Extractum Colocynthidis (U. S. P.)—Extract of Colocynth.
Related entry: Colocynthis (U. S. P.)—Colocynth - Extractum Colocynthidis Compositum (U. S. P.)—Compound Extract of Colocynth.
Preparation.—"Colocynth, dried, and freed from the seeds, one thousand grammes (1000 Gm.) [2 lbs. av., 3 ozs., 120 grs.]; diluted alcohol, a sufficient quantity. Reduce the colocynth to a coarse powder by grinding or bruising, and macerate it in thirty-five hundred cubic centimeters (3500 Cc.) [118 fl℥, 167♏︎] of diluted alcohol for 4 days, with occasional stirring; then express strongly and strain through flannel. Pack the residue, previously broken up with the hands, firmly in a cylindrical percolator, cover it with the strainer, and gradually pour diluted alcohol upon it until the tincture and expressed liquid, mixed together, measure five thousand cubic centimeters (5000 Cc.) [10 O, 9 fl℥, 33♏︎]. Distill off the alcohol from the mixture by means of a water-bath; evaporate the residue to dryness, and reduce the dry mass to powder. Extract of colocynth should be kept in well-stoppered bottles"—(U. S. P.).
Medical Uses and Dosage.—Used chiefly in preparing the compound extract. As water extracts a large amount of mucilaginous and other inert material, the proportion of water should never be greater than that above directed. This extract is laxative and cathartic, according to the dose employed. Dose, from ½ to 2 grains.
