XI, A. 6 



Brill: Datura alba 



259 



Table I. — Description of material, methods of drying and extracting of 

 Datura alba, and results obtained — Continued. 



Description of 

 material. 



Method of drying. 



Method of determining. 



Total 

 alkaloid. 









Per cent. 



Immature fruit 



Dried in steam oven. AIlov?ed 



10 grams material in 50 cc. H2O 



0.094 





to remain for several days 



acidified with HCIand heated. 







after becoming dry. 



filtered, extracted with ful- 

 ler's earth, and filtered.^ Ex- 

 tract made alkaline and 

 treated as preceding. 





Green leaves.-- 



Dried in desiccator over KOH— 



According to Autenrieth 



0.406 





do 



do 



0.489 

 0.589 

 0.067 





do 



do 





do 



do 





Dried in air on floor of room. 



do 



0.234 





Time about two weeks. 







Stems 



do 



-— do 



0.251 

 0.262 



Immature fruit 



do 



do 



Immature fruit. 

 This fruit had be- 



do 



do 



0.222 







come somewhat 









moldy. 









Green leaves 



do 



By use of fuller's earth, see 



0.210 







above. 





Stems 



do 



do 



0.208 

 0.231 





do 



do - 









* Japanese fuller's earth used in this extraction and the plant material used were given 

 to us by Mr. Dean C. Worcester. For discussion of the use of hydrous aluminium silicate 

 in the extraction of alkaloids, see Lloyd, John Uri, Journ. Am. Phar. Assoc. (1916), 5, 381. 



DISCUSSION OF RESULTS 



The flower heads of Datura alba grown in China are reported ^ 

 to contain 0.485 per cent of alkaloid calculated as hyoscine. 

 A. R. K, Dohme * states that the fresh parts in general contain 

 more than the dried parts; that the stems contain the most 

 alkaloid, the seeds next, then the leaves, and the roots least of 

 all. I have found the various parts to range in the following 

 order: Mature seeds, flowers, stems, immature fruit, and leaves. 

 These experiments show that prolonged drying and heating at 

 high temperatures cause a loss of the alkaloid ; that the alkaloid 

 is more readily extracted from the material by alcohol in an acidi- 

 fied suspension than in either a neutral or alkaline; and that a 

 possible commercial method is to grind the raw material finely, 

 treat it with hot acidified water, and then treat this extract 

 with fuller's earth. By extracting this earth with alcohol after 



' U. S. Dispensatory, 18th ed., 1290. 

 Ibid. 



