acids. Moschatin is thrown do^m by addition of water, and the 

 acids by subacetate of lead. Brittle, brown-red, hygroscopic mass 

 of a bitter taste, easily soluble in water, less so in alcohol; in- 

 soluble in ether. Contains nitrogen. Planta Reichenau.] 



Acids. All organic acids as yet investigated are combinations 

 of carbon with hydrogen and oxygen — seldom without hydrogen, 

 and more seldom still with nitrogen; they have an acid reaction 

 and mostly an acid taste, and form salts with the bases. They are 

 very widely diffused, and it is highly probable that there exists 

 no vegetable organism, which does not contain one or the other; in- 

 deed, experience has shown that many plants contain more than 

 one. They exist very seldom in the free state in the organism, 

 but nearly always either partly or entirely saturated by anorganic 

 or by organic bases (alkaloids) ; in the event of the basic access 

 being incomplete, they are the caiise of the acid reaction of vege- 

 table extracts. The substance found combined with fat acids, and 

 which serves as substitute for bases, is oxyd of glyceryl. 



Acids are either volatile or not, as in the case of alkaloids. The 

 volatile acids are always obtained by distillation with a fixed 

 mineral acid, preferably phosphoric acid. For fuller information 

 see section ix.. Division III., Part II., where the way of their 

 estimation is also indicated. The particulars for ascertaining, pre- 

 paring and estimating non-volatile acids will be found in sections 

 ii. and viii. The discovery of fat acids coincides in section ü. 

 with the examination of fats. 



Acolyctill. The root of Aconitum Lycoctonum contains no 

 aconitin, but in its stead two other organic bases, the one of 

 which has been termed Acolyctin, and the other, present in less 

 quantity, Lycoctonin. In order to isolate the Acolyctin, evaporate 

 or distil the alcohol from the tincture (treated beforehand as under 

 "Aconitin," according to Geiger and Hesse, first with lime and 

 afterwards with sulphuric acid), remove from the residue — diluted 

 with water, if necessary — all resinoiis matters, decolourise with 

 animal charcoal, add cai'bonate of soda in sufiicient quantity for a 

 decidedly alkaline reaction and bring to dryness. Grind the 

 substance, extract with chloroform or absolute alcohol, filter, add 

 some water, evaporate to a syrup, shake repeatedly with ether 

 (which dissolves the Lycoctonin), dry and pulverise. Whitish 

 powder of a bitter, not acrid taste, readily soluble in water, in 

 diluted and concentrated alcohol and in chloroform, but not in 

 ether ; of alkaline reaction. When ether is added to the alcoholic 

 solution, the whole of it will either be converted into a paste, or the 

 Acolyctin will fall down as a white substance when more diluted. 

 It separates in drops on the bottom of the vessel when ether is 

 added to its solution in chloroform. The aqueous solution of the 

 pure Acolyctin and of its salts is precipitated by the carbonates of 



