Extractum Leptandrae Fluidum (U. S. P.)—Fluid Extract of Leptandra.
Related entry: Leptandra (U. S. P.)—Leptandra - Extract of Leptandra.
Preparation.—"Leptandra, 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 seven hundred and fifty cubic centimeters (750 Cc.) [25 fl℥, 173♏︎] of alcohol with two hundred and fifty cubic centimeters (250 Cc.) [8 fl℥, 218♏︎] of water, and, having moistened the powder with four hundred cubic centimeters (400 Cc.) [13 fl℥, 252♏︎] of the mixture, pack it moderately in a cylindrical 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 leptandra is exhausted. Reserve the first eight hundred cubic centimeters (800 Cc.) [27 fl℥, 25♏︎] of the percolate, and evaporate the remainder 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 Leptandra). This is a dark, reddish-brown, very bitter fluid. It is laxative, cholagogue, and tonic, and may be advantageously substituted for the root in all cases. The dose is from 10 to 60 minims, 1, 2, or 3 times a day. As a laxative, it is preferable to the extract, when dried.
