Edward Morell Holmes

“ But there are many substances in the Pharmacopoeia which are not only employed in medicine, but have other uses, such as sulphur, benzoin, tragacanth, gum arabic, ammonium carbonate, beeswax, oil of turpentine, linseed oil, and for these a commercial standard of purity as distinct from a medicinal one is needed, since the preparations used in medicine should be of the highest possible degree of purity obtainable, and this standard would be too high and too expensive for ordinary purposes. ”

“ It appears probable, however, that the growth of pharmaceutical chemistry will indicate, in time, which of those in use form the most active and trustworthy preparations, while the general adoption of the metric system will lead to clearer approximation of strength than hitherto. The method adopted by the Portuguese Pharmacopoeia comes nearest to that uniformity which is so desirable in such preparations, as the tinctures of the fresh plants are all prepared with equal parts of the drug and alcoholic menstruum ”

“ Probably more dependence is to be placed on careful selection of the drug, and skill in its preparation and preservation by the retail pharmacist, who should be personally responsible for the quality and purity of the preparations he sells. Although the attempt to form an international pharmacopoeia has failed, a project for an imperial pharmacopoeia which should be adapted to the general and local requirements of all parts of the British Empire has met with better success. ”

“ For many drugs and chemicals not in the Pharmacopoeia there is no standard of purity that can be used under the Adulteration of Food and Drugs Act, and for these, as well as for the commercial quality of those drugs and essential oils which are also in the Pharmacopoeia, a legal standard of commercial purity is much needed. ”

“ Another legal difficulty connected with modern pharmacopoeias is the inclusion in some of them of synthetic chemical remedies, the processes for preparing which have been patented, whilst the substances are sold under trade mark names such as veronal. The scientific chemical name is often long and unwieldy, and the physician prefers when writing a prescription to use the shorter name under which it is sold by the patentees. ”

“ The great increase of medical literature and international exchange of medical journals has led to the adoption in almost every country of all the really valuable remedial agents, and the more extended use of active principles has given rise to an approximation in strength of their solutions. ”

“ International Pharmacopoeia.—Increased facilities for travel have brought into greater prominence the importance of an approach to uniformity in the formulae of the more powerful remedies, in order to avoid danger to patients when a prescription is dispensed in a different country from that in which it was written. ”

“ The greatest stumbling blocks in the way of uniformity are the tinctures and extracts—a class of preparations containing many very powerful drugs, but in which the same name does not always indicate the same thing ”

“ The majority omit chemical formulae. An alphabetical arrangement is followed in all. The maximum doses of preparations are given in several pharmacopoeias and the physician must indicate on his prescription, if he exceeds this limit, by using a note of exclamation after each article, that he purposely intends such a dose to be employed. ”