202 PRATT. 
The similarity between roselle and cranberry, both in composi- 
tion and use, makes a comparison between the two of decided 
interest from an analytical standpoint and is as follows: 
TABLE I.—Analyses of roselle and cranberry grown in the United States 
and roselle grown in the Philippine Islands. 
] | 
| Philip- 
Constituents. | Roselle. sprees ee 
| | | | 
Water 28 0d 2) eS et A ee ee | 88. 91 88. 53 82.49 
Solids =. 20 eet oe ee ee ee Sen ee es | 11.09 11.47 17.51 
ASH oo. casera the han. one eee ae ee ee eee | 0. 89 0.25 1.26 
Marxeh(Gnsolublehmatten) see ae ene eee | 6. 67 4.60 7.39 
Acidlas malic tots 238 Bee SS se tse eye ee ae | 2.77 2.74 3.31 
Reducing sugar as invert____-__---------_------_-_-- | 0.33 1,90 0.82 
Sucrose seco a) ues cS ore oe ae eae ake eee ee | 0.08 0.10] 0.24 
BenZOic acid ==ss22 35 ase es ee eee? eee eee absent | present | absent 
a Analyses quoted from Farm. Bull. U. S. Dept. Agr. (1907), No. 307. 
It is evident that although the roselle grown in the Islands con- 
tains less water and consequently more solid matter, still the 
actual food value is very low, and the product is to be considered 
more as a condiment than a food. 
The most interesting point brought out by the analyses of Phil- 
ippine roselle is the fact that the malic acid present consists en- 
tirely of the dextro rotatory modification. This form has hereto- 
fore been purely a laboratory product, and has never been isolated 
and identified in plant or fruit composition, although the levo 
malic acid is a constituent of many fruits grown in temperate and 
tropical climates. 
Malic acid was determined according to the accurate method 
of Dunbar and Bacon? as modified by the author* in which the 
greatly increased levo rotation of a solution of the acid after 
treatment with uranyl acetate is utilized as a measure of the ~ 
acid present. In the case of roselle, the change of rotation after 
this treatment was to the right while ordinary malic acid shows 
a change to the left. This could not have been due to tartaric 
acid, this acid being absent as shown by the potassium bitartrate * 
and basic magnesium tartrate tests.» To confirm the identity of 
the acid, it was precipitated with basic lead acetate, washed with 
*Cir. U. S. Dep. Agr. Bur. Chem. (1911), No. 76. 
*Cir. U. S. Dep. Agr. Bur. Chem. (1911), No. 87. 
* Bull. U. S. Dep. Agr. Bur. Chem. (1910), No. 107, 86. 
* Josef von Terentzy, Analyst (1908), 27, from Chem. Ztg. (1907), 31, 
1119. 
