126 THE ALKALOID FROM PITURIE. 
The great discrepancy between A. Ladenburg’s account and the — 
Baron von Mueller’s can I think be only accounted for by the 
eren 
January, 1879), state seer plainly that the Duboisia myoporoides 
yields a volatile oily alkaloid, and this is — confirmed by the 
extract ce the Baron’s letter, already qu 
me paper Baron von Mueller ec describes pituric or 
duboisic nati obtained tent: the precipitate given by the piturie 
on the addition of basic acetate of lea 
In the Pharmaceutical Society’s J ournal for April 5th, 1879, 
there is an account of an examination of some piturie made by 
Mons. Petit, of Paris, in which he comes to the conclusion that 
the alkaloid is identical with nicotine ; but M. Petit does not 
seem to have had sufficient material to permit a combustion to be 
made of the alkaloid ; he had to rely mainly upon its reactions 
certain chemicals, and apparently was only able to make one deter 
mination each of the e platinum and chlorine in the platinum salt; 
the amounts of which apparently roughly es with those 
required for the chloro-platinate of nicotine, viz., 4 per cent. 
platinum and 37 per cent. chlorine, the percentages bovis being 
platinum 34: per cent. and chlorin ent. These results 
however cannot be regarded as final, since, as will be shown laterom 
the platinum salt cannot be depended upon, as it is not of uniform 
composition. 
Preparation of the Alkaloid. 
The piturie was extracted with boiling water slightly acidified 
with sulphuric acid, the liquid concentrated by evaporation and 
distilled with an excess of caustic soda, the a 
until reduced to a small bulk; as the residue was of @ 
colour it was once more distilled with caustic soda, the distillate 
eutralized with hydrochloric acid and again cenit ‘it oa 
now nearly colourless, caustic soda was again add , and 
liquid shaken up with ether. 
The ether was next removed by distillation at — “= ” a temper 
ture as — in a current of hydrogen, the hea 
being raised gradually until it sahbd 140°C., a bath “of alphas 
acid being used for this purpose. It was allow 
this temperature for about six hours ; the bath was then 
and the distillation continued at a still higher tem ee 
ked flame, the current of hydrogen being still a 
all the alkaloid, with the exception of a very small pergecone 
cedhian* Dae tion te ernomaae 
During the distillation the thermometer 
temperature between 243° and 244°C, 
