204 



HERBS 



from other species of Swertia, which sometimes are mixed with it or 

 substituted for it, as well as from other substitutions that have been 

 occasionally noticed. The last two are characteristic of the natural 

 order Gentianece and are also useful in identifying the drug. 



FIG. 108. Chiretta. A, portion of flowering panicle ; B, pistil ; C, fruit with 

 persistent calyx ; D, transverse section of fruit ; E, seeds. A, natural size. 

 B, C, D, enlarged ; E, highly magnified. (Bentley and Trimen.) 



Constituents. Chiretta contains two intensely bitter principles, 

 ophelic acid and chiratin, both amorphous or indistinctly crystalline 

 yellow substances. 



Ophelic acid exists in the larger proportion ; it has been obtained as a viscid 

 yellow substance with a persistent bitter taste, soluble in water, alcohol, and 

 ether. Chiratin is a yellow powder soluble in warm water, alcohol, and ether. 

 Boiled with hydrochloric acid it yields ophelic acid and chiratogenin but no 

 sugar, and is therefore not a glucoside. 



