Decoctum Sarsaparillae Compositum (U. S. P.)—Compound Decoction of Sarsaparilla.
Related entries: Sarsaparilla (U. S. P.)—Sarsaparilla - Mezereum (U. S. P.)—Mezereum - Glycyrrhiza (U. S. P.)—Glycyrrhiza - Sassafras (U. S. P.)—Sassafras - Guaiaci Lignum (U. S. P.)—Guaiacum Wood.
Preparation.—"Sarsaparilla, cut and bruised, one hundred grammes (100 Gm.) [3 ozs. av., 231 grs.]; sassafras, in No. 20 powder, twenty grammes (20 Gm.) [309 grs.]; guaiacum wood, rasped, twenty grammes (20 Gm.) [309 grs.]; glycyrrhiza, bruised, twenty grammes (20 Gm.) 309 grs.]; mezereum, cut and bruised, ten grammes (10 Gm.) [154 grs.]; water, a sufficient quantity to make one thousand cubic centimeters (1000 Cc.) [33 fl℥, 391♏︎]. Boil the sarsaparilla and guaiacum wood for half an hour in a suitable vessel with one thousand cubic centimeters (1000 Cc.) [33 fl℥, 391♏︎] of water. Then add the sassafras, glycyrrhiza, and mezereum, cover the vessel well, and macerate for 2 hours. Finally strain, and add enough cold water, through the strainer, to make the product measure one thousand cubic centimeters (1000 Cc.) [33 fl℥, 391♏︎]glycyrrhiza,"—(U. S. P.).
Action, Medical Uses, and Dosage.—This decoction may be given in syphilitic and scrofulous conditions as an alterative and mild diaphoretic. It is likewise employed in certain cutaneous, rheumatic, and other affections dependent on blood dyscrasia. Mezereum and sarsaparilla are its chief active agents. It is patterned after the Decoctum lusitanicum, or Lisbon diet drink. Somewhat similar preparations are employed in Germany under the names Decoctum Zittmanni fortius, and Decoctum Zitmanni mitius, or Zittmann's stronger and milder decoctions, which contain, however, cinnabar and calomel. The compound decoction of sarsaparilla may be given in doses of 3 to 6 fluid ounces, 3 times a day.
