Vinum Ergotae (U. S. P.)—Wine of Ergot.
Related entry: Ergota (U. S. P.)—Ergot
Preparation.—"Ergot, recently ground, and in No. 30 powder, one hundred and fifty grammes (150 Gm.) [5 ozs. av., 127 grs.]; alcohol, one hundred and fifty cubic centimeters (150 Cc.) [5 fl℥, 35♏︎]; white wine, a sufficient quantity to make one thousand cubic centimeters (1000 Cc.) [33 fl℥, 391♏︎]. Mix the alcohol with eight hundred and fifty cubic centimeters (850 Cc.) [28 fl℥, 356♏︎] of white wine. Moisten the powder with forty cubic centimeters (40 Cc.) [1 fl℥, 169♏︎] of the mixture, pack it moderately in a conical glass percolator, and gradually pour upon it, first, the remainder of the menstruum, and afterward enough white wine to make the product measure one thousand cubic centimeters (1000 Cc.) [33 fl℥, 391♏︎]"—(U. S. P.). The official wine contains about 15 percent of ergot. In preparing it the drug should be finely ground, not bruised.
Action, Medical Uses, and Dosage.—This may be used during labor, as a parturient, in doses of 2 or 3 fluid drachms; in other instances it may be given in doses of 1 or 2 fluid drachms, 3 or 4 times a day, and gradually increased if desirable. It is less used than other preparations of ergot.
