Medicines, their uses and mode of administration : including a complete conspectus of the three British pharmacopoeias, an account of all the new remedies, and an appendix of formulae / by J. Moore Neligan.
- John Neligan
- Date:
- 1849
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Medicines, their uses and mode of administration : including a complete conspectus of the three British pharmacopoeias, an account of all the new remedies, and an appendix of formulae / by J. Moore Neligan. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)
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![third or fourth hour. An excellent mixture in the profuse sweating of hectic. Acidum Gallicum.—Gallic Acid. A peculiar acid developed in nut-galls, by the decomposition of tannin, under the influence of air and moisture. Preparation.— Take of nut-galls, coarsely powdered and the finer pow- der separated from them, Ibx.; treat the coarse powder first with cold and then with boiling water in three successive portions, until the whole of the soluble part is dissolved out; express the mass; mix the solutions thus ob- tained, filter, and evaporate to nearly the consistence of a soft extract. Add this extract in small portions at a time to a boiling ley of soda of the density of 140, until all alkaline reaction ceases. When cold, saturaie with hydro- chloric acid, and a mass of brownish crystals of gallic acid will be pre- cipitated. Separate these crystals by filtration, wash with cold water, and boil them with animal charcoal. Finally, dissolve in alcohol and crystallize. By employing tannin instead of powdered galls, pure gallic acid may be more readily obtained. Buchner. Physical Properties. —Gallic acid crystallizes in brilliant, satiny, yellowish-white needles, which are unalterable in the air. It is in- odorous, but has a slightly acidulous styptic taste, leaving a sweetish impression on the mouth. Chemical Properties.—Its composition in the crystalline state is C7 H O3 -f- 3 HO. It is very sparingly soluble in cold water or in ether, requires but 3 parts of boiling water for its solution, and is also very soluble in alcohol. It reddens litmus paper, and forms bibasic salts with oxides. When pure it does not precipitate gelatine, by which characteristic it may be distinguished from tannic acid, but like the latter, it gives a bluish-black precipitate with the sesqui-salts of iron. By Buchner's process given above, 75 per cent of gallic acid is procured from galls, and from 50 to 60 per cent from tannin. Therapeutical Effects.—Gallic acid is a powerful astringent, its effects being particularly manifested on the urinary organs, which is directly proved by the fact of its presence in the urine of those who have taken it, being readily manifested by the addition of a sesqui-salt of iron to that secretion, a few hours after the acid has been swallow- ed. It is, therefore, a remedy of great value in all forms of hemorrhage from the kidneys or bladder, provided no inflammatory symptoms are present. Its administration is also deserving of a trial in Bright's disease of the kidney, especially in cases where blood is present in the urine. Dr. Locock of London and Dr. Simpson of Edinburgh, have found it a useful astringent in some forms of uterine hemorrhage. Dose and Mode of Administration.—Gr. v. to gr. x. two or three times a day, in the form of pill, or suspended in water by means of mucilage. Incompatibles. —The sesqui-salts of iron. Acidum sulphuricum venalEj D. Acidum sulphuricum, [U. S.] L. E. Commercial sulphuric acid; (Specific gravity, 1-850 ; D.— 1-845; [U. S.] L. 1-840 ; E.) Oil of Vitrol Preparation.—The method of preparing sulphuric acid, is described in all elementary works on chemistry. The Dublin and Edinburgh Colleges have given formulas for purifying the acid, in order to obtain it free from](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b21143602_0058.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
