Pharmaceutical formulas : being The chemist and druggist̕s book of useful recipes for the drug-trade collated chiefly from The chemist and druggist and The chemists̕ and druggists̕ diaries / by Peter MacEwan.

Date:: 1911

Credit: Pharmaceutical formulas : being The chemist and druggist̕s book of useful recipes for the drug-trade collated chiefly from The chemist and druggist and The chemists̕ and druggists̕ diaries / by Peter MacEwan. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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$old fable that the chief component of the preparation is oil of ben, an oil obtained from the seeds of Schleichera trijuga, Willd., by expression or by boiling the bruised seeds in water and skimming off the oil which rises to the surface. This oil was, according to Mr. Robert Glenk, formerly imported into the United States, but latterly what found its way there was composed of cocoanut oil in which the blossoms of ylang- ylang, Cananga odorata, or of the false ylang-ylang, Mtchelia Champaca, had been digested. Now, ordinary oils under the same name, suitably perfumed and frequently coloured red with alkanet, have entirely replaced the natural product. Mr. Glenk received a small sample of true oil of ben from Mirzapore, and found that at the ordinary temperature it is semi-solid, of a yellowish-white appearance, with a weak odour of bitter almonds. It has a mildly acrid taste and an acid reaction to litmus-paper. It is completely liquefied at 82° F., and solidifies at about 50° F. The oil has a specific gravity of 0-942. A formula for preparing a so-called ‘ macassar oil for the hair,’ which has given great satisfaction to those who have used it, is the following :— Castor oil Rectified spirit Oil of nutmeg. Oil of rosemary Oil of sweet marjoram Oil of neroli . Otto of rose . Essence of musk Alkanet . Mix. The following are other examples of formulas recommended : I II Olive oil . . gxxxij. Olive oil . 5X.\xij. Alkanet . §ij. Alkannin • 5j- Oil of lemon . . 5SS. j Oil of cinnamon . itlxv. Oil of cinnamon 11I.XV. Oil of cloves . 7H.XV. Oil of cloves . . iiixv. Oil of rose-geranium nixx. Otto of rose . . . iti,v. ' Oil of bergamot . niv. Colour the olive oil by digesting Otto of rose . . niv. the alkanet in it for an hour on a ‘ Dissolve the alkannin in the olive water-bath, filter. and add the per- ] oil and mix with the other in- fumes. , gredients. O' j IP)- uixxx. in.x. in.x. * ITIX. 1T1.XX. sufficient to colour$