Extractum Ferri Pomatum (N. F.)—Ferrated Extract of Apples.
Related entry: Pyrus.—Apple Tree
SYNONYMS: Ferri malas crudus, Crude malate of iron.
Preparation.—Formulary number, 156: "Iron, in the form of fine, bright wire, and cut, twenty grammes (20 Gm.) [309 grs.]; ripe sour apples, one thousand grammes (1000 Gm.) [2 lbs. av., 3 ozs., 120 grs.]; water, a sufficient quantity. Convert the sour apples into a homogeneous pulp by pounding or grinding, and express the liquid portion. Then mix the latter with the iron in an enameled or porcelain vessel, macerate for 48 hours, and then apply the heat of a water-bath until no more bubbles of gas are given off, adding a little water from time to time to make up any loss by evaporation. Dilute the liquid with water to make it weigh one thousand grammes (1000 Gm.) [2 lbs. av., 3 ozs., 120 grs.], and set it aside for a few days. Then filter, and evaporate the filtrate in the before-mentioned vessel, to a thick extract, which should be greenish-black, and should yield a clear solution with water. Note.—This preparation is inserted here with the title under which it is contained in the German Pharmacopoeia. In some others it is called more correctly, Extractum pomi (or pomorum) ferratum"—(Nat. Form.).
Medical Uses and Dosage.—The uses and doses of this preparation are similar to those of citrate of iron and other ferruginous salts prepared with the common organic acids. It is a relic of European medieval medicine.
