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Fenner's Complete Formulary - Southwest School of Botanical ...

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ecognized, and that many preparations, which have <strong>of</strong> late been made<br />

by percolation, are now again made by maceration. In addition to this,<br />

the new pharmacopoeia, in making most <strong>of</strong> the tinctures and some<br />

extracts, gives the very much needed direction to macerate twenty-four<br />

hours with a portion <strong>of</strong> the menstruum before packing in the percolator.<br />

Maceration is the necessary primary step to successful percolation. It<br />

s<strong>of</strong>tens the drug, dissolves its soluble properties and loads the<br />

menstruum with them, ready to be carried away by the subsequent<br />

process <strong>of</strong> percolation.<br />

The new British Pharmacopoeia (1885) directs maceration for from<br />

twenty-four to forty-eight hours as a preliminary step to percolation in<br />

making tinctures, etc. The German, French, and other continental<br />

European authorities direct maceration mainly for obtaining the<br />

strength <strong>of</strong> drugs; and although percolation, when properly conducted,<br />

has great advantages over any other process for obtaining the strength<br />

<strong>of</strong> drugs, without maceration it fails to accomplish its full purpose.<br />

Whenever percolation is employed, sufficient time should be given for<br />

maceration to loosen and dissolve the soluble properties <strong>of</strong> the drug. If<br />

alcohol is the menstruum employed, the maceration may be conducted<br />

after packing the percolator; but if water forms a portion <strong>of</strong> the<br />

menstruum, the drug should first be macerated with a portion <strong>of</strong> the<br />

menstruum sufficiently long to allow it to swell before it is packed in the<br />

percolator.<br />

Any convenient covered vessel may be used for macerating drugs<br />

designed to be percolated. For small quantities, glass, specie or salt<br />

mouth jars, earthen-ware fruit jars, or covered granite-ware stew-pans,<br />

are very convenient, even tin cans will not be injurious for most drugs.<br />

Drugs to be thus macerated should be thoroughly moistened with a<br />

portion <strong>of</strong> the menstruum and covered to prevent exposure and<br />

Fenner’s <strong>Complete</strong> <strong>Formulary</strong> - Part I-II - MISCELLANEOUS FORMULA - Page 38<br />

The <strong>Southwest</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Botanical</strong> Medicine http://www.swsbm.com

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