Tinctura Opii (U. S. P.)—Tincture of Opium.

Related entry: Opium (U. S. P.)—Opium

SYNONYMS: Laudanum, Tinctura meconii, Tinctura thebaica.

Preparation.—"Powdered opium, one hundred grammes (100 Gm.) [3 ozs. av., 231 grs.]; precipitated calcium phosphate, fifty grammes (50 Gm.) [1 oz. av., 334 grs.]; water, four hundred cubic centimeters (400 Cc.) [13 fl℥, 252♏]; alcohol, four hundred cubic centimeters (400 Cc.) [13 fl℥, 252♏]; diluted alcohol, a sufficient quantity to make one thousand cubic centimeters (1000 Cc.) [33 fl℥, 391♏]. Rub the powders, in a mortar, with the water previously heated to the temperature of 90° C. (194° F.), until a smooth mixture is made, and macerate for 12 hours; then add the alcohol, mix thoroughly, and transfer the whole to a cylindrical percolator. Return to the percolator the first portion of the percolate, until it runs through clear, and, when the liquid ceases to drop, gradually pour on diluted alcohol, continuing the percolation slowly, until one thousand cubic centimeters (1000 Cc.) [33 fl℥, 391♏] of tincture are obtained"—(U. S. P.).

History and Description.—This tincture is universally known in this and other English-speaking countries as laudanum. It has been known throughout Europe as Laudanum Liquidum Simplex, in contradistinction to solid opium preparations, which were also called by the name laudanum, usually with some qualifying term, as Laudanum Antihystericum, etc. Tincture of opium has a deep red-brown color, and the characteristic odor and taste of opium. Lest concentration take place, through evaporation of its alcohol, it should be kept in securely-stoppered bottles. Each fluid drachm represents 5.7 grains of dry opium, or 1 grain of opium in about 10.5 minims of the tincture.

In preparing this tincture, it is essential that well-dried opium should be used, to insure a full-strength product, and it should be in a finely-powdered form. The admixture with calcium phosphate aids in its percolation, which could not otherwise be readily accomplished with diluted alcohol. The percolate passes slowly, and about 60 per cent of the opium constituents are obtained in solution by the use of the diluted alcohol. The Pharmacopoeia directs the drug to be macerated 12 hours previous to percolation. Twice that length of time, however, will better insure the complete disintegration of the opium. After completion of the percolation, water should abstract nothing from the dried residue, and only mere traces of alkaloids, or their compounds, should be abstracted by diluted acids.

VALUATION.—"If 100 Cc. of tincture of opium be assayed by the process immediately following, it should yield from 1.3 to 1.5 Gm. of crystallized morphine"—(U. S. P.).

ASSAY OF TINCTURE OF OPIUM.—"Tincture of opium, one hundred cubic centimeters (100 Cc.) [3 fl℥, 183♏] ammonia water, three and five-tenths cubic centimeters (3.5 Cc.) [57♏]; alcohol, ether, water, each, a sufficient quantity. Evaporate the tincture to about 20 Cc., add 40 Cc. of water, mix thoroughly, and set the liquid aside for an hour, occasionally stirring, and disintegrate the resinous flakes adhering to the capsule. Then filter, and wash the filter and residue with water, until all soluble matters are extracted, collecting the washings separately. Evaporate in a tared capsule, first, the washings to a small volume, then add the first filtrate, and evaporate the whole to a weight of 14 Gm. Rotate the concentrated solution about in the capsule until the rings of extract are redissolved, pour the liquid into a tared Erlenmeyer flask having a capacity of about 100 Cc., and rinse the capsule with a few drops of water at a time, until the entire solution weighs 20 Gm. Then add 10 Gm. (or 12.2 Cc.) of alcohol, shake well, add 25 Cc. of ether, and shake again. Now add the ammonia water from a graduated pipette or burette, stopper the flask with a sound cork, shake it thoroughly during 10 minutes, and then set it aside, in a moderately cool place, for at least 6 hours, or over night. Remove the stopper carefully, and, should any crystals adhere to it, brush them into the flask. Place in a small funnel 2 rapidly acting filters, of a diameter of 7 Cm., plainly folded, one within the other (the triple fold of the inner filter being laid against the single side of the outer filter), wet them well with ether, and decant the ethereal solution as completely as possible upon the inner filter. Add 10 Cc. of ether to the contents of the flask, rotate it, and again decant the ethereal layer upon the inner filter. Repeat this operation with another portion of 10 Cc. of ether. Then pour into the filter the liquid in the flask, in portions, in such a way as to transfer the greater portion of the crystals to the filter, and, when this has passed through, transfer the remaining crystals to the filter by washing the flask with several portions of water, using not more than about 10 Cc. in all. Allow the double filter to drain, then apply water to the crystals, drop by drop, until they are practically free from mother water, and afterward wash them, drop by drop from a pipette, with alcohol previously saturated with powdered morphine. When this has passed through, displace the remaining alcohol by ether, using about 10 Cc., or more, if necessary. Allow the filter to dry in a moderately warm place, at a temperature not exceeding 60° C. (140° F.), until its weight remains constant, then carefully transfer the crystals to a tared watch-glass and weigh them. The weight found represents the amount of crystallized morphine obtained from 100 Cc. of the tincture"—(U.S. P.).

Action, Medical Uses, and Dosage.—This tincture, occasionally termed Tinctura Thebaica, possesses the medicinal virtues of opium, and may be used in all cases where the drug is indicated, in doses of from 5 to 30 drops (see Opium).

Related Preparations.—TINCTURA OPII ACETATA. If diluted acetic acid be employed instead of water, it will form a much better tincture of opium, and one less liable to vary in strength (TINCTURA OPII ACETATA, or Acetated Tincture of Opium), and which may be given in the same doses as above. It is, however, seldom prescribed at the present day. The U. S. P. (1870) directed 2 troy ounces of dry-powdered opium to be macerated for 7 days in a mixture of 8 fluid ounces of alcohol and 12 fluid ounces of distilled vinegar; express and filter. Twenty fluid ounces are obtained. One grain of opium is contained in each 10 minims.

TINCTURA OPII MURIATICA.—In a mixture of hydrochloric acid, 1 fluid ounce, and water, 15 fluid ounces, macerate 1 ounce of powdered opium for 14 days, and filter. Then add sufficient water to make 1 pint of tincture. No alcohol is present. This is not quite half as strong as tincture of opium.

TINCTURA PAPAVERIS (N. F.), Tincture of poppy.—"Poppy capsules, freed from seeds, and in coarse powder, five hundred grammes (500 Gm.) [1 lb. av., 1 oz., 279 grs.]; glycerin, one hundred and twenty-five cubic centimeters (125 Cc.) [4 fl℥, 109♏]; alcohol, water, of each, a sufficient quantity to make one thousand cubic centimeters (1000 Cc.) [33 fl℥, 391♏]. Digest the poppy capsules with three thousand cubic centimeters (3000 Cc.) [101 fl℥, 212♏] of boiling water during 2 hours, then express and strain. Evaporate the strained liquid to five hundred cubic centimeters (500 Cc. [16 fl℥, 435♏], mix it with two hundred and fifty cubic centimeters (250 Cc.) [8 fl℥, 218♏] of alcohol, and set the mixture aside, well covered, until it is quite cold. Then filter, add the glycerin to the filtrate, and pass enough of a mixture of two (2) volumes of water and one (1) volume of alcohol through the filter, to make the product measure one thousand cubic centimeters (1000 Cc.) [33 fl℥, 391♏]. Each fluid drachm represents 30 grains of poppy (capsule) freed from seeds"—(Nat. Form.).

Tinctura Opii Deodorati (U. S. P.)—Tincture of Deodorized Opium.

SYNONYM: Tinctura opii deodorata (U. S. P., 1880).

Preparation.—"Powdered opium, one hundred grammes (100 Gm.) [3 ozs., av., 231 grs.]; precipitated calcium phosphate, fifty grammes (50 Gm.) [1 oz. av., 334 grs.]; ether, two hundred cubic centimeters (200 Cc.) [6 fl℥, 366♏] alcohol, two hundred cubic centimeters (200 Cc.) [6 fl℥, 366♏]; water, a sufficient quantity to make one thousand cubic centimeters (1000 Cc.) [33 fl℥, 391♏]. Rub the powders in a mortar with four hundred cubic centimeters (400 Cc.) [13 fl℥, 252♏] of water, previously heated to the temperature of 90° C. (194° F.), until a smooth mixture is made, and macerate for 12 hours; then pour the mixture on a filter, or transfer it to a cylindrical percolator, and gradually pour on water until the opium is practically exhausted. Reduce the percolate, by evaporation on a water-bath, to one hundred cubic centimeters (100 Cc.) [3 fl℥, 183♏], and, when it has cooled, shake it repeatedly with the ether in a bottle. When the ethereal solution has separated by standing, pour it off, and evaporate the remaining liquid until all traces of ether have disappeared. Mix the residue with five hundred cubic centimeters (500 Cc.) [16 fl℥, 435♏] of water, and filter the mixture through paper. When the liquid has ceased to pass, add enough water, through the filter, to make the filtered liquid measure eight hundred cubic centimeters (800 Cc.) [27 fl℥, 25♏]. Lastly, add the alcohol, and mix them"—(U.S. P.).

Test.—"If 100 Cc. of tincture of deodorized opium be assayed by the process given under Tinctura Opii, it should yield from 1.3 to 1.5 Gm. of crystallized morphine"—(U. S. P.).

Several elixirs of opium and a denarcotized tincture of opium are upon the market, which this preparation is designed to displace. Tincture of denarcotized opium contains the same amount of opium as tincture of opium, i.e., 1 grain in about every 10.5 minims. It is not so dark in color as laudanum. The drug is deprived of its narcotine and odor-giving principles by means of the ether employed. This is successfully, though somewhat difficultly, performed by following the official directions. The trouble is due to the formation of an emulsion produced by shaking together the concentrated aqueous preparation and the ether. This may be avoided, according to Prof. Maisch, if the opium be first denarcotized and deodorized, and an infusion made and evaporated to the necessary quantity, and the requisite amount of alcohol added to bring the tincture to the desired strength. Benzin has been suggested to denarcotize and deodorize this preparation, but it is not suitable, as it leaves its own disagreeable odor.

Action, Medical Uses, and Dosage.—(See Opium.) Dose, from 10 to 20 minims.

Related Preparation.—The following was offered to the profession by Eugene Dupuy, a pharmacist of New York, as a substitute for McMunn's Elixir of Opium. It is said that none of the unpleasant effects attributed to laudanum have as yet attended its administration: Take of opium, 10 drachms, make it into a thin pulp, with a sufficient quantity of water; then allow the mixture to stand in a cool place 48 hours, after which transfer it to an elongated glass funnel containing filtering paper, and add a superstratum of water equivalent to the bulk of the whole mass. When 12 ounces of liquid have filtered, add to the filtered solution alcohol (95 per cent), 4 ounces. The solution is an aqueous solution of opium, nearly free from narcotine, preserved by alcohol, and contains about two-thirds of the substance of the opium—the residue consisting chiefly of resin, narcotine, caoutchouc, ligneous matter, etc.

Tinctura Opii Camphorata (U. S. P.)—Camphorated Tincture of Opium.

Related entry: Compound Mixture of Bloodroot

SYNONYMS: Paregoric, Elixir paregoricum, Paregoric elixir.

Preparation.—"Powdered opium, four grammes (4 Gm.) [62 grs. benzoic acid, four grammes (4 Gm.) [62 grs.]; camphor, four grammes (4 Gm.) [62 grs.]; oil of anise, four cubic centimeters (4 Cc.) [65♏]; glycerin, forty cubic centimeters (40 Cc.) [1 fl℥, 169♏]; diluted alcohol, a sufficient quantity to make one thousand cubic centimeters (1000 Cc.) [33 fl℥, 391♏]. Add nine hundred cubic centimeters (900 Cc.) [30 fl℥, 208♏] of diluted alcohol to the other ingredients, contained in a suitable vessel, and macerate for 3 days, shaking frequently; then filter through paper, in a well-covered funnel, and pass enough diluted alcohol through the filter to make the product measure one thousand cubic centimeters (1000 Cc.) [33 fl℥, 391♏]"—(U. S. P.). This tincture has a brown-yellow color, a sweetish and somewhat bitter, sharply aromatic taste, and an odor resembling that of camphor and anise combined. In reaction it is acid, and, when added to water, renders the latter milky. It contains, in every 263 minims, 1 grain of opium. True benzoic acid should be preferred to that made from the urine of herbivorous animals.

Action, Medical Uses, and Dosage.—This is a very valuable and useful opiate, which is efficient in allaying troublesome cough, nausea, whooping-cough, slight gastric and intestinal pains; to cause sleep, and palliate diarrhoea. The dose for an adult is 1 to 2 fluid drachms; for an infant, 5 to 10 or 20 drops.

Related Preparations.—The liquids known by the names of Godfrey's Cordial, and Bateman's Drops, two very dangerous articles in the hands of nurses and many non-professional persons, are generally prepared as follows:

GODFREY'S CORDIAL.—Dissolve carbonate of potassium, 6 drachms, in water, 6 1/2 pints; add sugar-house molasses, 4 pints, and gently heat them to form a solution, removing any scum which floats upon the surface. Remove from the fire and add laudanum, 6 fluid ounces; alcohol, 8 fluid ounces, in which has been dissolved 1 fluid drachm of oil of sassafras. A fluid drachm of this cordial is equivalent to somewhat more than 1/4 grain of opium.

BATEMAN'S PECTORAL DROPS.—Take powdered opium, powdered catechu, camphor, red saunders, rasped, each, 2 drachms; oil of anise, 1/2 fluid drachm; diluted alcohol, 4 pints. Mix and macerate for 12 or 14 days. Two fluid drachms are equivalent to about 1/2 grain of opium. The following is the modified formula of the National Formulary:

TINCTURA PECTORALIS (IN. F.), Pectoral tincture, Guttae pectorales, Pectoral drops, Bateman's pectoral drops.—"Tincture of opium (U.S. P.), forty-two cubic centimeters (42 Cc.) [1 fl℥, 202♏]; compound tincture of catechu (U.S. P.), thirty cubic centimeters (30 Cc.) [1 fl℥, 7♏]; spirit of camphor (U. S. P.), forty cubic centimeters (40 Cc.) [1 fl℥, 169♏]; oil of anise, one cubic centimeter (1 Cc.) [16♏]; caramel, sixteen cubic centimeters (16 Cc.) [260♏]; diluted alcohol (U. S. P.), a sufficient quantity to make one thousand cubic centimeters (1000 Cc.) [33 fl℥, 391♏]. Mix the first 5 ingredients with enough diluted alcohol to make one thousand cubic centimeters (1000 Cc.) [33 fl℥, 391♏], and filter. Each fluid drachm contains 2 1/2 minims of tincture of opium"—(Nat. Form.).

TINCTURA OPII AMMONIATA, Ammoniated tincture of opium.—Take of "tincture, of opium, 3 fluid ounces (Imp.), or 150 cubic centimeters (Metric); benzoic acid, 180 grains, or 20.6 grammes; oil of anise, 1 fluid drachm, or 6.25 cubic centimeters; solution of ammonia, 4 fluid ounces, or 200 cubic centimeters; alcohol (90 per cent), a sufficient quantity. Dissolve the oil of anise and the benzoic acid in 12 fluid ounces (or 600 cubic centimeters) of the alcohol; add the tincture of opium and the solution of ammonia; mix well; filter; add enough of the alcohol to form 1 pint (or 1000 cubic centimeters) of the tincture. Dose, 1/2 to 1 fluid drachm. This preparation contains the soluble matter of nearly 0.62 grain of opium (containing 10 per cent of morphine, reckoned as anhydrous) in 1 fluid drachm, or of nearly 5 grains of such opium in 1 fluid ounce"—(Br. Pharm., 1898). This preparation is formulated after the old Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia formula for Elixir Paregoricum Scoticum, or Scotch Paregoric Elixir, and was used to fulfil the same indications that our paregoric is designed to meet. The excess of ammonia employed and the alcohol hold the opium alkaloids in solution in a free condition. A weaker solution of ammonia would be apt to precipitate the morphine. It is an unsatisfactory preparation, and has once been discarded by the British Pharmacopoeia. Being much used by the people of Great Britain, it has been reinstated. About 1 grain of opium is represented in every 90 minims.

King's American Dispensatory, 1898, was written by Harvey Wickes Felter, M.D., and John Uri Lloyd, Phr. M., Ph. D.