162 



syrup, press the crystals wliicli will have formed after a few days; 

 wash with cold water, and re-ciystallise with aid of animal char- 

 coal. — Small, delicate, very voluminous crystals of a beautiful 

 satm-lustre ; inodorous and tasteless, highly electrified by friction, 

 neutral, fusible, insohible in water, soluble in boiling alcohol, very 

 little so in ether, readily in warm oil of turpentine ; unaffected by 

 alkalies and hydrochloric acid. 



Ouoilid = C36 H22 O16. Bitter-sweet substance of the dried 

 root of Ononis spinosa, perhaps formed on drying from glycyrr- 

 hizin. Precipitate the aqueous decoction with diluted sulphuric 

 acid; wash the brown flocks with cold water, dry, dissolve in 

 absolute alcohol, evaporate the solution to dryness, and repeat 

 dissolving and evaporating until the remnant is perfectly soluble 

 in absolute alcohol. — Dark-yellow, amorphous, brittle mass of at 

 first bitter, afterwards lasting sweet taste; has an acid reaction; 

 fuses by heat and becomes decomposed; dissolves in water and 

 alcohol ; is precipitable by metallic salts. 



Ollonill^Cgo H34 O26. Crystalline substance of the root of 

 Ononis spinosa. Precipitate the decoction with acetate of lead; 

 impregnate the filtrate with sulplniret of hydrogen ; wash the 

 deposit, consisting of sulphide of lead and of Ononin, dry, boil 

 with alcohol, and recrystallise the Ononin which has been dis- 

 solved out, with aid of animal charcoal. — Forms colourless, 

 quadrangular needles or leaflets, inodorous and tasteless; fuses at 

 235°, is decomposed by more heat; is insoluble in cold, little soluble 

 in boiling water, sparmgly in strong alcohol, almost insoluble in 

 ether ; dissolves in concentrated sulphuric acid, with red-yellow 

 colour, passing to cherry-red; separates, on boiling with diluted 

 acids, into sugar and Formonetin (formate of Ononetin— C46 H19 

 O9 4- 0-2 HO 3), the latter separating in a crystalline form; by 

 boiling with alkalies or with alkaline earths formic acid is formed 

 and crystalline OnospinzzCys H34 O24. Formonetin is tasteless, 

 Onospin nearly so. 



[Ophelic Aci(l=C26 H20 O20. Discovered by Hoehn in the 

 root and herb of Ophelia Chirata. Prepared by exti-acting the 

 inilverised herb with alcohol of 60%, &c. — A deliquescent, syi'upy, 

 yellowish-brown substance, of at first slightly acid, afterwards 

 intensely and lastingly bitter taste, of gentian-like odour, espe- 

 cially on warming ; dissolves in water, alcohol, and ethei' ; reduces 

 alkaline copper and silver solutions ; becomes darker by alkalies, 

 reddish-yellow by chloride of iron, dirty gi-een by sulphate of 

 copper, yellow by neuti'al and basic acetates of lead ; yields with 

 acids amorphous combinations.] 



Ol»au=NARCOTiN. 



