66 Report of Schimmel § Co. 1921. 





With respect the testing of Peru balsam we take the following notes from a paper 

 by H. Wolff 1 ). Of the various methods which the author studied testing with petroleum 

 ether after Hager-Enz 2 ) gave the most uniform results. With pure balsam the ether 

 remained perfectly clear, whilst separations appeared in artificial balsams or mixtures 

 of genuine balsam with 20 to 30 per cent, of artificial balsam. On the other hand the 

 ester test after Fromme 3 ) failed. The Herzog 4 ) zone test was only then found decisive, 

 when the green colour did not appear. The nitric acid test after Fromme 3 ) was not 

 always reliable either. 



According to the experience of Wolff an adulteration of the balsam may there- 

 fore only be considered as established, when both the test with petroleum ether and the 

 colour reaction indicate an addition, but not when only the colour reaction indicates this. 



A Peru balsam examined by L. van Itallie 5 ) which had been adulterated with 

 phthalic acid anhydride had the following constants: — d 1.146; acid v. 48.8; sap. v. 356; 

 cinnamein 70 percent.; sap. v. of the cinnamein 382. The ester was easily identified 

 by the fluorescein reaction with resorcinol and sulphuric acid. Another, so-called 

 synthetical Peru balsam had the constants: — Acid v. 48.1; sap. v. 220.4; cinnamein 

 64 per cent.; sap. v. of the cinnamein 254; n of cinnamein 1.5682. Although the 

 quantitative analysis yielded normal figures, qualitative tests suggested an artificial 

 product prepared with benzyl benzoate. 



Pollantin. — The proteins of various kinds of pollen play, as is well-known, an 

 important part in the hay-fever trouble. Apart from the pollens of grasses and cereals, 

 which are significant for the disease in Europe, there are the pollens of a series of 

 American Ambrosia and Solidago species, to which the excitation of the disease is 

 described. As regards the protein-bodies of the ambrosia-pollen, Fr. W. Heyl, who 

 had already published several reseaches on this problem 6 ), has communicated a new 

 paper in conjunction with H. H. Hopkins 7 ), in which they give expression to somewhat 

 novel views. 



In the treatment and preparation of drugs, they point out, two methods should 

 be distinguished. The first is mainly concerned with chemical attack and aims at 

 final pure products or at crystalline substances. The second, conservative method is 

 characterised by the application of the more simple pharmaceutical modes of working 

 and prefers the preparation of the so-called galenical preparations or extracts. 



The ragweed pollens (ambrosia-pollen) belong, according to the authors, to the 

 drugs which should be treated according to the second method. For our imperfect 

 knowledge of their compositions does not justify any chemical decomposition of the 

 drugs into "pure" substances, even it we acknowledge that the albumin reaction of 

 the proteins claims the main interest and assume that the hay-fever toxin from the 

 pollen of the grasses approaches, as a toxalbumin, the albuminous poisons, ricin, 

 abrin and crotin, and produces in the animal body a specific antitoxin. For all that 

 we need not make the same assumption for the ragweed pollen. 



In an investigation of the ragweed pollen Kammann 8 ) has proved that the pollen- 

 poison, extracted by means of water from the pollen, does not only resist the attacks 

 of the pollen proteases (ferments destroying albuminoids), which are likewise present 



x ) Pharm. ZUj. 66 (1921), 38. — 2 ) Snddeutsche Apotheker Ztg. 1913, 73. Cf. Report April 1914, 108. — 

 *) Berichte of Caesar and Loretz 1913, 17. — ±) Riedel-Archiv 1914, 65. — 5 ) Pharm. Weekblad 1920, No. 45, 

 1383. Reprint was kindly sent to us. — e ) Cf. Report 1918, 65; 1920, 75. — 7 ) Journ. Americ. chem. Soc. 

 42 (1920), 1738. — 8 ) Biochem. Zeitschr. 46 (1912), 151 ; Report April 1913, 118. 



