348 Transactions. — Chemistry and Physics. 



showed that G. ruscifolia contained crystalline constituents 

 soluble in alcohol or water, but did not identify them. He 

 found that boiling with slaked lime destroyed the poisonous 

 action of the drug. Christie* has examined the physiological 

 effect of decoctions of the plant, and denies that lime destroys 

 the poison. 



The results of the examination of tutu recorded in the 

 present paper may be summarised as follows : — 



(1.) No alkaloids can be detected in the plant. This result 

 •confirms the previous work of Skey.f 



(2.) All the New Zealand species of Coriaria contain a 

 highly poisonous crystalline glucoside of the formula CnH^Oy, 

 to which the authors give the name " tutin." It differs in 

 many respects from any known chemical compound. In 

 physiological action tutin closely resembles Riban's coria- 

 myrtin, described above. A comparison of the two compounds 

 is given below. 



Tutin is present in both the seeds and leaves of the 

 plants. I No other poisonous constituent has been detected. 



(3.) The following well-known acids occur in the leaves of 

 C. ruscifolia and C. thymifolia : Acetic, ellagic, gallic, and 

 succinic. C. angustissima contains, in addition, a volatile 

 crystalline acid, C 8 H 6 4 . 



(4.) The oil extracted by carbon-bisulphide from the seeds 

 is a drying oil, and upon saponification yields salts of linoleic 

 acid. The oil is not poisonous. 



Experimental. 



Coriaria thymifolia. 



Eleven kilograms of the air-dried plant (root excluded) 

 gathered at Dunedin at the time of flowering (January) were 

 put through a chaff-cutter and boiled with successive quan- 

 tities of water. The concentrated infusion was treated with 

 a large volume of alcohol, which precipitated inorganic salts, 

 ellagic acid, and a large quantity of black, tarry matter. The 

 residue remaining after distilling off the alcohol from the 

 supernatant liquid was extracted with ether. When the 

 ether was distilled off the residue containing the character- 

 istic glucoside tutin set to a semi-solid crystalline mass with 

 a pungent odour. 



Acetic acid was recognised by distilling the mass with 

 steam. From the distillate a silver salt was prepared, which, 



* N.Z. Med. Journ., July and October, 1890. 



f Jurors' Reports and Awards, New Zealand Exhibition, 1865. 



J The presence of the poison in the seeds and leaves is opposed to the 

 view put forward by Manning (Lindsay, loc. cit.) that the seat of the 

 poison is not the seed, but the " fur " on the fruitstalk. 



