An alcoholic or hydroalcoholic solution prepared from vegetable materials or from chemical substances; most tinctures are prepared by percolation or by maceration. The proportions of drug represented in the different tinctures are not uniform, but vary according to the established standards for each. Tinctures of potent drugs essentially represent the activity of 10 g of the drug in each 100 mL of t., the potency being adjusted after assay; most other tinctures represent 20 g of drug in each 100 mL of t.. Compound tinctures are made according to long-established formulas. SYN: tinctura.
- belladonna t. a green hydroalcoholic mobile liquid containing the alkaloids atropine and scopolamine and other substances extracted from the leaves of Atropa belladonna, the botanical source for these anticholinergic drugs. The t. allows for gradual titration of dose by counting drops of the preparation ingested. Formerly widely used in ulcer therapy or the symptomatic treatment of diarrhea, alone or in combination with antacids and insoluble clays.
- digitalis t. an hydroalcoholic solution containing the glycosides of the leaves of the foxglove (digitalis) plant Digitalis purpurea or D. lanata. Although digitalis preparations are used extensively, they are currently used as the pure glycosides, digoxin and digitoxin. The t. was formerly widely used but was standardized by bioassay using frogs, cats, or pigeons.
- ethereal t. a class of preparations consisting of 10% percolations of drugs in a menstruum of ether (1) and alcohol (2).
- glycerinated t. a t. made with diluted alcohol to which glycerin is added to facilitate the extraction or to preserve the preparation.
- green soap t. a liquid preparation containing potassium soaps and alcohol; frequently advocated in skin cleansing, particularly after exposure to plant toxins such as poison ivy.
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tinc·ture 'tiŋ(k)-chər n a solution of a medicinal substance in an alcoholic or hydroalcoholic menstruum compare LIQUOR (b)
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n.
an alcoholic extract of a drug derived from a plant.
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tinc·ture (tinkґchər) [L. tingere to wet, to moisten] an alcoholic or hydroalcoholic solution prepared from vegetable materials or from chemical substances.Medical dictionary. 2011.