Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Thomson's Conspectus of the British pharmacopoeias. Source: Wellcome Collection.
186/248 page 158
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Thomson's Conspectus of the British pharmacopoeias. Source: Wellcome Collection.
![VALERIaNAS SODiE. D. Valerianate of Soda. (Potassa Bichro* matis contritce 3jx., Alcoholis Amylici fSjv., Acidi Sulphurici Vrnalis f3vjss., Aquce cong. ss., Solutionis Sodce Causticce Oj., vel quantum satis sit.) Dilute the oil of vitriol with f^x., and dissolve with the aid of heat the bichromate of potash in the remainder of the water. Place the solutions, when cooled to nearly the temperature of the atmosphere, in a matrass ; add the fused oil; mix well by repeated shaking, until the temperature of the mixture, which first rises to about 150°, has fallen to 80° or 90°. The matrass being now con- nected with a condenser, heat is to be applied, so as to distil over about half a gallon of liquid. Saturate with the solution of caustic soda, remove the oil on the surface, and evaporate until the residual salt is partially liquefied, the escape of aqueous vapour having entirely ceased. The heat should now be withdrawn, and when the valerianate of soda has concreted, it is, while still warm, to be divided into frag- ments, and preserved in a well-stopped bottle.) Comp. 1 equiv. of valerianic acid and 1 equiv. of soda.* Prop. Generally obtained in white fragments, soluble in water, with a feeble odour of valerian, and a mawkish taste, becoming pasty on ex- posure to the air. When dissolved in water there is no film of oil on the surface. Oper. Stimulant and antispasmodic. The salts of valerianic acid are more certain in their operation than the preparations of the herb itself. Dose. Gr. ss. to gr. ij. Incomp. Alkalies, earthy and metallic oxide, and salts of iron. VALERIaNAS ZINCI. D. Valerianate of Zinc. ( Valerianatis Soda: Sijss^, Zinci Sulphatis 3ij- 3vij., Aquce distillatce Oij. Dissolve the valerianate of soda in one half, and the sulphate of zinc in the remain- ing half of the water ; and having raised both solutions to 200°, mix them, and skim off the crystals which are produced. Let the solution be now evaporated at a temperature not exceeding 200°, until it is reduced to the bulk of fjjv., removing, as before, the crystals from the surface; the salt thus procured is to be steeped for an hour in as much cold distilled water as is just sufficient to cover it, and then transferred to a paper filter, on which it is to be first drained, and then dried at a heat not exceeding 100°. Comp. 1 equiv. of valerianic acid and 1 eq. of oxide of zinc. Prop. Minute white crystals, when pure; brilliant and tabular. Soluble in hot water, less so in cold, in alcohol, ether, and oils. Decomposed at 300°, and above that burns with a strong empyreumatic odour, and the residue is a carbonaceous oxide of zinc. Readily decomposed by other acids. Oper. Tonic, antispasmodic. Use. In hysteria, chorea, epilepsy, neuralgia. Dose. Gr. f to gr. ij. thrice a day. Incomp. Acids, soluble carbonates ; most metallic salts and astringent vegetable infusions and decoctions. VERATRIA. L. E. Veratria. (An alkali prepared from Asagrsea officinalis.) Comp. 34 eq. carbon=208 08+22 eq. hydrogen=22+l eq. nitrogen= 14-5+6 eq. oxygen=48, equiv.=292'58. (C24 H22 O^N.) Prop. An acrid, whitish, inodorous powder, having an alkaline reac- tion ; very slightly soluble in water, more so in ether, but most of all in rectified spirit; irritates the nose. Oper. A powerful topical excitant. Use. Externally applied as an ointment in neuralgia, and in gouty and rheumatic paralysis. Dose. Not more than one-twelfth of a grain. VERATRUM. L. E. D. White Hellebore Root. (Polygam. Moncecia. N. O. Melanthacece. North of Europe. ]}.)](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b20407142_0188.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
