Syrupus Mitchellae Compositus.—Compound Syrup of Partridgeberry.
Related entry: Mitchella.—Partridgeberry
SYNONYM: Mother's cordial.
Preparation.—Take of partridgeberry, 16 troy ounces; helonias root, high cranberry bark, blue cohosh root, each, 4 troy ounces. Grind, and mix the articles together; place the whole 1 3/4 pounds in a convenient vessel, cover them with fourth-proof brandy, and macerate for 3 days. Then transfer the whole to a percolator, and gradually add brandy, until 3 pints of spirituous tincture have been obtained, which reserve. Then continue the percolation with water until the liquid passes tasteless; add to this 2 pounds of refined sugar, and evaporate by a gentle heat to 5 pints; remove from the fire, add the reserved 3 pints of spirituous tincture, and flavor with essence of sassafras. Strictly speaking, this is not a syrup, but a sweetened infusion, yet I place it here, as being nearly in its appropriate class. It is often termed Mother's cordial, but is superior to the article to which the name was formerly applied (J. King). This process is not always followed, the brandy being displaced by diluted alcohol.
Action, Medical Uses, and Dosage.—This preparation is a uterine tonic and antispasmodic. It may be used in all cases where the functions of the internal reproductive organs are deranged, as in amenorrhoea, dysmenorrhoea, menorrhagia, leucorrhoea, and to overcome the tendency to habitual abortion. The dose is from 2 to 4 fluid ounces, 3 times a day. Pregnant women, especially those of a delicate or nervous system, will find it an advantage to take 1 or 2 doses daily, for several weeks previous to parturition, as by the energy it imparts to the uterine nervous system, the labor will be very much facilitated, beside which it frequently removes the cramps to which some are liable during the latter weeks of the utero-gestation. The medicine appears to exert a specific influence on the uterus (J. King).
Related Preparation.—PARTURIENT BALM. A preparation called the "Parturient Balm," has also been used and recommended in the above diseases, but I have found it to be of less efficacy; however, as some practitioners employ it, I introduce at this place the formula for its preparation: Take of blue cohosh root, spikenard root, each, 4 pounds (av.); black cohosh root, partridgeberry herb, queen-of-the-meadow root, each, 2 pounds (av.); ladies'-slipper root, comfrey root, each, 1 pound (av.). Proceed to make a syrup according to the directions given for the Compound Syrup of Aralia, making 8 gallons of syrup. The dose of this is from a teaspoonful to a tablespoonful, 3 or 4 times a day (J. King).
