974 VEGETO- ALKALIES. 



acid gas, is resolved into sal ammoniac and a resinous substance 

 having acid properties (Kane) ; but the other vegetable bases 

 are not found to undergo similar decompositions when exposed 

 to acids. 



Curious relations in composition exist between some of the 

 vegetable bases ; thus cinchonine and quinine appear only to 

 differ from each other, in the latter containing an atom of 

 oxygen more than the former : 



Cinchonine C 20 H 12 NO 



Quinine C 20 H 12 NO 2 



Another base, aricme^ of which the composition is less cer- 

 tainly determined belongs properly to the same group, contain- 

 ing an atom more of oxygen than quinine, that is, C 20 H 12 NO 3 

 (Pelletier). These three bases are found together in the 

 quinquinas. 



Codeine and morphine, which are found together in opium, 

 appear to have a similar relation in composition to each other : 



Codeine C 35 H 20 NO 5 , 



Morphine. . . . C 35 H 20 NO 6 . 



Narcotine from opium and chelidonine, a base likewise from 

 the family of Papaveraceae, appear to be related : 



Chelidonine C 40 H 20 N 3 O 6 (Will.), 



Narcotine C 40 H 20 N O 12 (Liebig.) 



The chelidonine contains 2 atoms of nitrogen more than the 

 narcotine, while the latter contains 6 atoms of oxygen instead 

 of this nitrogen ; these being equivalent quantities, it will be 

 remembered of the elements in question. Or, by adding 2 

 atoms of ammonia to narcotine and subtracting therefrom 

 6 atoms of water, chelidonine would be produced (Liebig). 

 Attempts, however, which have been made to convert one of 

 these bases into the other have not been successful. But the 

 composition assigned above to narcotine is by no means certain. 

 The formula for the same base deduced by M. Regnault from 

 his analysis is C 44 H 23 NO 13 ; and that deducible from the 

 atomic weight of its double salt with bichloride of platinum is 

 C 48 H 24 N0 15 (Liebig.) 



