500 . SCIENTIFIC AND APPLIED PHARMACOGNOSY 



externally pale yellowish-brown, brittle when cold and breaking with 

 a flat, conchoidal and waxy fracture; internally yellowish-white or 

 light yellowish-brown; odor distinct; taste bitter and acrid. 



When triturated with water it yields a yellowish-white emulsion, 

 becoming reddish-violet upon the addition of a few drops of a solu- 

 tion of ferric chloride. The aqueous emulsion is colored yellowish, 

 becoming brown upon the addition of a solution of sodium hydrate. 

 If 1 part of finely powdered ammoniac is boiled with 15 parts of 

 hydrochloric acid, the solution filtered, and ammonia water added 

 until there is an excess, the solution should not show a blue fluores- 

 cence (absence of galbanum). 



Constituents. A volatile oil, from 0.2 to 0.4 per cent; an acid 

 resin (which is an ester of ammoresinotannol and salicylic acid) and, 

 an indifferent resin, from 60 to 70 per cent; a gum resembling acacia, 

 from 12 to 16 per cent; a trace of free salicylic acid; several volatile 

 acids, acetic and caproic; ash from 2 to 10 per cent. None of the 

 constituents contain either sulphur or umbelliferon. 



GALBANUM. Gummiresina Galbanum, Galbanum-Gummiharz, 

 A gum-resinous exudation from Ferula galbaniflua and prob- 

 ably other species of Ferula (Fam. Umbelliferae), perennial herbs 

 indigenous to the prairies of northern and western Persia and Afghan- 

 istan. The gum-resin occurs in schizogenous secretion canals 

 throughout the plant and exudes as a result of natural wounds to the 

 trees, the exudation being sometimes facilitated by incising the stems 

 above the roots. The product is collected, shipped to either Asia 

 Minor or Bombay, whence it is exported to London, Trieste, and 

 Marseilles. 



Description. Occurring in irregular masses, occasionally in 

 tears, usually admixed with fragments of vegetable tissues; from 0.5 

 to 7 cm. in diameter; externally bluish-green or orange-brown to 

 almost brownish-black, somewhat oily on the surface; becoming 

 soft and sticky by the heat of the hand; when cold, dry and brittle; 

 fracture somewhat granular and waxy; internally light yellow 

 or grayish-brown and shiny; odor balsamic; taste bitter and 

 acrid. 



Galbanum is only partly soluble in water or alcohol. When 

 triturated with water, it yields a turbid milky fluid, which upon the 

 addition of a drop of ammonia water, assumes a bluish fluorescence. 

 Upon boiling galbanum with hydrochloric acid and allowing the 

 solution to stand for an hour it becomes of a bright red color, changing 

 to dark violet upon the addition of an equal amount of alcohol and 

 heating to 60 C. 



