xii, a, 4 Brill and Wells: Medicinal Plants, II 171 



utes, followed by apparent blindness, increasing weakness of 

 limbs, abdominal convulsions, exhaustion, and death. Similar 

 injection into a guinea pig of 0.235 gram of the crude saponin 

 substance, recovered from an extraction by methyl alcohol, gave 

 the same symptoms, and death resulted after twenty minutes. 



The sapogenin obtained by hydrolysis with emulsin formed 

 groups of thick acicular crystals quite insoluble in water. The 

 usual methods for detecting alkaloids failed to show the presence 

 of alkaloids in the plant material. An extraction of the fresh 

 bast fiber in sodium chloride solution gave no nitrogen substances 

 precipitated by magnesium or sodium sulphate, thus indicating 

 the absence of any of the common albumens of a toxic nature. 

 As sapotoxins have slight value medicinally, no further exami- 

 nation was made of the compound. 



This plant contains a physiologically active substance, a saponin 

 which is poisonous in small quantities. 



ERYTHROPHLOEUM DENSIFLORUM (ELM.) MERRILL (LEGUMINOS^E) 



Malatabigui, calamantao (T. in Tayabas), malabunao (B. in 

 Camarines and Zamboanga), ngiricngic, albihal (N. in Cagayan), 

 and salsal (Ibanag in Cagayan). 



Erythrophloeum densiflorum Merr., of the Leguminosse, is not 

 considered poisonous among the Filipinos who make use of the 

 wood for building purposes. 



Lewin J1 says: 



Every species of Erythrophloeum is more or less rich in erythropleine, 

 an alkaloid which is reputed to be a heart poison. 



CHEMICAL EXAMINATION OF ERYTHROPHLOEUM DENSIFLORUM 



Erythrophloeum densiflorum was primarily selected for anal- 

 ysis to determine whether or not it contained the alkaloid, ery- 

 throphleine, which is found in Erythrophloeum guineense. The 

 routine method for alkaloids showed none present. The two 

 methods 12 outlined by Gallois and Hardy were also closely fol- 

 lowed. Neither method gave any indications of alkaloids, either 

 amorphous or crystalline. In the Stas method the tartaric acid 

 was found uncombined with any of the plant constituents. When 

 treated with water, the concentrated alcoholic extract leaves a 

 large quantity of red powder, probably decomposition products, 

 such as phlobaphenes and dextrose resulting from the action of 

 the dilute acid on the tannins. Neither the methyl alcohol nor 



11 Lewin, L., Traite de Toxicologic Octave Doin, Paris (1903), 654. 

 "Gallois, N., and Hardy, E., Journ. Pharm. et Chimie (1876), 24, 26. 



