150 INULA HELENIUM 



these may frequently be seen smaller pieces of the entire root of 

 various lengths. The pieces have a brownish colour externally, 

 and are yellowish-grey internally ; they have a somewhat horny 

 character, and break with a close smooth fracture. Elecampane 

 root has at first a somewhat glutinous taste, but by chewing it 

 becomes subsequently aromatic, and slightly bitter and pungent ; 

 it has an agreeably aromatic, somewhat camphoraceous orris-like 

 odour. 



The principal constituents of elecampane are bitter extractive, 

 helenin, and inulin ; a trace of volatile oil is also present. The 

 tonic properties of the root are said to reside in the bitter extrac- 

 tive. Inulin, which has the same composition as starch, was first 

 discovered by Valentine Rose in this root. It is of common occur- 

 rence in the roots of the Composite, and at present has not been 

 found in the plants of any other order. As usually seen it is a 

 white powder, without taste or odour. It is coloured yellow by 

 iodine, and is readily soluble in about three parts of boiling water, 

 forming a clear solution, but on cooling the inulin is nearly all 

 deposited. By these characters it may be readily distinguished 

 from ordinary starch. Inulin is most abundant in the root in 

 autumn, thus Dragendorff obtained from it in October as much 

 as 44 per cent., but in spring only 19 per cent. By immersing 

 elecampane root in glycerine or alcohol, as first shown by Sachs, 

 inulin is precipitated in globular aggregations of needle-shaped 

 crystalline forms. Helenin was, until recently, considered as a 

 distinct body, and was commonly known as elecampane- camphor ; 

 but from the researches of Kallen, it would appear to be resolvable 

 into two crystallizable substances, which he has named helenin and 

 alantcamphor or elecampane-camphor. Helenin is described 

 as a body without taste or odour ; and alantcamphor as having a 

 peppermint odour and taste. Further research by the same ex- 

 perimenter has shown that when elecampane root is exhausted with 

 alcohol, and the extract is precipitated with water, the crystals 

 then obtained contain, besides helenin, two other bodies. One 

 of these has not yet been obtained pure, but it is without doubt 

 isomeric with laurel-camphor. This he terms inulol ; the other, 



