Art. V. — Note on the Alkaloids of Stri/chnos i:>silo8perma. 



By Prof. Rennie, M.A., D.Sc, and G. Goyder, Jun., 

 Esq., F.C.S. 



[Read August 13, 1891.] 



Some time ago, Baron von Mueller kindly forwarded to 

 one of us, for examination, a small parcel of fruits of 

 Strychnos psilosperma. Baron von Mueller states that this 

 species is not yet cultivated anywhere, and that his corres- 

 pondent in sub-tropical Eastern Australia had watched the 

 few plants there, in their native haunts, for several years, 

 but that they never bore fi'uit till last year. 



The method used for extraction of the alkaloids was as 

 follows : — The fruits were pounded up as far as possible, 

 and then nearly diied in the water oven. Ten grammes of 

 this material was then mixed with a suitable quantity of 

 lime, some water added, and the mixture dried on a water 

 bath. It was then placed in a Soxhlet's apparatus and 

 extracted for several hours with strong alcohol. The 

 alcoholic extract, having been sligiitly acidified with sul- 

 phuric acid and filtered, was evaporated, again filtered, 

 rendered alkaline with soda, and thoroughly extracted with 

 chloroform. The chloroform extract, after evaporation, was 

 again taken up in acidified water, filtered, again rendered 

 akaline, and extracted with chloroform. The residue, after 

 evaporation, was then dried at 100° C. till constant. The 

 weight of mixed alkaloids so obtained was 031 gramme, 

 which, allowing tor about 4 per cent, of water still remain- 

 ing in the nearly dried material, gives a yield of 0-32 per 

 cent. Though every care was taken to make the extractions 

 as thorough as possible, this result is doubtless below the 

 truth ; but allowing for experimental error, the yield of 

 total alkaloids is not great in comparison with that obtained 

 from some other species. Strychnos Ignatire, for example, 

 yields about lo per cent, of strychnine, and O'o per cent, of 



