Aug. 15, 1919 Derris as an Insecticide 1 79 



Probably the first investigator to report on a chemical examination 

 of Derris elliptica was Greshoff (j) in 1890. He found the most im- 

 portant constituent of the bark on the root to be a nitrogen-free, non- 

 glucocidal resin which he called "derrid." He describes this resin, 

 which he did not succeed in obtaining in crystalline form, as readily 

 soluble in alcohol, ether, chloroform, and am)^ alcohol, but soluble 

 with difificult}^ in water and potassium hydroxid. The yield obtained 

 from the whole root was 2.5 to 3 per cent. The resin was found to be 

 extremely toxic to fish. 



Dymock, Warden, and Hooper {2, p. 421) record that in India Derris 

 uliginosa is used as an insecticide against larvae of insects. 



In 1892 Wray (jj) worked on Derris elliptica and appears to have 

 been unaware of Greshoff's paper, because for the resinous principle 

 which he isolated from the root in an impure state and which he used 

 in his experiments on fish he proposed the name "tubain." This sub- 

 stance is without question the same as Greshoft*'s "derrid," judging 

 from its physical properties. The crushed roots when boiled in a retort 

 with water yielded an opalescent distillate, the odors of which strongly 

 resembled those from the roots. This distillate was found poisonous 

 to fish. 



In 1899 van Sillevoldt (9), working on Derris elliptica, reported on 

 the extraction of Greshoff's "derrid." He used practically the same 

 method of extraction as did Greshoff and describes the "derrid" obtained 

 as a yellow, amorphous powder. In the impure "derrid" he found a 

 crystallizable substance which was very insoluble in ether, by which 

 means it could be separated from the soluble portion of the "derrid." 

 He found the melting point of "derrid" to be near 73° C. and he de- 

 scribes it as being readily soluble in alcohol, ether, benzol, aceton, glacial 

 acetic acid, acetic ether, carbon disulphid, and chloroform, and very 

 insoluble in petroleum, ether, and water. Van Sillevoldt assigned the 

 formula C33H30O10 to "derrid." 



In 1902 Power {8) investigated the stems of Derris uliginosa. His results 

 led to the conclusion that the poisonous constituent of the plant is a 

 resin, thus concurring in the views of Greshoff and van Sillevoldt. He 

 noted further that this resin consists of two components, one being 

 soluble in chloroform and highly toxic to fish, and the other insoluble 

 in chloroform and inactive to fish. 



In 191 1 van Hasselt {4) investigated the physiological action of 

 "derrid" on fish, frogs, mice, rabbits, and cats, and studied its effects 

 on the blood, respiration, circulation, intestinal tract, and nervous 

 system. From his experiments he concluded that "derrid" is a powerful 

 poison, causing characteristic symptoms in all the animals treated, and 

 that it kills by causing respiratory paralysis. 



In 1 91 6 Campbell (/) investigated the poisonous actions of Derris 

 elliptica, and his work seems to be the most recent along this line. He 

 tested the water and saline extracts of the roots on fi.sh, mosquito larvae, 



