CRUDE DRUGS. 469 



Rio or Brazilian Ipecac. — Cylindrical, more or less tortuous, 

 5 to 15 cm. long, I to 5 mm. in diameter; externally dark brown, 

 irregularly annvilate, sometimes transversely fissured, with occa- 

 sional rootlets or rootlet-scars ; fracture of bark brittle, of the wood 

 tough ; internally, bark light brown, 0.5 to i mm. thick, easily sep- 

 arable from the dark-yellow, non-porous wood ; odor slight ; taste 

 bitter, acrid. 



An aqueous infusion of ipecac gives a copious precipitate with 

 potassio-mercuric iodide solution ; a hydro-alcoholic infusion gives 

 a yellow precipitate with picric acid, or if hydrochloric acid and 

 potassium chlorate are added the solution becomes orange-red 

 with a reddish fluorescence. 



Inner Structure. — See Figs. 203, 291. 



Carthagena Ipecac closely resembles the Rio or Brazilian 

 ipecac, but the roots are uniformly thicker (4 to 7 mm. in diam- 

 eter), of a brownish-gray color, and the annulations are less 

 pronounced. 



The stems are usually more slender, 5 to 10 cm. long, i to 1.5 

 mm. in diameter, nearly smooth or longitudinally wrinkled ; bark 

 o. I mm. thick, with bast fibers either single or in groups ; pith 

 distinct, 0.5 mm. in diameter. 



Constituents. — Ipecac contains three alkaloids (2 to 3 per 

 cent.) — emetine, cephaeline and psychotrine, that are said to be 

 contained chiefly in the bark, which malces up about 90 per cent, 

 of the drug. 



Emetine (methyl-cephaeline) is white, amorphous, forms 

 crystalline salts, becomes darker on exposure to light, and with 

 Froehde's alkaloidal reagent (consisting of o.oi Gm. of sodium 

 molybdate in i c.c. of concentrated sulphuric acid) becomes dirty 

 green, changing to a bright green on the addition of hydrochloric 

 acid. Cephaeline occurs in silky needles, forms amorphous salts 

 and is quite unstable, becoming yellow even in the dark. With 

 Frcehde's reagent, cephaeline changes to purple, becoming deep 

 blue on the addition of hydrochloric acid. Psychotrine is amor- 

 phous, quite unstable, and becomes purplish with Froehde's rea- 

 gent, changing: to green on the addition of hydrochloric acid. 

 Ipecac also contains 2.25 per cent, of ipecacuanhic acid, with 

 which the alkaloids are combined ; a glucoside resembling saponin t 



