Extractum Capsici Fluidum (U. S. P.)—Fluid Extract of Capsicum.
Related entry: Capsicum (U. S. P.)—Capsicum
SYNONYM: Fluid extract of red pepper.
Preparation.—"Capsicum, in No. 60 powder, one thousand grammes (1000 Gm.) [2 lbs. av., 3 ozs., 120 grs.]; alcohol, a sufficient quantity to make one thousand cubic centimeters (1000 Cc.) [33 fl℥, 391♏︎]. Moisten the powder with five hundred cubic centimeters (500 Cc.) [16 fl℥, 485♏︎] of alcohol, and pack it firmly in a cylindrical percolator; then add enough alcohol 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 alcohol, until the capsicum is exhausted. Reserve the first nine hundred cubic centimeters (900 Cc.) [30 fl℥, 208♏︎] of the percolate, and evaporate the remainder to a soft extract; dissolve this in the reserved portion, and add enough alcohol to make the fluid extract measure one thousand cubic centimeters (1000 Cc.) [33 fl℥, 391♏︎)"—(U. S. P.).
Description, Medical Uses, and Dosage.—This is a rich, brownish-red fluid possessing the characteristic properties of capsicum. It is likely to deposit a red-brown, flocculent sediment by age, which, however, seems not to impair its value. Dose, ½ to 2 minims.
