_b._ Dried petals, 1 oz.; water, 2 fl. oz.; macerate for 2 hours; then add
refined sugar, 8 oz.; and beat to a mass as before.
_Obs._ It is astringent and tonic, but is principally used as an elegant
vehicle for more active medicines. It keeps well, and does not candy like
confection of hips.--_Dose_, 1 to 2 drs., eaten off a spoon, either alone
or combined with chalk; in slight cases of diarrh[oe]a, vomiting in
pregnancy, &c. See CONSERVE.
=Confection of Rue.= _Syn._ CONPECTIO RU'TÆ (Ph. L.), L. _Prep._ (Ph. L.)
Fresh rue (bruised), caraways, and laurel berries, of each 1-1/2 oz.;
prepared sagapenum, 1/2 oz.; black pepper, 2 dr.; honey, 16 oz.; water, q.
s.; rub the dry ingredients to a flue powder, then add, gradually, the
sagapenum, previously dissolved in the water and honey over a slow fire,
and mix well. In the Ph. L. 1836 dried rue was ordered. Carminative and
antispasmodic. In flatulent colic, and in the convulsions of children,
when there is no inflammation.--_Dose_, 15 to 60 gr.; either by the mouth,
or made into an enema with gruel.
=Confection of Scam'mony.= _Syn._ CONFEC'TIO SCAMMO'NII (B. P.),
ELECTUA''RUM SCAMMO''NII (Ph. D.). _Prep._ (B. P.) Scammony, in fine
powder, 24 parts; ginger, in fine powder, 12 parts; oil of caraway, 1
part; oil of cloves, 1/2 part; syrup, 24 parts; clarified honey, 12 parts;
rub the powders with the syrup and the honey into a uniform mass, then add
the oils and mix.--_Dose_, 10 gr. to 30 gr.; as a warm cathartic, and in
worms, &c.
=Confection of Scurvy Grass.= (P. Codex.) Fresh leaves of scurvy grass, 1
oz.; sugar, 3 oz. Beat to a pulp and pass through a hair sieve.
=Confection of Sen'na.= _Syn._ LEN'ITIVE ELEC'TUARY, ELEC'TUARY OF SENNA;
CONFEC'TIO SEN'NÆ (Ph. L. & D.), ELECTUA''RIUM SEN'NÆ (Ph. E.), L. _Prep._
1. Senna, 8 oz.; corianders, 4 oz.; rub them together, and by a sieve
separate 10 oz. of the mixed powder; also boil figs, 1 lb., and fresh
liquorice, bruised, 3 oz., in water, 3 pints, until reduced to one half;
press, strain, and evaporate the strained liquor in a water bath to 24 fl.
oz.; then add sugar, 2-1/2 lbs.; dissolve, and further add, prepared
tamarinds, cassia, and prunes, of each 1/2 lb.; remove from the heat, and
when the whole has considerably cooled, add the sifted powder, by degrees,
and stir until the whole is thoroughly incorporated.
2. (Ph. E.) Senna, 8 oz.; corianders, 4 oz.; liquorice root, 3 oz.; figs
and pulp of prunes, of each, 1 lb.; white sugar, 2-1/2 lbs.; water, 3-1/4
pints.
3. (Ph. D.) Senna leaves, in fine powder, 2 oz.; corianders (in fine
powder), 1 oz.; oil of caraway, 1/2 dr.; mix, and add them to pulp of
prunes, 5 oz.; pulp of tamarinds, 2 oz.; brown sugar, 8 oz.; water 2 fl.
oz.; previously brought to a smooth paste by the heat of a water bath.
4. (Ph. B.) Boil figs, 12 oz., and prunes, 6 oz., gently in distilled
water, 24 oz., in a covered vessel for hours, then, having added more
distilled water to make up the quantity to 24 fluid ounces, add tamarinds,
9 oz., and cassia pulp, 9 oz.; macerate for two hours, and press the pulp
through a hair sieve, rejecting the seeds, &c. Dissolve refined sugar, 30
oz., and extract of liquorice, 3/4 oz., in the mixture with a gentle heat;
and while it is still warm, add to it gradually senna in fine powder, 7
oz., and coriander in fine powder, 3 oz., and stir diligently until all
the ingredients are thoroughly combined. The resulting confection should
weigh 75 oz.
_Uses, &c._ Confection of senna is a gentle and pleasant purgative, and
well adapted for persons suffering from piles, and as a laxative during
pregnancy. The dose is 1 dr. to 1/2 oz., taken at bedtime or early in the
morning.
_Obs._ There is no one pharmacop[oe]ial preparation which it is more
difficult to obtain of good quality than confection of senna. The absolute
cost of an article prepared according to the directions of the Colleges is
greater than the price at which many wholesale houses are vending the
drug. Dr Paris very truly remarks, that "the directions of the
Pharmacop[oe]ia are very rarely followed." Considerable quantities are
manufactured, into which unsound and spoilt apples enter as a principal
ingredient; whilst the substitution of jalap for the whole, or a portion
of the senna, is a very common practice. We have seen the following forms
employed in the trade.
5. Powdered senna' pulp of tamarinds, cassia, and prunes, of each 1-1/2
lb.; powdered corianders, 3/4 lb.; Spanish juice, 1/2 lb.; simple syrup,
12 lbs.
6. As the above, but omitting the cassia pulp, and adding 2 lbs. more
tamarind pulp. Both these articles are labelled "P. L." and sent out as
genuine, and that when no competition as to price exists. The cheaper
article is made as follows:--
7. Common prunes and tamarinds, of each 16 lbs.; treacle, 3/4 cwt.;
species (a compound of senna dust and small senna, mixed with 3 lbs. of
coriander seeds, and strengthened with jalap; all ground to a fine
powder), 18-1/4 lbs. To this is frequently added, of rotten or inferior
apples, 1/4 cwt., which are pulped with the prunes and tamarinds. This
article is commonly labelled "CONF. SENNÆ VER." by its manufacturer.
=Confection of Sponge.= _Syn._ ELEC'TUARY OF BURNT SPONGE; CONFEC'TIO
SPONGII, C. S. US'TÆ, L. _Prep._ 1. Burnt sponge, 3 parts; confection of
orange peel and hips, of each 1 part; simple syrup, q. s.
2. (St. B. Hosp.) Burnt sponge, made into a confection with
syrup of orange peel. The first form produces the most agreeable
confection.--_Dose_, of either, 1/2 dr. to 2 dr., twice or thrice daily;
in scrofula, &c.
=Confection of Steel.= _Prep._ 1. CONFEC'TIO FER'RI SESQUIOX'IDI, L.--_a._
From confection of orange and sesquioxide of iron (Ph. L.), of each 2 oz.;
white sugar, 3 oz.; syrup, 1-1/2 oz.; mix.--_Dose_, 1 dr. to 3 dr.
_b._ (St. B. Hosp.) Sesquioxide of iron, 1 oz.; treacle, q. s.--_Dose_,
1/2 dr. to 1 dr. Both are given in the usual cases wherein iron is
indicated; especially in anæmia, chlorosis, and amenorrh[oe]a.
2. (CONFEC'TIO FER'RI TARTARIZA'TI.--St B. Hosp.) Cream of tartar, 1-1/2
oz.; tartrate of iron, 2 dr.; ginger, 1 dr.; treacle, 2-1/2 oz., or q.
s.--_Dose_, 1 dr. to 2 dr., 2 or 3 times daily.
=Confection of Sul'phur.= _Syn._ BRIMSTONE AND TREACLE; CONFEC'TIO
SULPHU'RIS, L. _Prep._ 1. Sublimed sulphur, 2 oz.; treacle, 4 oz.--_Dose._
A spoonful night and morning for a week or longer, as an alterative or
purifier of the blood; in skin diseases, &c.
2. (St. B. Hosp.) Precipitated sulphur, 1 oz.; cream of tartar, 2 dr.;
honey or treacle, 2 oz. As the last.
3. (B. P.) Sublimed sulphur, 4 oz.; cream of tartar, 1 oz.; syrup of
orange peel, 4 fl. oz.--_Dose_, 1 to 2 dr.; as a laxative, in piles,
gonorrh[oe]a, &c.
=Confection of Tin.= _Syn._ CONFEC'TIO STAN'NI, L. _Prep._ (Hosp. Form.)
Powdered tin, 1 oz.; confection of roses, 2 oz.; mix.--_Dose_, 2 to 4 dr.,
every morning; in worms.
=Confection of Turpentine.= _Syn._ CONFEC'TIO TEREBINTH'INÆ, L. _Prep._
(B. P.) Oil of turpentine, 1 fl. oz.; liquorice powder, 1 oz.; triturate
together, then add clarified honey, 2 oz.--_Dose_ and _use_, as the last.
=Confection of Worm-seed.= _Syn._ CONFEC'TIO CIN'Æ, C. S. CINÆ. L. _Prep._
1. (Ph. Slesvico-Holsat. 1831, and Ph. Suec. 1845.) Worm-seed, 2 oz.; heat
it in a pan over a gentle fire, add white sugar, boiled to a low candy
height, 4 oz.; and stir together until they become dry; then pick out
those seeds which are covered with sugar, and repeat the process with the
others.
2. Powdered worm-seed and syrup of orange peel, equal parts.--_Dose_, 1 to
2 dr., night and morning, followed by a brisk purge; in worms.
=CONFEC'TIONERY.= See CANDIES, DROPS, LOZENGES, SUGAR, &c.
=CONGELA'TION.= The conversion of a substance from the fluid to the solid
state by the abstraction of heat. See ICE and REFRIGERATION.
=CONGESTION.= "A common condition of disease in an undue flow of blood
into any part, or accumulation within it. The vessels seem to lose the
power of emptying themselves, which they possess in health. Congestion,
although an effect of both visitation and inflammation, may exist
irrespective of either. Two forms of it are distinguished, active and
passive. The first is when some excitement causes the blood to pass more
rapidly into a part than its vessels can transmit out of it; the second
when from some inherent debility the vessels cannot get rid of the fluid
ordinarily thrown into them. Congestion of organs disturb their functions,
and through them the general health."
=CONGLU'TINUM (Bracy Clarke's).= Sulphate of zinc (white vitriol), 4 oz.;
dissolved in water, 1 pint. Used as an astringent lotion in veterinary
practice, and much diluted with water (a dessert-spoonful to 1/4 pint or
more of water), as a collyrium in chronic inflammation of the eyes.
=CO'NIA.= C_{8}H_{15}O. _Syn._ CO'NINE, CON'ICINE. An alkaloid, discovered
by Gieseke in hemlock. It exists in every part of the plant, but is
present in the largest quantity in the seed.
_Prep._ (Gieger.) The seeds of hemlock, or their alcoholic extracts, is
distilled with water and potassa. The conia passes over into the receiver,
and floats on the top of the water, which also contains a little conine in
solution. It is purified in the way directed for the volatile bases. (See
ALKALOID.) When the alcoholic extract is employed, about half its weight
of potassa should be used.
_Prop., &c._ Pure conia is an oily-looking liquid, smelling intensely of
hemlock, or rather of a combination of the odours of tobacco and mice;
volatile at common temperatures; reddens turmeric; boils at about 340°
Fahr., but readily distils over with water at 212°; sp. gr. ·89; with the
acids it forms salts, some of which are crystallisable. Six lbs. of fresh
and 9 lbs. of dried seeds yielded 1 oz. of conia. (Gieger.) Forty lbs. of
the ripe but green seeds yielded 2-1/2 oz. of hydrated conia.
(Christison.)
Conia is remarkably poisonous. 1 drop, placed in the eye of a rabbit,
killed it in 9 minutes; 5 drops, poured into the throat of a dog, killed
it in less than a minute. It has been employed in some convulsive and
spasmodic diseases, but is now seldom used medicinally. "The patient
cries, the contortions, and the rigidity of the limbs, which have always
preceded death (caused by conia), leave no doubt as to the cruel pains
which this kind of poisoning brings on." (Boutron-Chalard and Henry.) The
treatment may be that recommended under ACONITE and HEMLOCK.
=CONSERVATEUR FUR HAARBLEINDE.= A preventive of hair diseases (Edm.
Bühligen, Leipzig). Consists of 10 grammes tinct. arnica, 5 grammes
glycerine, 10 grammes spirit, and 60 grammes water. (Schädler.)
=CON'SERVE.= _Syn._ CONSER'VA, L. Recent vegetable matter, as flowers,
herbs, roots, fruit, and seed, beaten with powdered sugar to the
consistence of a stiff paste, so as to preserve them as nearly as possible
in their natural freshness. Conserves are made both by the confectioner
and the druggist; by the first as SWEETMEATS; by the other chiefly as
vehicles for more active medicines. The London College of Physicians now
includes both conserves and electuaries under the general head of
CONFECTIONS. The term appears, however, in some cases, scarcely
appropriate. The word confection has a more general application, and
implies any sweetmeat or composition in which sugar is the principal
ingredient. See CONFECTION and ELECTUARY.
=Conserve of Ac'etate of Potas'sa.= _Syn._ CONSER'VA POTAS'SÆ ACETA'TIS,
L. _Prep._ (Bories.) Acetate of potassa, 1/2 oz.; sulphate of soda, 1 dr.;
juices of scurvy grass, fumitory, and dandelion, of each 2 oz. (reduced to
one half by gentle evaporation?; sugar, q. s. to make a conserve. A
teaspoonful 2 or 3 times daily, as a diuretic aperient; in obstruction of
the bowels, &c.
=Conserve of Al'monds.= See CONFECTIONS.
=Conserve of Angel'ica.= _Syn._ CONSER'VA ANGEL'ICÆ, L. _Prep._
(Giordano.) Fresh angelica root, 2 parts; water, 16 parts; macerate for a
few hours, clarify the liquor, add sugar, 3 parts; cook the root in the
syrup, and preserve it in this state (confection), or dry it (to a candy).
Used as an agreeable tonic, stomachic, and carminative.
=Conserve, Antiscorbu'tic.= _Syn._ CONSER'VA ANTISCORBU'TICA, L. _Prep._
(Selle.) Horse-radish, water-cress, and water-trefoil, orange-juice, and
radish-juice, equal parts; powdered white sugar, q. s. to make a conserve.
In scurvy, &c.
=Conserve of A''rum.= _Syn._ CONSER'VA A''RI, C. A. MACULA'TI, L. _Prep._
From fresh arum tubers (cuckow-pint or wake-robin), 1/2 lb.; sugar, 2-1/2
lbs. As a diuretic and attenuant in dropsy, or as an expectorant in
chronic coughs.--_Dose_, 1/2 teaspoonful, gradually increased.
=Conserve of Broom.= _Syn._ CONSER'VA SCOPA''RII, L. _Prep._ (Van Mons.)
Broom flowers, 1 part; sugar, 2 parts.--_Dose_, 1/2 to 2 teaspoonfuls, 2
or 3 times a day; in dropsy, gout, rheumatism, &c.
=Conserve of Hips.= See CONFECTION.
=Conserve of Lavender.= _Syn._ CONSER'VA LAVENDU'LÆ, L. Lavender flowers,
1 part; powdered lump sugar, 3 parts; beaten together to a smooth paste.
Used to sweeten the breath. In a similar way conserves are made from
various other leaves and flowers; but mostly with only twice their weight
of sugar, when they are not very odorous or active.
=Conserve of Lem'on Peel.= _Syn._ CONSERVA LIMO'NIS, C. L. CORT'ICIS, L.
As CONFECTION OF ORANGE PEEL.
=Conserve of Mal'lows.= _Syn._ CONSER'VA MAL'VÆ, L. From the flowers, as
CONSERVE OF LAVENDER.
=Conserve of Or'ange Peel.= See CONFECTION.
=Conserve of Pep'permint.= See CONFECTION.
=Conserve of Rose'mary.= _Syn._ CONSER'VA ROSMARI'NI, L. As CONSERVE OF
LAVENDER.
=Conserve of Roses.= 1. See CONFECTION.
2. (ACIDULA'TED CONSERVE OF ROSES CONSER'VA RO'SÆ AC'IDA, L.) _Prep._
(Hosp. F.) Confection of roses and powdered gum, of each 1 oz.; sulphuric
acid, 1 dr. to 1-1/2 dr.; (diluted with) water, 2 dr. An excellent
substitute for tamarinds.
=Conserve of Sav'in.= _Syn._ CONSER'VA SABI'NÆ, L. _Prep._ (Ph. Han.)
Fresh savin, 1 part; sugar, 2 parts. As an emmenagogue, in amenorrh[oe]a,
&c. Three parts of sugar make a better conserve.
=Conserve of Scurvy Grass.= _Syn._ CONSER'VA COCHLEA''RIÆ, C. C.
HORTEN'SIS, L. _Prep._ (Ph. Aust. 1836.) Fresh scurvy grass, 1 lb.; sugar,
3 lbs. Stimulant and antiscorbutic.
=Conserve of Sea Worm'wood.= _Syn._ CONSER'VA ABSINTH'II MARITI'MI, L.
_Prep._ (Ph. L. 1788.) From sea wormwood, as the last. As a stomachic
bitter and vermifuge; in dyspepsia, &c.
=Conserve of Sloes.= _Syn._ CONSER'VA PRU'NI SYLVES'TRI, L. _Prep._ (Ph.
L. 1788.) From the pulp of the fruit, 1 part; sugar, 3 parts. Astringent.
Useful in simple diarrh[oe]a, &c.; either alone or combined with chalk.
=Conserve of Squills.= _Syn._ CONSER'VA SCIL'LÆ, L. _Prep._ (Ph. L. 1788.)
Fresh squills, 1 oz.; sugar, 5 oz. Diuretic, attenuant, and expectorant;
in dropsy, chronic coughs, &c.--_Dose_, 10 to 20 gr.
=Conserve of Tam'arinds.= _Syn._ CONSER'VA TAMARIND'ORUM, L. _Prep._ (P.
Cod.) Tamarind pulp, 2 oz.; white sugar, 3 oz.; evaporate by the heat of a
water bath to the consistence of honey.
=Conserve of Vi'olets.= _Syn._ CONSER'VA VIO'LÆ, C. V. ODORA'TÆ, L.
_Prep._ (Soubeiran.) Flowers, 1 part; sugar, 3 parts; beat to a paste.
Demulcent and laxative; used as a purge for infants, and by ladies to
perfume the breath.
=Conserve of Wa'ter-cress.= _Syn._ CONSER'VA NASTUR''TII, L. _Prep._ (Ph.
Græca, 1837.) From fresh water-cresses, as the last. In scurvy; taken _ad
libitum_.
=Conserve of Worm'wood.= See CONSERVE OF SEA WORMWOOD.
=CONSTIPA'TION.= _Syn._ CONSTIPA'TIO, OBSTIPA'TIO, L. Surgeons distinguish
between costiveness and constipation. The first applies to that condition
of the body in which the bowels act tardily, and in which the fæces are
abnormally and inconveniently indurated; the last implies the absence of
the proper alvine evacuations. The one rapidly undermines the health; the
other destroys life in a period varying from a few days to three or four
weeks. In popular language, however, the words are frequently used
synonymously. The use of bread containing alum, and water containing much
lime (very hard water), and especially the want of sufficient exercise,
are common causes of constipation.
_Treatment._ When the affection is merely accidental or occasional, a dose
of some aperient or cathartic is the only treatment necessary; but when it
is habitual it calls for further attention. Great benefit may generally be
secured by adopting a diet free from astringents, and consisting of a
large portion of green vegetables and ripe fruit; particularly avoiding
the use of over-cooked, salted, or dried animal food. Brown bread may be
eaten, as it acts as a gentle laxative, from the bran it contains. The
occasional use of aperient and emollient enemata may be had recourse to;
but their habitual administration, as well as that of purgative medicines
generally, by the mouth, is not to be recommended. The bowels, accustomed
to the continual use of stimulants, act but languidly or scarcely at all
without their application. In females, especially of the higher classes,
the want of proper exercise is commonly the chief cause of this affection.
With such persons a short walk, two or three times daily, will often do
wonders, particularly if a little ripe fruit, a few raisins or tamarinds,
or, still better, 2 or 3 drum figs, be occasionally eaten. In some cases
of obstinate constipation a cold-water dressing, placed over the pit of
the stomach or the abdomen, will cause the bowels to act in the course of
an hour or two. When the inactivity of the bowels arises from a deficiency
of bile (one of the most common causes), no remedy is more natural, or
more effective, than inspissated ox-gall. In cases complicated with
nervous, hypochondriacal, or hysterical affections, in chlorosis,
dyspepsia, depraved appetite, and numerous other ailments, this remedy
frequently succeeds, after the most active articles of the materia medica
have been tried in vain.
In the treatment of the constipation of infants, castor-oil (1/2
teaspoonful occasionally), or manna 1/4 to 1/2 oz., sucked at will, may be
given. The introduction (very gently) of a little slip of writing paper,
parsley stalk, or suet, is a method sometimes adopted successfully by
nurses. Friction on the stomach and bowels with the warm hand, or a piece
of soft flannel, should also be employed. See GALL, PURGATIVE, &c.
_Treatment for Animals._ Mr Finlay Dun prescribes laxative clysters,
aloes, or oils. Calomel for horses; croton and gamboge for cattle. Salts,
calomel and jalap, castor oil, linseed oil, and emetics for carnivora. Oil
of turpentine by mouth or rectum; clysters of tobacco, nux vomica,
electricity.
_Treatment for Horses._ When the animal is constipated administer 4 dr. of
aloes and 1 dr. of calomel, rubbed down with gruel; inject soap and water
every hour, taking care to let the horse have walking exercise, and to
apply friction to the belly. If, after twelve hours, no effect is
produced, let the aloes and calomel be repeated, with the addition of
three or four drops of croton oil and a wine-glassful of spirit of nitre,
ether, gin, or whisky.
=CONSTITUTION BALLS=, Vegetable (A. H. Bôldt). Two parallelopiped hard
brown balls, each of which weighs 58 grammes, and is made by melting
together 2 parts of aloes and 1 part coarsely powdered gentian. (Hager).
=CONSUMP'TION.= See PHTHISIS.
=CONTA'GION.= By 'contagion' is usually meant the communication of disease
by means either of actual contact or through a medium, such as the air. By
some a contagious disease is regarded as one arising from direct contact
only, in contradistinction to an infectious one, which is believed to act
at a distance. See DISINFECTANT.
=CONTU'SION.= A hurt, or injury to the flesh, such as might be caused by a
blunt instrument or by a fall, without breach or apparent wound. For
treatment, see BRUISE.
=CONVALESCENCE.= Convalescence may be described as the period between the
cessation of an attack of serious illness and the restoration, if not to a
perfect, to an accustomed state of health. Convalescent patients should
particularly guard against excess in eating or drinking, or unnecessary
and imprudent exposure to cold or damp weather, during this interval, as
well as against premature exertion of the limbs or voice; such and all of
which are acts of imprudence that may give rise to a return of the
disease. In order to avoid this latter risk, as well as to aid in complete
recovery, repose both of body and mind are generally needed, more
particularly in the earlier stages of convalescence.
It should be borne in mind that convalescents from many infectious
diseases, such as measles, scarlet fever, smallpox, typhus, &c., are much
more likely to propagate these diseases than when they are labouring under
them in the acute form. During the period of their recovery the skin and
other organs are throwing off the poison in large quantities, and thus
exposing those in contact with, or in the near neighbourhood of the
convalescent, to the great and imminent risk of contagion. Even if not
contagious himself, the convalescent's clothes, if they be the same as
those worn by him during his illness, may also convey the disease.
=CONVULSIONS.= Spasmodic contractions of the muscles producing motions of
the limbs, generally accompanied with unconsciousness. Convulsions occur
at all periods of life, but in adults they are only symptoms of other
diseases. In children they are very common. They are of frequent
occurrence in teething; and a swollen and inflamed state of the gums is
said to excite them. Dr Gardner, in his very useful work, 'Household
Medicine,' says they may be brought on by "improper food, _e.g._ the milk
of a nurse suffering from some violent emotion. At the siege of Berlin
nearly all the suckling children died of convulsions." They may also be
induced by feverish attacks, hooping-cough, strong purgatives, or
suppressed eruptions. In the case of a dangerous attack of convulsion no
time should be lost in sending for a medical practitioner. Pending his
arrival, the patient should be placed as promptly as possible in a
hot-water bath. A better plan is to loosen all the dress, to place the
child across the arms, and sway it up and down gently, and to allow cool
air to play on the face and chest; give an enema of soap and water, and
apply mustard plasters for a few seconds only to the pit of the stomach.
If these fail to give relief, apply leeches (number according to the age)
to the temples, and cold to the head. Lance the gums if inflamed. When the
fit is over keep the head cool. If there have been white stools, give a
grain or two of calomel, and repeat it every three or four hours for three
or four times until the stools become green or dark. Keep the bowels open
by castor oil, and let the patient be put on a milk diet. The latter part
of the above treatment is inserted for the benefit of the emigrant or
other individual having no means of obtaining proper medical aid.
=COPAHINE.= Copaiba balsam made into a mass with wax and powdered cubebs,
divided into hard egg-shaped pills weighing 5 decigrammes each and sugar
coated.
=COPAHINE MEGE DE JOZEAU.= A fixed quantity of copaiba balsam is mixed
with concentrated nitric acid, and constantly stirred as long as
effervescence continues. The oxidised balsam is then washed, first with
warm then with cold water, till the washings cease to have an acid
reaction. From one part of this balsamum copaivæ acido nitrico correctum
with 1/10 part powdered cubebs, 1/10 part bicarbonate of soda, 1/16 part
calcined magnesia, with some mucilage, a mass is prepared and divided into
oval pills, which are afterwards coated with sugar, mixed with gum and
carmine.
=COPAI'BA.= _Syn._ COPAI'VA, COPAIVA BALSAM, CAPIV'I, BALSAM OF CAPIV'I;
COPAI'BA (Ph. L. E. & D.), L.; BAUME DE COPAHU, Fr.; COBAIVA BALSAM, Ger.
"The oleo-resin, of a brown colour, obtained by incision from the trunk of
Copaifera multijuga." (B. P.) Most of the balsam of commerce is obtained
from Para and Maranhao. It is packed in casks containing from 1 to 1-1/2
cwt. each, or in large bottles, or in cylindrical tin boxes.
_Prop., Purific., &c._ Copaiba, though usually called a 'balsam,' is not
correctly so named, as it contains no benzoic or cinnamic acid. It is
correctly described in the B. P. as an 'oleo-resin.' Considerable
variation exists in the colour, odour, consistence, and transparency, as
well as in the proportion of oil and resin yielded by different samples,
scarcely any two of which exactly agree. The sp. gr. varies from ·950 to
·996. Brazilian copaiba is thin, clear, and pale; whilst the West Indian
variety is thick, golden yellow, less transparent, and has a less
agreeable and somewhat terebinthinate smell. Some varieties are opaque,
and continue so unless filtered. This is often a most troublesome
operation. The opacity generally arises from the presence of water, which
it retains with great tenacity. The following is the plan we have found to
answer on the large scale:--Place the casks upon their ends in a warm
situation, and leave them so for 10 days or a fortnight, or longer, if
convenient. They may then be tapped a little above the bottom, when the
contents of some of them will generally be found quite transparent, and
may be drawn off and vatted, care being taken to avoid shaking up the
bottom. The copaiva that remains foul must be filtered through one or more
long Canton flannel bags, sunk in the bottom of a tin cistern, placed over
a suitable receiver, in a similar way to that adopted for oils; a few
pounds of coarsely powdered charcoal being mixed up with the first 5 or 6
gallons thrown in. This will rapidly fill up the pores of the bag, and
make the balsam soon flow clear and pale. The "bottoms" of the casks,
containing the water and impurities, may be poured into a large can or
jar, and allowed to settle for a few days, when the copaiba may be poured
off the top and filtered. A sudden change of temperature will frequently
turn a transparent sample of this article opaque or milky; it is not,
therefore, deemed fit to send out by the wholesale trade, unless it stands
this test. To ascertain this point a common practice is to fill a small
bottle with the copaiba, and to leave it out of doors all night in an
exposed situation.
_Pur., Tests, &c._ This substance is frequently adulterated; indeed, fully
one half that sold for copaiba does not contain 10% of the genuine balsam.
This is particularly the case with that sold in capsules, at low prices,
in the shops. Pure balsam of copaiba may be recognised by the following
characters:--
1. (Ph. E.) It is transparent; free of turpentine odour when heated;
soluble in 2 parts of alcohol; and dissolves one fourth of its weight of
carbonate of magnesia with the aid of a gentle heat, and continues
translucent.
2. (Chevallier.) A drop of the balsam, placed on a piece of unsized paper,
and heated until all the essential oil is expelled, forms a
semi-transparent, well-defined spot; but if the balsam has been
adulterated with a fatty oil, it is surrounded by an oily areola.
3. (Planche.) 2-1/2 parts of balsam shaken with 1 part of solution of
ammonia, sp. gr. ·965, forms a mixture which becomes clear and transparent
in a few moments, and may be heated to 212° Fahr. without becoming opaque.
4. (Vigne.) Boiled with 50 times its weight of water for 1 hour, it should
lose at least half its weight.
5. (Adder.) By agitating the suspected sample with a lye of caustic soda,
and setting the mixture aside to repose, the balsam after a time rises to
the surface, and the fatty oil present (if any) forms a soapy, thick mass
below.
6. ('Journ. de Pharm.,' 1842.) Pure copaiba may be adulterated with 50 per
cent. of a fat oil (nut, almond, or castor oil), without it ceasing to
give a clear solution with 2 parts of alcohol; but it combines badly with
magnesia and ammonia. Excess of alcohol, however, separates the oil in all
cases. It was formerly considered that the best test for detecting the fat
oils was pure alcohol, to which some caustic potash had been added.
7. (Dr Hager.) Copaiba which is adulterated with Gurgun balsam is not
quite clear, and frequently exhibits prisms of gurginic acid under the
microscope. The author states that the adulteration may be easily detected
by mixing the suspected sample with four volumes of petroleum ether; the
mixture at once becomes turbid, and gradually deposits a sediment, which,
after half an hour's settling, occupies the same volume as the copaiba
operated upon. A mixture of pure copaiba with petroleum ether is clear at
first, and either remains clear upon standing or it deposits after several
hours a very slight sediment, which merely covers the bottom of the test
tube like a thin film. Benzol may be used in place of petroleum ether.
8. (Muter.) Three to four grams of the sample are weighed into a clean,
dry flask, and saponified on the water bath with 50 c. c. of alcohol, and
a lump of caustic soda weighing not less than 5 grams. When all is
dissolved water is added, and the whole washed into a half-pint basin, so
as to nearly fill it, and evaporated to 100 c. c. over a low gas flame.
Dilute sulphuric acid is then added till the whole just becomes
permanently turbid, and then solution of caustic soda is dropped in till
it just clears again. By this means a solution is obtained with the least
possible excess of alkali, and with a good amount of sodium sulphate. The
whole is now to be evaporated to _perfect dryness_ on the water bath,
stirring towards the end, so that the sulphate may mix with the soaps, and
produce an easy pulverulent residue. The residue is moved from the basin
into a small, wide-mouthed, stoppered bottle, treated with 70 c. c. of
ether-alcohol, and well shaken up. As soon as it is fairly settled the
fluid is filtered off through a _quick_ filter, and this is repeated with
two successive quantities of 70 c. c., making 210 c. c. in all of the
solvent used. The residue in the bottle and in the filter now consists of
sodium oleate and sulphate if the balsam be impure, and of the latter only
if pure, with a little trace of the insoluble resin soap already referred
to. The contents of the bottle and filter are then dissolved in warm
water, and after heating until all smell of ether is gone the whole is
boiled freely acidulated with hydrochloric acid, and set to cool.
If, when cold, nothing but a few specks of brown resin should rise to the
surface, the balsam is pure; but if an oily layer be formed it is
adulterated, and the smell of the separated oleic acid will at once
determine whether it is actually castor oil or not.
In the case of the presence of oil, 2 grams of pure and dry white wax are
added, and the whole heated till the wax melts with the oleic acid. On
cooling, a solid cake is formed, which is detached from the side of the
beaker, and the fluid below passed through a filter. The cake is once more
melted in boiling water, cooled, detached, dried by gentle pressure
between blotting paper, dried in a water-oven in a weighed platinum dish,
and then weighed, and the weight of the wax used deducted. The beaker,
filter, rod, &c., used are, if at all dirty, dried, extracted with ether,
and the residue left, after evaporation, weighed and added to the total.