5o8 BOTANY AND PHARMACOGNOSY. 



Inner Structure. — See Fig. 223. 



Constituents. — Resin (official as Resin of Podophyllum) 

 3.5 to 5 per cent., consisting of two poisonous principles: (a) 

 podophyllotoxin, 20 per cent., occurring in white crystals that 

 are sparingly soluble in water and yield on treatment with water 

 podophyllic acid and picropodophyllin ; and (b) picropodophyl- 

 lin (an isomer of podophyllotoxin), which crystallizes in needles 

 and is insoluble in water but soluble in 90 to 95 per cent, alcohol. . 

 The resin also contains a yellow crystalline coloring principle 

 resembling quercetin, a green fixed oil and podophyllic acid. The 

 rhizome also contains a purgative resin, podophylloresin ; consid- 

 erable starch, and some gallic acid. 



Allied Plants. — The rhizome of Podophyllum . Emodi, a 

 plant growing on the lower slopes of the Himalayas, is larger and 

 yields 11. 4 to 12 per cent, of resin, which consists of but half as 

 much podophyllotoxin as the resin obtained from P. peltatum. 



SANGUINARIA.— BLOODROOT.— The rhizome of San- 

 guinaria canadensis (Fam. Papaveracese), a perennial herb (Fig. 

 148) indigenous to the Eastern and Central United States and 

 Canada (p. 280). The rhizome should be collected in July or 

 August and dried. 



Description. — Horizontal, irregularly cylindrical, flattened, 

 sometimes branched, 2.5 to 6 cm. long, 5 to 10 mm. in diameter; 

 externally dark brown, slightly annulate, with few buds or stem- 

 scars on upper surface and numerous root-scars on lower surface ; 

 fracture short and somewhat waxy; internally, bark dark brown, 

 about 0.5 mm. thick, wood and pith with numerous reddish resin- 

 cells ; odor slight ; taste bitter and acrid. 



Shriveled rhizomes which are gray internally and free from 

 starch should be rejected. 



Constituents. — The drug contains a number of alkaloids, of 

 which the most important is sanguinarine ; it occurs- to the 

 extent of about i per cent., crystallizes in colorless needles and 

 yields reddish salts with nitric or sulphuric acid. The other 

 alkaloids include chelerythrine, which forms yellowish salts; 

 protopine, also found in other plants (p. 282), and j8- and y-homo- 

 cheHdonine, which, like the last two alkaloids, are found in Cheli- 

 donium and some other plants (p. 281). In addition, the drug 



