170 The Philippine Journal of Science mm 



sapogenin by the action of various ferments. Heating destroys 

 these, and as yeasts will not grow in the concentrated juice, 

 there are no further changes after concentration. 



Loheiy who was the first to find and describe Lophopetaium, 

 at the end of his phytographic diagnosis writes the following: 



Cette espece, voisine du Lophopetaleum ftmbriatum Wall., habite les 

 forets de l'interieur de l'ile de Luzon. Les Negritos, race indigene des 

 isles Philippines, recolectent l'ecorce tres veneneuse de cet arbre pour en 

 preparer un extrait servant a empoissonner leurs fleches. 



CHEMICAL EXAMINATION OF LOPHOPETALUM TOXICUM 



Trie fresh bast fiber was quickly dried, pulverized, and mac- 

 erated with petroleum ether for eight days. Slow evaporation 

 of the petroleum ether leaves a mass of a yellow crystalline sub- 

 stance that is easily washed free from color by cold absolute al- 

 cohol. The white residue crystallizes in drusy clusters of 

 acicular crystals. This crystalline mass is odorless and tasteless 

 and has no physiological effect when administered in oil to a 

 guinea pig. The yield is 0.8 per cent, the melting point is 183° C. 

 It is fairly soluble in petroleum ether, ether, warm alcohol, and 

 chloroform, but is insoluble in water. This white substance has 

 the appearance of wax, responds to no tests for nitrogen, shows 

 no acid or basic properties, and is slightly acted upon by alcoholic 

 potash solution. The yellow coloring matter is easily taken up 

 by animal charcoal. Ether extracts from the dry residue a small 

 amount of yellowish resin of an acid nature. Washing out the 

 petroleum ether and ether extracts with acidulated and alkaline 

 water gave no traces of alkaloids present. 



A water extraction of a portion of the plant residue after the 

 above macerations froths greatly upon agitation and after 

 hydrolysis reduces Fehling's solution. 



The remaining plant material was submitted to the method of 

 Robert 10 for isolating saponins. The purified saponin substances 

 were evaporated to dryness under reduced pressure, redissolved 

 in 85 per cent alcohol, and allowed to stand several weeks in a 

 vacuum desiccator. Irregular crystals separated out. A small 

 amount of these was left after washing freely with 98 per cent 

 alcohol. A solution of the crystals gives a precipitate with 

 barium hydroxide and is easily hydrolyzed by strong acid. 

 Mecke's reagent gives a purplish red coloration. 



A guinea pig, weighing 523 grams, injected intraperitoneally 

 with 0.0021 gram of these crystals, died in one hour and forty- 

 five minutes. Symptoms of uneasiness began after three min- 



D Loher, A., Icones Bogev (1897), 1, 55. "Op. cit. 



