THE ALUMNI JOURNAL. 



235 



dried at 45 in vacuo, when it constitutes a brit- 

 tle chocolate colored substance, which must 

 then be reduced to a very fine powder. The in- 

 ventor claims that this preparation, designated 

 hsemo-albumin, possesses valuable nutritious 

 properties, and has no objectionable taste. — 

 Pharm. Era. 



Concerning Ricine. — Ouchinsky, in studying 

 this allkaloid (Med. Set., January, 1895), de- 

 scribes it as a toxic substance contained in the 

 castor bean; it is found in the oil prepared 

 from them when the process has been imper- 

 fect. Stilrnark places this substance among the 

 albuminous ferments of the order of phytalbu- 

 moses; the author concurs in this opinion. On 

 cold-blooded animals ricine has but little 

 action; warm-blooded animals are very suscep- 

 tible to it, a very small dose proving fatal. It 

 acts more rapidly when exhibited by the stom- 

 ach and then injected subcutaneously. The 

 temperature rises to 104 F., to fall again below 

 normal. The heart continues to beat after the 

 cessation of respiration. At the autopsy the 

 intestinal mucous membrane is hyperaemic, 

 dotted with punctiform hemorrhages; the liver, 

 kidneys, and spleen are gorged with blood; the 

 intima of the blood vessels show many spots of 

 hyaline degeneration. — Rev. Int. de Med. et de 

 Chir. Prat., February 25, 1895. 



Oil of Thuja. — An abstract of a paper by O. 

 Wallach, of terpene fame, and J. T. Conroy, B. 

 Sc, Ph.D., son of Mr. Michael Conroy, appears 

 in the current number of the Berichte. The 

 paper is on thujone tribromide. The authors 

 show that the three bromine atoms have not 

 identical functions in the molecule. By treat- 

 ment of the bromide C 10 H 13 Br 3 O with sodium 

 methylate in methyl alcohol, the phenolic com- 

 pound C 10 H u Br(OH) (OCH 3 ) is obtained, 

 melting at I56°-I57°, from which, in the usual 

 way, the derivatives C 10 H 11 Br(OC 2 H 3 OlOCH[. ! , 

 melting at 63°-64°, andC 10 HnBr (OCH 3 )2, 

 melting at 42°-43°. The constitution of the bro- 

 mine compound and the phenol are interpreted 

 as 



H. CH 3 CH 8 



Br/\o Br/\0H 



bi \A CH '°vii 



C a H T Br C 3 H 7 



— Br. and Col. Dr. 



A New Remedy. — Cupratin is a name ap- 

 plied by Filehne to an analogue of ferratin. It 

 is a copper and albumen compound. 



The Chemistry of Cinchonine. — Kengk von 



Norwall recently described the action of sodium 

 and ethyl alcohol upon cinchonine, and stated 

 that he considered that no more than two atoms 

 of hydrogen could be taken up. He is now in 

 a position to correct this statement. Using 

 amyl alcohol and sodium as a reducing agent, 

 he worked with a pure crystalline cinchonine, 

 melting at 257 258°, obtained from Zimmer. 

 During the process of reduction, a basic gas 

 resembling ammonia was evolved. This was at 

 first attributed to the breaking down of the cin- 

 chonine molecule. But it was afterwards found 

 that the purest amyl alcohol obtainable from 

 Kahlbaum contained a nitrogenous impurity 

 which yielded this gas on reduction. The oily 

 reduced base would not yield any crystalline 

 derivatives with acids, methyl iodide, benzoyl 

 chloride, or bromine. But by the action of pot- 

 assium nitrite and sulphuric acid a nitroso body 

 was obtained. This possessed the formula 

 Ci9 H 2 6 N 40 4 and formed crystals melting at 

 200 C. with decomposition and the evolution 

 of brown vapors. It is extraordinary soluble 

 in the ordinary organic solvents, and is undoubt- 

 edly a nitroso - tetra - hydro - cinchonine, thus 

 showing that four atoms of hydrogen are taken 

 up on reduction of the alkaloid.— Berichte. 



Apolysin. — A new phenetidin derivative, pos- 

 sessing antipyretic and analgesic properties, has 

 received this unwieldy name. It will be re- 

 membered that we recently described a new 

 antipyretic under the name of " citrophene." 

 This body was a compound of citric acid in 

 which phenetidin residues had replaced the 

 three acidic groups of the acid, which, of course, 

 is tribasic. Apolysin is citric acid in which only 

 one acid radicle is so replaced. The relation- 

 ship of the three bodies is shown thus : 

 Citric Acid, C 3 H 4 (OH) (CO. OH) 3 . 

 Apolysin, C 3 H 4 (OH) (CO. OH).,. CO NH. C 



H 4 OC 2 H 5 . 

 Citrophene, C,H, (OH) (CO.NH. C,H 4 OC, 



H 5 ) 3 - 

 Citrophene, melts at 181 , whilst the mono-sub- 

 stituted body apolysin, melts at ",2°.—Apotheker 

 Zeitung. 



The Constitution of Rhodinol.— Barbier and 

 Bouvealt have been working on this body. 

 They consider that it is a primary alcohol, with 

 one double linking of the constitution : 

 C=C(CH 3 ), 

 CH / \CH 2 



CH 2 \/CEL— CH..OH 

 CH 2 



—Cotuftes Rendus. 



