Page 371 - Pharmacognosy 2 PG303 (1)

Pharmacognosy-2 (PG303) Level 2 Clinical Pharmacy-Pharm D

Lard

Lard is the purified fat from the abdomen of the hog Sus scrofa, family Suidae.
Preparation For medicinal purposes lard is prepared from the abdominal fat

known as flare. This must be washed with water to free from any
salt. The fat is comminated and placed in lead-lined tanks. Water is
added and steam is passed to melt the fat and float on the surface.

The melted fat is run off through lateral openings strained and
allowed to cool.
Characters Lard is a soft white fat with a non-rancid odour. It has a low m.p.
(34-41 °C), a high iodine value (52 to 66) and saponification value

(192-198). It is entirely soluble in ether, chloroform, and light
petroleum.

Constituents Lard consists of about 40% of stearin and palmitin mixed with
about 60% of olein.
Uses As ointment base but as it is liable to become rancid, benzoin is
added to retard rancidity.

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