SANTONICA. 389 



■\Vormseed when rubbed in the hand exhales a powerful and agree- 

 able odour, resembling cajuput oil and camphor; it has a bitter 

 aromatic taste. 



'omposition — Wormseed 



having its characterish'r; 



The oil is 



slightly levogyrate and chiefly consists of the liquid C"'H''0, accom- 

 panied by a small amount of hydrocarbon. The former has the odour 

 of the drug, yet rather more agreeable ; sp. gr. 0-913 at 20° G. It boils 

 without decomposition at 173-174°, but in presence of P^O' or P^S' 

 abundantly yields cymol (see p. 333). The latter had already been 

 observed by Volckel (1854) under the name of cinene ov cynene, yet he 

 assigned to it the formula C'^H'' ; Hirzel (1854) called it cinjebene. 



The water which distills over carries with it volatile acids of the 

 fatty series, also angelic acid (see pp. 313, 386). 



The substance to which the remarkable action of wormseed on the 

 human bodyi is due is Santonin, C^'H^^O^ It was discovered in 1830 

 •^y. Raider, an apothecary of Diisseldorf, who gave a very brief notice 



Immed- 



•macie 



lately afterwards Augustus Alms, a druggist's assistant at Penzlin in 

 the grand duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, knowing nothing of 

 Kahler's discovery, obtained the same substance and named it Santonin. 

 Alms recommended it to the medical profession, pointing out that it is 

 the anthelminthic principle of wormseed.^ Santonin constitutes from 1 1 

 to 2 per cent, of the drug, but appears to diminish in quantity very 

 considerably as the flowers open. It is easily extracted by milk of 

 hme, for, though not an acid and but sparingly soluble in water even 



With 



at a boiling heat, it is capable of combining with bases, 

 lorms then santoninate of calcium, which is readily soluble in water. 

 On addition of hydrochloric acid, santoninic acid, C'H-'^O*, separates, but 

 parts with OH^, santonin being thus immediately reproduced. Similar 

 lacts have been recorded with regard to alantic acid (see p. 381). 



Santonin forms crystals of the orthorhombic system, melting at 170°, 

 which are inodorous, but have a bitter taste, especially when dissolved 

 m chloroform or alcohol.^ They are colourless, but when exposed 

 to daylight, or to the blue or violet rays, but not to the other 

 colours of the spectrum, they assume a yellow hue, and split into 

 irregular fragments. This change, which takes place even under 

 '^'ater, alcohol or ether, is not accomi^anied by any chemical 

 alteration. This behaviour of santonin when exposed to light, 

 resembles that of erythrocentaurin, (TB^'O^ The latter has been 

 Obtained by means of ether, from the alcoholic extract of Erythrcva 

 ^entaunum, and of some other Gentianaceo}. Mehu (1866) has 

 shown that the colourless crystals of that substance when exposed 

 w sunhght, assume a brilliant red colour, imthout undergoing any 

 Chemical alteration. The colourless solutions of this body in chloro- 



„ ' ^» tJie affected vision, so that objects affords additional evidence of the inde- 



OUf^ ^ '^ seen through a yellow medium. pendence of the discovery. , ^ . . 



"ther eflfects are recorded by StiUe ( Them- => Its ready solubility ra 3 or 4 paiis of 



P^fj^^ and Mai. Med ii 641) chloroform renders its estimation easy 



the ^''P^'' ^^ ^™3 ^<^i"g contained in when mixed with sugar, as in a santonm 



KaT^^^"^^,^^"^® P^^odical (p. 319) as that of lozenge, 

 Aahler (aud further in vol. xxxix. 190), 



