Pulvis Cretae Aromaticus (N. F.)—Aromatic Powder of Chalk.

SYNONYM: Confectio aromatica (Lond.).

Preparation.—"Cinnamon, eight grammes (8 Gm.) [123 grs.]; saffron, six grammes (6 Gm.) 93 grs.]; nutmeg, six grammes (6 Gm.) [93 grs.]; cloves, three grammes (3 Gm.) [46 grs.]; cardamom, two grammes (2 Gm.) [31 grs.]; prepared chalk, twenty-three grammes (23 Gm.) [355 grs.]; sugar, fifty-two grammes (52 Gm.) [1 oz. av., 365 grs]. Mix the ingredients and reduce them to a fine powder. Pass this through a fine sieve, and afterward rub it lightly in a mortar. Keep it in a stoppered bottle. Note.—This preparation is equivalent to the Pulvis Cretae Aromaticus of the Br. Pharm. This authority adds the following note: "If a product of bright color be desired, the saffron may previously be moistened and triturated with a little water or alcohol, or the fresh and faintly damp mixture may be subjected to considerable pressure in the triturating process"—(Nat. Form.).

Action, Medical Uses, and Dosage.—This agent is employed in diarrhoea caused by offending material in the stomach, which should first be removed by gentle catharsis, after which the powder may be administered. It is also useful in diarrhoea produced by changes of temperature and water. Dose, 30 to 60 grains.

Related Powder.—PULVIS CRETAE AROMATICUS CUM OPIO (N. F.), Aromatic Powder of chalk with opium. "Aromatic powder of chalk (F. 317), ninety-seven and one-half grammes (97.5 Gm.) [3 ozs. av., 192 grs.]; powdered opium, two and one-half grammes (2.5 Gm.) [38.6 grs.]. Mix them intimately. Every 40 grains of this preparation contain 1 grain of powdered opium. Note.—This preparation is official in the Br. Pharm."—(Nat. Form.). Used like the preceding. Dose, 10 to 20 grains.


King's American Dispensatory, 1898, was written by Harvey Wickes Felter, M.D., and John Uri Lloyd, Phr. M., Ph. D.