British Pharmaceutical Codex

HaO). Quinine salicylate, 2[B. CgH4(OH)(COOH)]. HaO, forms colourless needles, m.p. 187° (dec.), which slowly become pink in air. It is soluble in water (1 in 77 at 25°), alcohol (1 in 11 at 25°), or chloroform (1 in 37 at 25°). The foregoing are the most important quinine salts used in medicine, but many other salts have been used, e.g., the tannate, formate, valerate, ethylcarbonate, lactate, cacodylate, etc., as well as double salts such as quinine bismuth iodide. Descriptions of many of these salts will be found in the British Pharmaceutical Codex for 1934. 

For commercial Ephedra the British Pharmaceutical Codex, 1934, specifies a total alkaloidal content of not less than 1-25 per cent, when assayed by the method therein prescribed. The proportion of Z-ephedrine is generally about 70 per cent. Methods of assay for total alkaloids are described by Feng and Read and by Krishna and Chose, who discuss the various difficulties involved and comments on these and other methods have been made by various workers. Conditions affecting the results of such assays have also been discussed by T ang and Wang, and Brownlee has shown that chloroform is not a suitable medium for the assay since it converts ephedrine quickly and 0-ephedrine slowly to the hydrochloride. 

A classical example of medicinal Rubiaceae of Asian origin is Uncaria gambir (Hunter ) Roxb., from which is extracted an astringent extract (catechu, British Pharmaceutical Codex, 1963), employed for the treatment of diarrhea. 

A classic example of a medicinal plant of Asia and the Pacific with GABAergic properties is Piper methysticum Forst. (Kava, British Pharmaceutical Codex, 1934), or kava-kava, the rhizomes of which have been used since a very early period of time by Polynesians to allay anxiety and reduce fatigue. Kava has been marketed in Europe to treat sleep disorders and anxiety. The beverage normally induces a form of euphoria, described as a happy state of complete comfort and peace, with ease of conversation... 

Note that the dried rhizome of Cimicifuga racemosa (British Pharmaceutical Codex, 1934 black cohosh) has been used as a bitter and mild expectorant in the form of a liquid alcoholic extract (1 in 1 dose 0.3-2 mL) and is sold as alternative remedy for the treatment of menopausal syndrome at dose of 40-80 mg/day. The active constituents of black cohosh, and, therefore, the precise molecular mechanism of action involved in the climacteric property of Cimicifuga racemosa, are still unknown. The most recent data suggest that the plant is not estrogenic sensu stricto (126). 

The contribution of Rubiaceae to Western pharmaceuticals and medicine is substantial because it is the source for Uncaria gambier (Hunt.) Roxb. (Catechu, British Pharmaceutical Codex, 1963), Cephaelis ipecacuanha (Brot.) A. Rich. (uragoga ipecacuanha, Brazilian ipecacuanha), or Cephaelis acuminata Karsten (Cartagena ipecacuanha) (Ipecacuanha, British Pharmacopeia, 1963), Cinchona calisaya (yellow... 

The family Hamamelidaceae consists of 26 genera and about 100 species of shrubs or tress known to contain tannins and iridoids. The leaves are alternate, simple, and often palmately lobed. The flowers are small and appear in spikes. The fruits are woody, capsular, and scepticidal. In Western medicine, the dried leaves of Hamamelis virginiana (hamamelis, British Pharmaceutical Codex, 1963), yielding not less that 20% of alcohol (45%)-soluble extractive, have been used as astringents for the treatment of hemorrhoids. Hamamelis water (British Pharmaceutical Codex, 1969) made from the stems has been used as a cooling application to sprains and bruises and as a styptic remedy. It is also used in cosmetics and as active ingredient of eye lotions. 

In the Asia-Pacific region, AItingia excelsa Noronha (Liquidambar altingiana Bl.), Alan-gia gracilipes Hemsl. (Amyris ambrosiaca L.f.), Liquidambar orientalis Mill, and Liquidambar formosana Hance are of medicinal value. The purified basalm obtained from the trunk of Liquidambar orientalis Mill, or prepared storax (British Pharmaceutical Codex, 1969) has been used similarly as Peru basalm in the form of an ointment to treat scabies and other skin diseases, and as an ingredient of Compound Benzoin Tincture. 

There is an expanding body of evidence to suggest that diterpene quinone of Salvia species might represent a pool of potential inhibitors of topoisomerase. Diterpenoid quinones have been characterized from Salvia officinalis (sage, British Pharmaceutical Codex, 1934), Salvia texana, Salvia regal, Salvia moorciuftiana, and Salvia lanata (44-47). 

In ancient times, poison-hemlock seed was collected green, dried and stored to be used medicinally as a sedative. The dried leaf and juice of Conium maculatum L. (Hemlock) were listed in pharmacopoeias of London and Edinburgh from 1864 to 1898, and the last official record appeared in Great Britain in the British Pharmaceutical Codex of 1934. Interest in the medicinal value of poison-hemlock has declined because of the unpredictability of its effects. The unpredictability is now understood, the toxin profile and concentration in the plant and green seed can vary dramatically because of environmental factors or, even, diurnally. 

The committee classified products subject to monographs in the British Pharmacopoeia (BP), British Pharmaceutical Codex (BPC) and the British National Formulary (BNF) as Category M-Products. Acceptable products other than monograph preparations were Category A-Products. All other products were Category B-Products, these were considered less effective or more toxic than those in Categories M or A or their efficacy was regarded as unproven. 

The effect of Salix alba L. (white willow) is largely owed to a glycoside, salicin. Salicin is antipyretic and analgesic and has been used in the treatment of rheumatic fever (salicilin tablets British Pharmaceutical Codex, 1949). In 1893, Felix Hofmann, a chemist working for the Bayer chemical company in Germany, first synthesized acetyl-salicylic acid, the acetylated form of salicin. Aspirin is one of the most commonly used pharmaceuticals containing salicin. Today, the main commercial sources of salicin are Salix fragilis and Salix purpurea (Salicaceae), which are native to Eurasia. 

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