portion until reduced to the measure of 2 fluid ounces, and mix with the reserved 12 fluid ounces. The surface of the powder must be constantly covered with alcohol from the commencement, and until the end of the percolation.
Description, Medical Uses, and Dosage.—(See Alstonia constricta). Fluid extract of Alstonia constricta is of a dark yellowish-red color, odorless, and possesses the intense bitterness peculiar to the drug. When prepared according to the foregoing formula, it seems to represent very nearly the entire sensible properties of the bark employed, troy ounce to each fluid ounce of the finished extract. Dose, from 5 to 40 minims.
