234 



THE ALUMNI JOURNAL. 



of the substances found in the juice of plants, 

 nor by the nitrogen acids, it is stated ; however, 

 it is prevented by the presence of chloride of 

 lime or of hypochlorous acid, on account of the 

 aniline and potassium bichromate being present. 

 — Merck's Report. 



Carniferrine is a new remedial agent, said to 

 be the iron compound of phospho-carnic acid. 

 It is claimed to possess all the properties of the 

 iron compounds occurring in natural foods. It 

 is soluble both in dilute acids and alkalies, and 

 consequently remains unaltered, both in the 

 stomach and in the intestinal canal, Experi- 

 ments seem to have shown that it is absorbed in 

 the digestive tract. It is recommended against 

 chlorosis, anemia, neurasthenia, loss of blood 

 after operations, in convalescence, etc. The 

 dose is 7^4 Grn. (o 5 Gm.) daily for adults, and 

 from 3 to 5 Grn. (0.2 to 0.3 Gm.) daily for child- 

 ren. It may be given in powders, tablets or 

 pills. — Merck's Report. 



Properties of Acetylene. — P. Villard {Pharm. 

 Jour., LIV, p. 1 194), finds that acetylene pre- 

 pared by Moissan's process resembles carbon 

 dioxide in becoming solidified by its own evap- 

 oration when in the liquid state, and under 

 ordinary atmospheric pressure. It is solid at — 

 85 degrees C, its fusing point is — 81 degrees C, 

 and the co-efficient of solubility of the gas at O 

 degree C, under a pressure of 4.65 atmospheres, 

 is 1.6. Acetylene hydrate, C 2 H,(H 2 0) 6 , is 

 formed under the same conditions as the hy- 

 drate of nitrogen protoxide or carbonic acid; it 

 is denser than water, and forms crystals which 

 are without action on polarized light. 



Heliotropin. — Helbing and Passmore mention 

 in the Pharmaceutical Zeitung that 37 C. is 

 generally considered to be the melting-point of 

 heliotropin or piperonal; but they find that the 

 pure substance melts at 36. i° C, and this, in 

 fact, is what the best commercial samples give. 

 Absence of vanillin and benzoic acid from pip- 

 eronal may be proved by rubbing 1 Gr. with 1 

 drachm of distilled water, adding a little ferric 

 chloride, when no green or bluish color should 

 be produced. Heated with potash solution and 

 a few drops of chloroform, no isonitrile odor 

 should be produced, showing the absence of 

 acetanilid. The authors also provide for the 

 absence of non-aldehydic bodies by shaking 1 

 Gr. of the heliotropin with a cold saturated solu- 

 tion of potassium sulphite, when the heliotropin 

 dissolves, but in a short time crystallizes out as 

 a double salt of piperonal. The solution is then 

 shaken with ether, the latter washed with 

 water, and evaporated, when there should be no 

 residue. 



Scopolamine. — Owing to Ladenburg's state- 

 ment that this alkaloid is identical with 

 hyoscine, E. Schmidt, its discoverer, has re- 

 turned to the subject, and maintains the 

 correctness of his earlier researches. He has 

 prepared characteristic gold and plantinum 

 salts of the alkaloid, also derivatives, which are 

 perfectly distinct. Scopolamine is optically 

 active (lsevorotatory), but the double hydro- 

 bromide with silver is inactive. — Druggists' 

 Circ. 



Helenin.—]. Berdt and W. Posth find that 

 the formula of helenin is C 15 H 20 O 2 ; it pos- 

 sesses a neutral reaction, and dissolves in warm 

 alkaline solutions, being simultaneously con- 

 verted into the salt of an oxy-acid. The oxy- 

 acid is completely re-converted into the lactone 

 by heating to the melting-point, or, partially, 

 by warming with water; if to the latter a min- 

 eral acid is added, the lactone immediately 

 separates. The authors have also investigated 

 several derivatives of alantolactone or helenin. 



Digitoxine. — It is well known that the 

 various so-called digitalines give very different 

 results in the hands of different experimenters. 

 Professor Masius, of Liege, claims that the 

 alkaloidal digitoxine gives perfectly definite 

 and constant results. It would seem advisable 

 to employ this latter body in preference to dig- 

 italine. — Journal de Pharmacie d'Anvers. 



The Alkaloids of the Fumariaceae and 

 Papaveraceae — Battandier has extracted from 

 Bocconia frutescens the base fumarine, iden- 

 tical with that found in Ftcmaria, and also 

 another alkaloid, to which he gives the name 

 bocconine, and traces of a third, resembling 

 chelidonine, and finally, large quantities of 

 chelerythrine. Fumarine is soluble in chloroform 

 but only slightly so in water, alcohol or ether. 

 Its hydrochloride crystallizes in transparent 

 needles. When perfectly pure, it gives with 

 sulphuric acid a violent tint, changing to black 

 by the addition of potassium bichromate. Boc- 

 conine is very soluble in most solvents. With 

 sulphuric acid it gives a peach color. — Annates 

 de Pharmacie . 



A New Product from Blood. — O. Finsen has 

 patented the following process (Jr. Soc. Chem. 

 Ind.): Fresh blood is defibrinated by whipping, 

 and then mixed with six times its bulk of water, 

 to which is added citric acid, 5 Grms. , for every 

 litre of blood. The mixture is then heated to 

 90 , and so kept for a quarter of an hour, The 

 coagulated albumin is strained and very care- 

 fully washed with water. After removing the 

 superfluous moisture, the remaining mass is 



