COMPOSITION.-The chief constituent is the volatile oil (see below),

about 2 per cent.

Dose, 0.5 gm.; 71⁄2 gr.

Preparation.

Fluidextractum Sabinæ.-Fluidextract of Savine. By maceration and percolation with Alcohol, and evaporation.

Dose, 0.2 c.c.; 3 m.

OLEUM SABINÆ.-Oil of Savine. A volatile oil distilled from the fresh tops of Savine. It should be kept in well-stoppered, ambercolored bottles, in a cool place, protected from light.

It

CHARACTERS.-A colorless or yellowish liquid, having a peculiar terebinthinate odor, and a pungent, bitterish and camphoraceous taste. becomes darker and thicker by age and exposure to the air. Sp. gr., 0.903 to 0.923. Solubility.-Soluble in about one-half volume or more of 90 per cent. Alcohol.

COMPOSITION.-It contains several terpenes.

Dose, 0.05 c.c.; 1 m.

ACTION.

The same general action as oil of turpentine, but more marked. It differs from this in powerfully irritating the ovaries and uterus; it is also an ecbolic.

USES.

The cerate made from the fluidextract has been used as a powerful irritant and counter-irritant. Internally savine may be given as an emmenagogue, but its employment is to be discouraged, as it is liable to cause serious gastro-enteritis.

SUGAR.-C12H22O11 = 339.6.

Synonyms.-Cane Sugar. Sucrose. The refined Sugar obtained from Saccharum officinarum Linné, and from various species or varieties of Sorghum (Fam. Graminea); also from one or more varieties of Beta vulgaris Linné (Fam. Chenopodiaceœ). Habitat.-Southern Asia; cultivated in tropical and subtropical countries. CHARACTERS.-White, dry, hard, distinctly crystalline granules, odorless, and having a purely sweet taste. Permanent in the air. Solubility. -In 0.46 part of water and 0.2 part of boiling water; in 137.2 parts of Alcohol and 28 of boiling Alcohol; insoluble in Ether, Chloroform, or Carbon Disulphide.

IMPURITIES.-Glucose, inverted sugar, insoluble salts, ultramarine, Prussian blue, etc.

Preparation.

Syrupus. Syrup. Sugar, 850; Distilled Water, by solution with heat, and straining to 1000.

Syrup thus prepared has a Sp. gr. of about 1.313. It is used for compound syrups.

ACTION.

Nutrient; demulcent; antiseptic; antiputrefactive, but not antifermentative.

USES.

As a sweetening and preservative agent; molasses and brown sugar are employed in domestic medicine as mild laxatives.

Unofficial Preparation.

LEVULOSUM.

Levulose.-C,H12O6. Synonyms.-Fruit Sugar. Fructose. An isomeric form of glucose, found in honey and in the juice of

1 See Group II, Fungi.

fruits. It is usually a colorless uncrystallizable syrup, nearly as sweet as Cane Sugar and soluble in water. It may be produced from Inulin by diluted acids. With nascent Hydrogen it yields Mannit, and with Nitric Acid it is oxidized into Succinic, Acetic and Oxalic Acids. Under the name of Diabetin it is used in the treatment of diabetes.

AMYLUM.

STARCH.-The starch grains obtained from the fruit of Zea Mays Linné (Fam. Graminea). Habitat.-Tropical Asia and Africa; cultivated in tropical and subtropical countries.

CHARACTERS.-In fine powder or irregular, angular masses, consisting of somewhat spherical, but usually polygonal, grains with a lenticular, circular, or triangular central fissure, the grains about 0.010 to 0.025 mm. in diameter; white, inodorous, and tasteless; insoluble in Alcohol or cold water.

COMPOSITION. Its ultimate composition is CH10O, but it consists of a mixture of various modifications of Starch-cellulose and Starchgranulose.

Preparation.

Glyceritum Amyli.-See Glycerin, p. 468.

ACTION.

Demulcent and nutritive; in the animal economy starch undergoes digestion by ptyalin, pancreatin and the secretion of the intestinal glands, which convert it into soluble dextrine and then into grape-sugar, in which form it passes into the blood.

USES.

Employed principally on account of its mechanical properties, which make it a good basis for dusting powders and insufflations; mucilage of starch is a convenient basis for enemata.

ZEA. Synonym.-Corn-silk.

ZEA.

The dried styles and stigmas of Zea Mays Linné (Fam. Graminea). Habitat.-Tropical America; cultivated in the warm, temperate zone.

CHARACTERS.-Thread-like; 5 to 15 cm. long; yellowish or brownish; nearly inodorous; taste sweetish, with a characteristic flavor.

COMPOSITION.-Its chief constituents are- -(1) Maizenic Acid, about a (2) Fixed oil. (3) Resin. (4) Salts.

per cent.

Unofficial Preparation.

Infusum Zeæ.-Infusion of Zea (60 c.c.; 2 oz., to 500 c.c.; I pint, of boiling water).

Dose, freely.

Diuretic.

ACTION.

USES.

Acute and chronic cystitis; phosphatic gravel; bladder irritation of uric acid. It is possibly a cardiac stimulant in the dropsy of heart disease.

Unofficial Preparation.

HORDEUM DECORTICATUM.

Pearl Barley.-The dried seed of Hordeum distichum (Fam. Graminea) divested of its integuments. Habitat.-Britain. CHARACTERS.-White, rounded, with a light longitudinal furrow.

ACTION.

Demulcent and highly nutritious.

USES.

Inflammatory conditions, especially of the mucous membrane of the stomach or urinary tract; diarrhoea of infants and as an addition to the milk of bottle-fed children.

MALTUM.

MALT. Synonym.-Byne. The grain of barley, Hordeum distichon (Fam. Gramine@), partially germinated artificially, and then dried. It contains the ferment Diastase, which can convert starch into Dextrin and Maltose. Thus 10(CH10O5) + 4H2O = 4C12H22O11, Maltose + (C12H20O10), Dextrin.

CHARACTERS.-Yellowish or amber-colored grains, shading to brown; crisp when fractured; the interior surface whitish, or tinged with brown if the grains have been heated sufficiently to cause caramelization. It

should have an agreeable, characteristic odor and a sweet taste, due to the conversion of the starch in the seed into Maltose. Malt should float on cold water.

EXTRACTUM MALTI.-Extract of Malt. By maceration, dilution with warm water, digestion at a temperature not exceeding 55° C. (131° F.), straining and evaporation by means of a water bath or vacuum apparatus.

CHARACTERS.-It is a sweet, thick, brownish liquid, like honey, forming an emulsion with oils. Most specimens are too viscid for prolonged

use.

COMPOSITION.-This varies very much. The chief constituent is Maltose (C12H22O11); there is also some Dextrin (C2H2O10), some Diatase (unless destroyed by boiling), Albumin, Inorganic salts contained in barley, and sometimes Alcohol.

In all conditions where it is desirable to give a readily assimilable carbohydrate food; particularly indicated in convalescence from acute disorders, in the derangements of the system caused by chronic disease, and in cases of wasting and of poor digestion.

Unofficial Preparation.

TAKA-DIASTASUM.

TAKA-DIASTASE.-A ferment formed by the action of a fungus (Eurotium oryza, of the aspergillus family) upon steamed rice. It is a yellowish-white, highly hygroscopic powder, nearly tasteless, and freely soluble in water. Its action resembles very closely that of saliva, and it is capable of digesting over one hundred times its own weight of starch. It ceases to act in the gastric juice as soon as the acidity exceeds 0.1

per cent.

Dose, .30 to .60 gm.; 5 to 10 gr.

TRITICUM.

TRITICUM. Synonym.-Couch-Grass. The dried rhizome of Agropyrum repens (Linné) Beauvois (Fam. Graminea), gathered in the spring. Habitat.-Europe and North America.