Tinctura Capsici (U. S. P.)—Tincture of Capsicum.
Related entry: Capsicum (U. S. P.)—Capsicum
(Modern shorthand: 1:20 95 %)
SYNONYM: Tincture of cayenne pepper.
Preparation.—"Capsicum, in No. 30 powder, fifty grammes (50 Gm.) [1 oz. av., 334 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 nine hundred and fifty cubic centimeters (950 Cc.) [32 fl℥, 59♏︎] of alcohol to fifty cubic centimeters (50 Cc.) [1 fl℥, 332♏︎] of water. Having moistened the powder with forty cubic centimeters (40 Cc.) [1 fl℥, 169♏︎] of the menstruum, pack it firmly in a cylindrical percolator; then gradually pour menstruum upon it, until one thousand cubic centimeters (1000 Cc.) [33 fl℥, 391♏︎] of tincture are obtained"—(U. S. P.).
Action, Medical Uses, and Dosage.—Tincture of cayenne pepper is a useful and permanent stimulant, and may be administered in depressed states of the system, with torpor of the stomach, as with inebriates, and in typhoid stages of febrile diseases; also to prevent the nausea which oil of turpentine is apt to occasion. It is also useful in gangrenous sore throat, and to remove relaxation of the uvula, applied to the part on a camel's-hair pencil, or as a gargle. For this purpose it may be diluted, if required, with mucilage of elm bark. It is also an excellent application to the eye in cases of chronic ophthalmia. It is frequently applied locally, with advantage, incases of swellings, rheumatic pains, partial paralysis, atrophied muscles, etc. The dose is from 10 to 60 drops in water, 3, 4, or 5 times a day, according to the urgency of the case (see Capsicum).
