Laudanum is a tincture of opium containing approximately 10% powdered opium by weight (the equivalent of 1% morphine).[1]

Reddish-brown and extremely bitter, laudanum contains almost all of the opium alkaloids, including morphine and codeine. Laudanum was historically used to treat a variety of conditions, but its principal use was as a pain medication and cough suppressant. Until the early 20th century, laudanum was sold without a prescription and was a constituent of many patent medicines. Today, laudanum is recognized as addictive and is strictly regulated and controlled as such throughout most of the world. The United States Uniform Controlled Substances Act, for one example, lists it on Schedule II.

Laudanum is known as a "whole opium" preparation since it historically contained all the opium alkaloids. Today, however, the drug is often processed to remove all or most of the noscapine (also called narcotine) present as this is a strong emetic and does not add appreciably to the analgesic or antipropulsive properties of opium; the resulting solution is called Denarcotized Tincture of Opium or Deodorized Tincture of Opium (DTO).

Laudanum remains available by prescription in the United States and theoretically in the United Kingdom, although today the drug's therapeutic indications are generally confined to controlling diarrhea, alleviating pain, and easing withdrawal symptoms in infants born to mothers addicted to heroin or other opioids. Recent enforcement action by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) against manufacturers of paregoric and opium tincture suggests that opium tincture's availability in the U.S. may be in jeopardy.[citation needed]

The terms laudanum and tincture of opium are generally interchangeable, but in contemporary medical practice, the latter is used almost exclusively.

Perfume Materials

Perfume consists of a mixture of essential oils in a base oil, together with alcohol and water.

1/2 ounce jojoba oil or sweet almond oil

2-1/2 ounces ethanol (e.g., vodka)

2 tablespoons spring water or distilled water (not tap water)

Coffee filter

Dark-colored glass bottle

25 drops essential oils (You can either buy them at a health store or online or distill your own.)

7 drops base note essential oils

7 drops middle note essential oils

6-7 drops top note essential oils

A couple of drops of bridge notes (optional)

The essential oils that you'll be using will form the base of your perfume, called the "notes." Base notes are the part of the perfume that lasts the longest on the skin. The middle notes evaporate a little more quickly. The top notes are the most volatile and disperse the most quickly. Bridge notes have intermediate evaporation rates and serve to tie a scent together.

Sometimes other substances are added to a perfume formulation, such as sea salt (ocean scent), black pepper (spicy), camphor, and vetiver. Since essential oils evaporate at different rates, the way a perfume smells actually changes over time as you wear it. Here are some examples of common base, middle, top, and bridge notes:

Base notes: cedarwood, cinnamon, patchouli, sandalwood, vanilla, moss, lichen, fern

Middle notes: clove, geranium, lemongrass, neroli, nutmeg, ylang-ylang

Top notes: bergamot, jasmine, lavender, lemon, lime, neroli, orchid, rose

Bridge notes: vanilla, lavender

Ancient use (pre-500 CE)[edit]

Poppy crop from the Malwa in India (probably Papaver somniferum var. album[1])

Opium has been actively collected since approximately 3400 BCE.[11] The upper Asian belt of Afghanistan, Pakistan, northern India, and Burma still account for the world's largest supply of opium.

At least 17 finds of Papaver somniferum from Neolithic settlements have been reported throughout Switzerland, Germany, and Spain, including the placement of large numbers of poppy seed capsules at a burial site (the Cueva de los Murciélagos, or "Bat Cave", in Spain), which have been carbon-14 dated to 4200 BCE. Numerous finds of P. somniferum or P. setigerum from Bronze Age and Iron Age settlements have also been reported.[12] The first known cultivation of opium poppies was in Mesopotamia, approximately 3400 BCE, by Sumerians, who called the plant hul gil, the "joy plant".[13][14] Tablets found at Nippur, a Sumerian spiritual center south of Baghdad, described the collection of poppy juice in the morning and its use in production of opium.[1] Cultivation continued in the Middle East by the Assyrians, who also collected poppy juice in the morning after scoring the pods with an iron scoop;[citation needed] they called the juice aratpa-pal, possibly the root of Papaver. Opium production continued under the Babylonians and Egyptians.

Opium was used with poison hemlock to put people quickly and painlessly to death, but it was also used in medicine. Spongia somnifera, sponges soaked in opium, were used during surgery.[13] The Egyptians cultivated opium thebaicum in famous poppy fields around 1300 BCE. Opium was traded from Egypt by the Phoenicians and Minoans to destinations around the Mediterranean Sea, including Greece, Carthage, and Europe. By 1100 BCE, opium was cultivated on Cyprus, where surgical-quality knives were used to score the poppy pods, and opium was cultivated, traded, and smoked.[15] Opium was also mentioned after the Persian conquest of Assyria and Babylonian lands in the 6th century BCE.[1]

From the earliest finds, opium has appeared to have ritual significance, and anthropologists have speculated ancient priests may have used the drug as a proof of healing power.[13] In Egypt, the use of opium was generally restricted to priests, magicians, and warriors, its invention is credited to Thoth, and it was said to have been given by Isis to Ra as treatment for a headache.[1] A figure of the Minoan "goddess of the narcotics", wearing a crown of three opium poppies, c. 1300 BCE, was recovered from the Sanctuary of Gazi, Crete, together with a simple smoking apparatus.[15][16] The Greek gods Hypnos (Sleep), Nyx (Night), and Thanatos (Death) were depicted wreathed in poppies or holding them. Poppies also frequently adorned statues of Apollo, Asklepios, Pluto, Demeter, Aphrodite, Kybele and Isis, symbolizing nocturnal oblivion.[1]

A tincture is typically an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol (ethyl alcohol). Solvent concentrations of 25–60% are common, but may run as high as 90%.[1] In chemistry, a tincture is a solution that has ethanol as its solvent. In herbal medicine, alcoholic tinctures are made with various ethanol concentrations, 20% being the most common.[1]

Other solvents for producing tinctures include vinegar, glycerol (also called glycerine), diethyl ether and propylene glycol, not all of which can be used for internal consumption. Ethanol has the advantage of being an excellent solvent for both acidic and basic (alkaline) constituents. A tincture using glycerine is called a glycerite. Glycerine is generally a poorer solvent than ethanol. Vinegar, being acidic, is a better solvent for obtaining alkaloids but a poorer solvent for acidic components. For individuals who choose not to ingest alcohol, non-alcoholic extracts offer an alternative for preparations meant to be taken internally.

Low volatility substances such as iodine and mercurochrome can also be turned into tinctures.