68 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL I11ST0RY SOCIETY, Vol. XV. 



which means that if jepal is recklessly used, death is the result 

 (Mr. G. S. Bhide, Jailor, Ratnagiri Prison). 



As regards the seat of the poisonous element, O'Shaughnessy 

 says that it is the embryo which is the source of the acridity of the 

 seed and its poisonous nature. I doubt this very much. I feel 

 almost sure, that the acridity and the poisonous principles lie in the 

 once so-called albumen, and now called the endosperm. I do not at 

 all believe, as suggested by O'Shaughnessy. that the removal of the little, 

 insignificant embryo rids the nut of its poisonous property and makes 

 it " bland and alimentary." Although this statement is made by 

 O'Sbaughnessy on the high authority of M.M. Fee and Humboldt, 

 I must set my face humbly against it. 



I find myself " all at sea ' with regard to the chemical nature of 

 the poisonous element of Jatropha curcas. 



The active principle of the oil of Jatropha curcas, says Rai Bahadur 

 Kanny Lull Dey, F.C.S. of Calcutta, has been named Jairoplu'c acid. 

 A recent research (A. Siegel, 1894) attributes the activity of the seeds 

 to a poisonous toxalbumen analogous to Ricin and named Curciu 

 (p. 169, Indian Drugs, 2nd Edition, 1896, Calcutta). Ricin, says 

 J. Charles E. Sobn, F.C.S., a member of the Society of Public 

 Analysts of London, is a poisonous principle of castor seed of the 

 albuminous kind (p. 191, Index to a Dictionary of the Active Principles 

 of Plants, 1894, London). Dymock observes that Dr. H. Stillmark 

 has discovered in the seeds of Ricinus communis an albuminoid body 

 which has been named Ricin. This, however, says Dymock, does not 

 appear to be the purgative principle (p. 277, Ph. Ind., Vol. 111.), 

 It may be noted that Ricin appears to have a peculiar effect on blood, 

 causing a rapid conglomeration of the red corpuscles, together with 

 the formation of a substance like fibrin. 



The oil of Jatropha curcas is said to contain an active principle simi- 

 lar to that of the castor seeds. It is known as Ricinoleic acid. Its 

 formula is C 1S H 34 3 . It occurs as a glyceride in castor oil together 

 with tripalmatin and tristearin. It also occurs in Jatropha curcas. It 

 is a thick oily liquid which solidifies below 0° C, and mixes in every 

 proportion with alcohol and ether. Its alcoholic solution has an acid 

 reaction, an unpleasant persistent acrid taste, and does not oxidize in 

 the air (Roscoo and Schorlemmer's Treatise on Chemistry, Vol. Ill ; 

 Organic Chemistry, Part II, p. 484, Edition, 1890, Macmillan). 



