180 The Philippine Journal of Science i»m 



were made. The alkaloid conforms to all the tests given by 

 Mulliken 30 for berberine. Like berberine the salts have an in- 

 tensely yellow color and an extremely bitter taste. A solution 

 of iodine in potassium iodide gives a brown precipitate of B.HLI 2 , 

 crystallizing from hot alcohol, in long adamantine needles, which 

 are insoluble in water and cold alcohol. Warming with concen- 

 trated sulphuric acid gives an olive green color. A fragment 

 of NaNO;,, stirred into the solution in H 2 S0 o gives a violet streak. 

 Chlorine water gives the characteristic purple zone effect. By 

 the careful addition of weak nitric acid acicular crystals of 

 the yellow nitrate are formed (Plate II, figs. 1 and 2) . The salts 

 are decomposed by heat. These reactions are characteristic of 

 berberine and of the alkaloid from Toddalia asiatica. Since 

 the alkaloid responds to all the characteristic reactions for ber- 

 berine, we feel justified in concluding that Toddalia asiatica 

 Kurz of the Philippine Islands contains berberine. 



LUNASIA AMABA BLANCO (RUTACE^E) 



Lunas (T. in Rizal, Bataan, Bulacan, Mindoro, and Pam- 

 panga), paitan, pait, lunas bondoc (T. in Bataan), malasanqui, 

 lunas na puti (T. in Rizal), bayabayabasan, saltiqui, santiqui 

 (T. in Laguna), abdong cahoy (T. in Batangas and Laguna), 

 malaligas na babae (T. in Baler), malacacao, cacaocaocaoan (T. 

 in Batangas), lubilubi (V. in Cebu), labao (V. in Ticao Island), 

 paetan (V. in Leyte and other southern Islands), pait-pait (V. 

 in Zamboanga), and saguit (M. in Zamboanga). 



Lunasia amara is a species widely scattered throughout the 

 Archipelago; it is found in most provinces and islands. 



The literature of Lunasia is scant, for up to the time when 

 Dr. W. G. Boorsma :ri began his investigations with authentic 

 material of this species all that had been published with refer- 

 ence to its chemical composition was in reality about the bark of 

 abuab (Lophopetalum toxicum Loher) , which is utilized by some 

 of the inhabitants of the Philippines to poison their weapons. 



This unfortunate confusion arose from the fact that Lophope- 

 talum toxicum had been sent to European museums by Dr. Scha- 

 denberg, a resident of Manila at the time, with the erroneous 

 name of Rabelaisia (Lunasia) . Plugge, and other investigators, 

 who could only avail themselves of the material received at the 

 museums, were victims of this error. 



s0 Mulliken, S. P., The Identification of Pure Organic Compounds. John 

 Wiley & Sons, London (1916), 2, 261. 



"Boorsma, W. G., Bull. Inst, Bot. Buitenzorg (1900) 6, 15. 



