The part insoluble, both in alcohol and water, which was left after
Experiment I, amounting to 2·5 grains; it burnt like wood, and was
insoluble in alkalies.
It appears that the whole of the _Elatin_ does not separate itself from
its native juice by spontaneous subsidence, and that, on this account,
the supernatant liquor possesses some powers as a cathartic. We cannot
be surprised therefore that the _Elaterium_ of commerce should be a very
variable and uncertain medicine; for independent of the great temptation
which its high price holds out for adulterating it, which is frequently
done with starch, it necessarily follows that where the active principle
of a compound bears so small a proportion to its bulk, it is liable to
be affected by the slightest variation in the process for its
preparation, and even by the temperature of the season; where pressure
is used for obtaining the juices, a greater or less quantity of the
inactive parts of the cucumber will be mixed with the _Elatin_, in
proportion to the extent of such pressure, and the _Elaterium_ will of
course be proportionally weak.[504] There is one curious result obtained
in my experiments which deserves notice, _viz._ that there is a _bitter_
principle in the Elaterium, very distinct from its extractive matter,
and totally unconnected with its activity, for I diluted the solution
obtained in experiment G. and swallowed it, but it produced upon me no
effect, except that which I generally experience upon taking a powerful
bitter,—an increased appetite; and yet notwithstanding this fact, when
in combination with _Elatin_, it is far from being inert, since this
latter body is considerably quickened by its presence. See page 152. The
solution B was given to a person, but no effect whatever ensued. _Dose_
of good _Elaterium_, as it occurs in commerce, is about one grain, or it
is better to give it only to the extent of half a grain at a time, and
to repeat that dose every hour until it begins to operate. It is
probably, when thus managed, the best hydragogue cathartic which we
possess; it differs however from the class of remedies to which it
belongs, for it excites the pulse and whole animal system, so as to
produce a considerable degree of febrile action. It was strongly
recommended by Sydenham, Lister, and Hoffman, and all their
cotemporaries and immediate successors, as a valuable remedy in dropsy;
but in consequence of some fatal results from its improper application,
it was driven from practice with a violence that marks prejudice rather
than conviction; one author, in descanting upon its virulence, exclaims,
“_Elaterium esse in catalogo diaboli quo necat homines_.” For its
restoration to medicine, we are indebted to Dr. Ferriar of Manchester,
who used it with great success in the cure of Hydrothorax.
EXTRACTUM (_Succus Spissatus._ E.D.) HYOSCYAMI. L. This preparation is
certainly powerfully narcotic, and tends to relax rather than astringe
the bowels; where the constitution is rebellious to opium, it furnishes
a more valuable resource to the practitioner than any other narcotic
extract. _Dose_, gr. v to ℈j, in pills. _See Form. 1, 3, 4, 19, 139._
EXTRACTUM LACTUCÆ. L. SUCCUS SPISSATUS LACTUCÆ SATIVÆ. E. This
preparation has found its way into the London Pharmacopœia, in
consequence of the testimony of many highly respectable practitioners in
favour of its sedative properties. In the memoirs of the Caledonian
Horticultural Society, various suggestions are offered as to the best
mode of obtaining an extract from the milky juice of the garden Lettuce,
to which Dr. Duncan has bestowed the name of “LACTUCARIUM;” it was first
recommended to take the milk with cotton, afterwards with a sponge, and
more recently with a painter’s brush; all these methods however are
attended with considerable difficulty, and the juice cannot be collected
in any quantity. Mr. Probart, a chemist in Great Portland Street, has
lately cultivated large plantations of the lettuce, for the purpose of
instituting experiments upon the subject, and I am happy in being
enabled through his liberality, to introduce in this place, an account
of the process which he pursues, and which he considers the only one by
which the article can be brought into the market at any reasonable
price.[505]
In concluding the history of Inspissated juices, it deserves notice that
the London College uniformly directs that the _feculence_ should be
preserved in the compound: there can be no doubt of the propriety of
such advice, but the Colleges of Edinburgh and Dublin reject it. The
French Codex gives directions for two extracts from each of these
substances, one containing what they please to denominate the _fecula_,
the other not; thus there is “_Extractum Cicutæ absque Fecula_” and
“_Extract: Cicut: cum Fecula_.” There is one curious fact respecting
these narcotic preparations, that most, if not all of them, contain
_nitre_, _common salt_, and _muriate of potass._
Manufacturing chemists, in order to give a smooth and glossy appearance
to their Extracts, generally add to every ℔j, about ʒss of gum, fʒj of
olive oil, and ♏︎xx of rectified spirit; there is no harm in the
practice.