1032 MINNESOTA BOTANICAL STUDIES. 



Of special interest is the result of a dry distillation of the 

 alkaloid. At 197-200° C. a colorless acid was obtained which was 

 identified as tiglic acid. At the same time a base was obtained 

 which was identified as B picoline by comparing with the same 

 base obtained from strychnine. 



The formation of a pyridine derivative by destructive distil- 

 lation undoubtedly indicates the presence of that base in the 

 natural alkaloid, and helps materially toward the determina- 

 tion of the structural formula. 



Salzberger, 20 in an exhaustive examination of Veratrum 

 album, made use of two methods of extraction, one he called 

 the "barium method," and the other the " metaphosphoric 

 method." The phosphoric acid method proved best, the use of 

 barium hydroxide undoubtedly producing a partial saponifica- 

 tion of the alkaloid. From the crude material he isolated the 

 following bases: 



Protoveratrine, C 32 H 5l NOu 



Protoveratridine, C 26 H 45 NO3 



Pseudojervine, C 20 H 43 NO: 



Jervine, C 2 e H 37 N0 3 



Rubijervine, C 26 H 43 N0 2 + H 2 O. 



There is a remarkable resemblance between protoveratrine 

 and cevadine and protoveratridine and cevidine. A brief com- 

 parison will show that these might easily be taken for one 

 another: 



Cevadine, C 32 H 4i) NO.) 



Protoveratrine, 32 H 5 i NOu 



Cevidine, C 26 H 45 N0 8 



Protoveratridine, C 2 r H 45 N0 9 . 

 Prom the above formulas, and from a remarkable resemblance 

 in general properties, it seems necessary that these bases 

 should be again studied and compared. 



A careful comparison of cevadine with the veratrine of 

 Merck and Schmidt and Koppen has shown that they are the 

 same substance. While historically, and for reasons already 

 given, cevadine should take precedence, nevertheless, from the 

 fact that the cevadine is the common veratrine alkaloid used at 

 present in pharmacy, it seems best to retain the name which 

 associates the alkaloid with the genus of plants from which it 

 is obtained. The name veratrine has therefore been retained 

 in the following experiments. 



(20) Inaug. Dis. Erlangen 1890: Arch. Pharm. 238: 230. 



