Extractum Ignatiae Amarae.—Extract of Ignatia.
Related entry: Ignatia.—Ignatia
SYNONYM: Extract of St. Ignatius' bean.
Preparation.—Take of St. Ignatius' beans, 1 pound, bruise them in an iron or brass mortar until reduced to small fragments or very coarse powder; moisten them with water in a covered vessel, and apply heat until the tissues of the pieces become soft, and can be bruised into a pulpy mass. Mix this mass with alcohol, 0.820, twice its bulk, and macerate in a close vessel and in a warm place for 24 hours, then place in a percolator, and add alcohol until 10 or 12 pints of tincture have been obtained. Distill off the alcohol, heat the residue in a water-bath until reduced to the consistence of a soft extract. About 10 per cent of a brown extract will be thus obtained, of a peculiar heavy odor, and an intensely bitter taste.
Medical Uses and Dosage.—(See Ignatia). Analogous to those of nux vomica, but probably more efficient in nervous diseases, headaches, etc. The dose is about ½ grain, 2 or 3 times a day. It is an active and dangerous preparation, and must be used with care (W. Procter, Jr.).
