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SYNONYMS: 2

  
 

 
 
  
 
 
    

  (U. S. P., 1870), 
  


  

 

  
  


 
 
.

c   @ Sodium bicarbonate, in fine powder, thirty-one grammes (31 Gm.) [1 oz. av., 41 grs.]; potassium and sodium
tartrate, in fine powder, ninety-three grammes (93 Gm.) [3 ozs. av., 123 grs.]; tartaric acid, in fine powder, twenty-seven grammes
(27 Gm.) [417 grs.]. Mix the sodium bicarbonate intimately with the potassium and sodium tartrate, divide the mixture into twelve
(12) equal parts, and wrap each part in a separate paper of some pronounced color, as  . Then divide the tartaric acid also into
twelve (12) equal parts, and wrap each part in a separate paper of a color distinctly different from that used for wrapping the
mixture, as 
 . Keep the powders in well-closed vessels @(U. S. P.).

[ @This powder received its name from the Seidlitz Saline Springs of Bohemia, though the foregoing laxative constituents do
not represent those of the springs named. As found upon the market, the Seidlitz powder is very variable in regard to proportion.
To properly prepare them, each part should be weighed, strictly following the official directions, making the Seidlitz mixture of 3
parts of Rochelle salts and 1 part of sodium bicarbonate, and, as is directed, placing the alkaline powder in a blue paper. Then in a
white paper place the tartaric acid. The 
 
should contain, by weight, 35 grains of tartaric acid; the  
, 160 grains
of Seidlitz mixture. When the powders are separately dissolved in water, and the solutions slowly mixed, the acid reacts with the
sodium bicarbonate, liberating carbonic acid gas, and forming sodium tartrate, which adds somewhat to the laxative action of the
Rochelle salt. The powders should be kept in a dry place, lest the acid should absorb sufficient moisture to dissolve it.

3
 

 @The saline laxative, Seidlitz powder, is very popular as a laxative, especially where there is a
slight rise of temperature, and particularly in warm weather. They should be used with care in very young children and the aged
and debilitated. Preferably, the powders should be dissolved in separate glasses, using about 5 or 6 fluid ounces of water for the
saline powder, and 1 or 2 fluid ounces for the acid powder. The two solutions should then be gradually mixed together and taken
while effervescing. Under no circumstances should one solution be swallowed after the other, lest the liberation of carbon dioxide
in the stomach should give rise to serious distension, if not rupture, of that organ. The usual dose for an adult is the contents of a
white and blue paper (see also 

 2



).

 
 c  @PULVERES EFFERVESCENTES (U. S. ., 1870), 

 
  
 2  
. Take of bicarbonate of
sodium, in fine powder, 360 grains; tartaric acid, in fine powder, 300 grains. Divide each of the powders into 12 equal parts, and
keep the parts, severally, of the bicarbonate and of the acid in separate papers of different colors @(U. S. P., 1870). Each acid
powder contains 25 grains; each alkaline powder 30 grains. They may be administered in water, both being dissolved at one time
in one solution, or separate solutions may be prepared and mixed. The acid reacts upon the alkaline compound, producing sodium
tartrate, while carbon dioxide escapes.

Powder Paper Folding:

Place the paper flat on a hard surface and folds toward you a uniform flap of about 0.5 in of the long side of the paper. To
ensure uniformity of all of the papers, this system should be performed on all the required papers. With the flap of each paper
away and on top, place the weighed and divided power in the center of each paper. Being careful not to disturb the powder
excessively, bring the lower edge of the paper upward and tuck it into the crease of the flap. Grasp the flap, press it down upon the
tucked-in bottom edge of the paper, and fold gain with an amount of paper equal to the size of the size of the original flap (0.5 in).
Pick up the paper with the flap on top, being careful not to disturb the position of the paper powder, and place the partially folded
paper over the open powder box (to serve as the container) so that the ends of the paper extend equally beyond the sides
(lengthwise) of the open container. Then, press the sides of the box slightly inward and the edge of the paper gently down along
the sides of the box to form a crease on each end of the paper. Lift the paper from the box and fold the ends of the paper along
the each crease sharply so that the powder cannot escape. Place the folded paper in the box so that the double-folded flaps are
folded away from you.

Reference:
http://www.henriettesherbal.com/eclectic/kings/effervesc_pulv.html

Ansel, Howard, Allen Lloyd, Nicholas Popovich. Pharmaceutical Drug Forms and Drug Delivery System.

Remington; the science and practice of pharmacy. 21st ed