Vehicles are used to Preparing Medicines

Sugar of Milk or Milk Sugar

Molecular Weight: – 360.3

Milk Sugar or, Sugar of Milk is also known as “Saccrharum Lactis” in Latin. Where Saccharum means Sugar and Lactis means Milk.

It is the most important vehicles. It is prepared from goat’s milk. Milk contains protein, fats, carbohydrates, mineral salts, and water. Practically it has no any medicinal value. It has hard crystalline particles, so it undergoes a thorough grinding with the original drug. It is easily available in the powder form.

Process of preparation: –

Step –1: Fresh goat’s milk is taken. It is allowed to stand still till the cream floats over. It is skimmed to remove most of the fat portion of the milk. Now, fat free skimmed milk is treated with HCl dil, to precipitate the ‘Casein’. The casein is to be removed by filtration. The remaining filtrate is called ‘Whey’. Add lime with the Whey and adjust to a pH 6.2. The ‘Whey’ is heated properly for coagulating the remaining albuminous matter and filtered. The filtered contains the milk sugar and the mineral salts. It is concentrated in vacuum pans, when crude milk sugar crystallizes out. The crystals are redissolved in purified water and decolourised with animal charcoals. Then at last the solution is recrustallised. These crystals are ‘commercial lactose’.

Step – II: – The commercial Lactose again requires more purification and hence it is purified as under: –

Dissolve 450 gms. of commercial lactose in 2 litres of purified boiling water. Filter the solution when warm. Then mix it with 2 litres of absolute alcohol and keep for 4 days in a tightly closed jar. After this the milk sugar will crystallize out, and the crystals are collected. Wash the crystal properly with purified water and then mix with some alcohol. Now, these crystals are dried and to be kept in a well closed vessel.

Step – III: – The above lactose to be again purified to get good quality. For, this dissolves the whole lactose in least quantity of boiling purified water. Filter it and add equal quantity of absolute alcohol. The solution is now precipitated. The precipitous are collected, washed and dried as above, now it is ready for uses.

Properties of Milk Sugar: –

1. It is milky white, hard crystalline mass or powder.
2. It is odourless and faintly sweet.
3. By touching feels sandy.
4. Solution in water is neutral to litmus.
5. It is soluble in water but insoluble in alcohol (One part of milk sugar is soluble well in five parts of purified water and 2.6 parts of boiling water).
6. When heated it melts, sweets and burn, evolving an odour of burnt sugar and leaving a bulky carbonaceous residue.
7. When heated with a solution of potassium cupri-tartarate, a precipitate of cuprous oxide is formed.

Tests for impurities: –

Generally we should perform a test to find out the impurities of milk sugar. Test is done to detect presence of starch, cane sugar, alum, phosphate of sodium etc. as below: –

1. a) Take its aqueous solution, add a solution of iodine, if starch will be present in the milk sugar, the solution will turn blue.
2. b) In case sugar is present in the milk sugar, the milk sugar will be sweeter because lactose is less sweet than cane sugar. If cane sugar were 100 times sweeter, the lactose will be only 16 times.
3. c) To detect the presence of alum, take aqueous solution of milk sugar, ass a little solution of “alkaline hydrate’. A white precipitate will issue.
4. d) Presence of phosphate of sodium is determined by adding a solution of silver ammonia nitrate to the aqueous solution of milk sugar. A light yellow precipitate will issue, which is soluble in cold dilute Nitric acid.

To confirm the purity of sugar of milk sometimes we even hold the following tests: –

Take aqueous solution of sugar of milk. Warm it with an equal volume of sodium hydroxide. It will turn yellow then brownish red. If we will add a few drops of Cupric Sulphate to this solution, the copper will reduced and a red precipitate of Cuprous Oxide will form.

If cane sugar is mixed with milk sugar, the more ready solubility in water will serve to detect falsification.

Milk sugar is completely free from fat or other constituents of milk. It can be rectified by its perfect whiteness. It should not have any rancid, sour, musty or other foreign smell or taste.

Presence of NaCl is detected by adding Silver Nitrate solution. The precipitate will issue, which will be insoluble in Nitric Acid .

Presence of Sulphuric Acid is detected by the solution of Barium Nitrate or Chloride.

If a blue litmus paper is immersed in an aqueous solution of milk sugar and if it turns into red, it indicates that the acid is present, which will imply that the milk sugar is prepared from the milk, which had become sour.

If a splitopm of Potassium Ferocyonite will be added to the aqueous solution of Milk Sugar and then if a reddish brown precipitates appears, it indicates the presence of Copper in the milk sugar.

Uses of Milk Sugar:

1. i) It is largely used in the preparation of Biochemic tablets and Triturition of the salts.
2. ii) Used in the dispensing of Electrohomeopathic and Homoeopathic doses.

iii) It is used as food and as placebo (To please the patients to whom medicines are not required but they suffer psychologically.)

1. iv) It is also used for the preparation of globules, tablets etc.

Globules and Pilules:

Globules are generally prepared by pure cane sugar and milk sugar. There are various sizes of globules used in pharmacy for the preparation of original globules remedies of Electrohomeopathy. Sometimes these are used to serve the diluted medicines in rectified spirit.

Preparation: – Globules are prepared by mechanically rotating steel globules making pan, containing granulated cane sugar. These granulate cane sugar has been properly moistened with purified water. At last these are coated with a thin layer of super finely crushed cane sugar. The pans are allowed to rotate till all the globules become spherical. The size of globules depends upon the quantity of crushed sugar added.

After making the globules full spherical, they are dried in drying hot chamber. After proper prying the globules are removed from the drying chamber and are made to pass through sieve screen.

Globules making steel pan prepare various sizes of globules. After processing and drying them, the globules of various sizes are assorted according to their sizes. Numbers like – 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, 40, 60,70, and 80, designates the globules.

Different numbers indicates the different sizes of globules. These members are nothing but the space, occupied by ten equal – sized globules, when placed in close contact with each other. The space covered or occupied is measured in millimeters. This reading of space occupied in millimeter is the specific number of globules. For example, suppose there are 10 globules of a size, placed in a row in close contact with each other. Suppose the total distance covered by these 10 globules is 20 millimeter. Then, 20 are the requisite number of these globules.

The globules of bigger sizes like 40, 60, 70, 80 etc are called Pilules.

Properties of Globules: –

1. Globules are always sound in shape.
2. They are white in colour.
3. They are odourless.
4. They are sweeter than milk sugar in taste (if prepared from sugar can).
5. They are soluble in water but insoluble in alcohol.
6. They are neither too hard nor too soft. They absorb moisture from the air or from humid weather.
7. Conc. Sulphuric Acid gradually decomposes and chars them, charred mass froths up.
8. Nitric acid (Conc.) converts them to Oxalic Acid.
9. They do not react with Ketones or Aldehydes.
10. They are not easily fermentable by yeast.

Uses: –

1. Globules are used for dispensing, original, or diluted medicines as media.
2. Globules can retain medicinal properties of a medicine for long period, so they are used for preserving medicines.

Preservation: – Globules are always to be kept in airtight vessels or container, away from damp humid place in dry places, while going to store the globules they should be fully fried up. (Even dedicated globules), otherwise globules may be dissolved or damaged.

Pellets are small sphere shaped media, made of pure cane sugar. They are even known as globules. The mode of uses, properties are same as in globules.

Tablets or Tabloids:

Tablets are Tabloids are prepared from pure refined milk sugar by compression or moldings. Tablets are generally found in 1 grain or 65-mg. sizes, rarely in 2 gr. or 130-mg. sizes.

Properties: –

1. Tablets are round and flat in shape.
2. They are white and softer then globules and pilules.
3. They are soluble in water but insoluble in alcohol.

Preservation: – Tablets should be preserved in well-closed airtight containers. They should be kept in dry places.

Uses: – Same as in the case of globules. Tablets of one grain should be medicated with one drop of liquid remedy. Tablets should be always medicated very cautiously otherwise tablets may be dissolving in the medicines.

Cones

Cones are conical or semi-globular in shape and are prepared by a mixture of cane sugar and egg albumin.

Properties: – Cones absorb more quantities of Spagyric essence. The commonly used size of cone is no. 6 where size is determined by the diameter of the base of cones in millimeters.

These are medicated as that of globules.

Preservation: – Cones must be stored in a dry place to prevent fermentation due to dampness.

Vaseline or Paraffin Soft

Synonyms: – Petroleum jelly, Soft Paraffin, Soft Paraffin, Paraffin soft.

Vaseline is a semi-solid mixture of hydrocarbons, obtained from crude petroleum after kerosene oil; Fuel oil etc. have been separated. After this it is bleached and purified. Generally Vaseline is available in two varieties.

1. i) White Paraffin
2. ii) Yellow Paraffin

White Paraffin: – It is white, translucent, soft mass unctuous to touch. It is tasteless and odourless when rubbed on the skin. It is soluble in chloroform and solvent ether but insoluble in water and alcohol.

Character: – White, translucent, soft mass, unctuous to touch, tasteless and odourless. It is soluble in chloroform and solvent ether, insoluble in alcohol and water.

Sp. Gravity: 0.815 to 0.880 at 20 degree C.

Melting range: 38 to 56 degree C

Reaction: Neutral to litmus solution.

Foreign matter: When heated Volatilizes without any acrid odour.

Ash: Sulphated not more than 0.1 percent.

Fixed oils and fats: No precipitate or oily matter when acidifying the aqueous layer with dil. Sulphuric acid.

Yellow Paraffin: – It is pale yellow in colour with other properties as like White Paraffin. Other taste of Yellow Paraffin should comply with White Paraffin.

Uses of Paraffin: – Paraffin is generally used as base in the preparation of ointments as lubricant to the different parts of the body. It is used for the dressing of ulcers and wounds.

Spermaceti

It is a waxy substance obtained from head of the sperm whale Physeter macrocephalus Linn. It is slightly unctuous mass with a crystalline fracture and pearly lecture; odour-faint and bland. Taste is mild and free from rancidity. It is soluble in boiling alcohol, ether and chloroform but insoluble in water and cold alcohol. Its specific gravity is 0.95 and melting range stands between 42 and 50 degree C.

Lanolin

Lanolin is a purified anhydrous fat like substance. It is a pale yellow, unctuous, tenacious substance, odour, faint and characteristics obtained from the wool of the sheep Ovis Aries. It is treated with dilute alkali to extract the natural grease, in the form of emulsion. The emulsion is acidified and the wool fat is separated upon the surface of liquor. At last it is purified by treating with water in centrifuge. It is freely soluble in chloroform and ether, insoluble in water and sparingly soluble in cold alcohol. It melts at 36 degree C – 42 degree C.

Test for purity:

Take 5 ml of Chloroform in a container, dissolve 0.5 gm. Lanolin in it, add 1 ml of Acetic Anhydride and 2 drops of Sulphuric Acid – A deep green colour will be produced.

In Lanolin there is no acid value. iodine value is 18 to 32, Saponification value 92 to 106.

Lanolin must be stored in dry cool place in a closed container below the temperature 30 degree C.

Uses:

Due to its penetrating power within the skin, it is used in the preparation of ointment of different medicines like: Canceroso- 5, Angioitico –2, G.E. + C 5 ointments etc.