Extractum Serpentariae Fluidum (U. S. P.)—Fluid Extract of Serpentaria.
Related entry: Serpentaria (U. S. P.)—Serpentaria
Preparation.—"Serpentaria, in No. 60 powder, one thousand grammes (1000 Gm.) [2 lbs. av., 3 ozs., 120 grs.]; alcohol, water, each, a sufficient quantity to make one thousand cubic centimeters (1000 Cc.) [33 fl℥, 391♏︎]. Mix eight hundred cubic centimeters (800 Cc.) [27 fl℥, 25♏︎] of alcohol with two hundred cubic centimeters (200 Cc.) [6 fl℥, 366♏︎] of water, and, having moistened the powder with three hundred cubic centimeters (300 Cc.) [10 fl℥, 69♏︎] of the mixture, pack it firmly in a cylindrical glass percolator; then add enough menstruum to saturate the powder and leave a stratum above it. When the liquid begins to drop from the percolator, close the lower orifice, and, having closely covered the percolator, macerate for 48 hours. Then allow the percolation to proceed, gradually adding menstruum, using the same proportions of alcohol and water as before, until the serpentaria is exhausted. Reserve the first nine hundred cubic centimeters (900 Cc.) [30 fl℥, 208♏︎] of the percolate, and evaporate the remainder, at a temperature not exceeding 50° C. (122° F.), to a soft extract; dissolve this in the reserved portion, and add enough menstruum to make the fluid extract measure one thousand cubic centimeters (1000 Cc.) [33 fl℥, 391♏︎]"—(U. S. P.).
Description, Medical Uses, and Dosage.—(See Serpentaria). This is a thin and transparent, deep reddish-brown concentrated tincture, having the bitter taste and characteristic odor of Virginia snake-root. It fully represents the virtues of the drug. This fluid extract forms a useful tonic, which may be used where the root is admissible. The dose is from 15 to 45 minims, 3 or 4 times a day.
