Aqua Sambuci.—Elder-Flower Water.
Related entry: Sambucus (U. S. P.)—Sambucus
Preparation.—To fresh elder flowers, 12 pounds, add water, 2 gallons. Distill 1 gallon. The Br. Pharm. directs 10 pounds of the fresh flowers freed from the stalks (or an equal weight of flowers preserved, while still fresh, with salt), to 5 gallons of water, to produce 1 gallon (Imp.) of elder-flower water.
Action, Medical Uses, and Dosage.—But little oil is contained in elder flowers; the water distilled from them is sometimes used in collyria and other lotions. It is more extensively employed in England than in America. According to Mr. Haselden, the water distilled from elder flowers is better, when the flowers have been previously mixed or beaten with half their weight of chloride of sodium, as it tends to preserve them much longer from decomposition. The dose (usually as an excipient) is from 1 to 2 fluid ounces.
