198 
Other answers are equally divergent. — Proc. Am. Pharm. Ass., 
1906, v. 54, p. 443. 
CAFFEINA. 
Puckner, TV A,, points out that from the U. S, P. VIII descrip- 
tion of caffeine one would be led to believe that the Committee of 
Revision had adopted the more modern definition for “ alkaloids ” 
restricting the names to pyridine bases. It is described to be a feebly 
basic substance, and one of the tests for purity calls for “ absence of 
alkaloids.' In connection with the assays of some of the caffeine con- 
taining drugs, however, caffeine is designated as being an alka- 
loid.— Pharm. Rev., Milwaukee, 1906, v. 24, p. 229. 
The Pli. Brit. Committee of Reference in Pharmacy asserts that 
caffeine loses water by keeping, and samples from stock do not show 
the loss at 100° C. stated in the Ph. Brit. — Chem. & Drug,, Bond.. 
1906, v. 69, p. 863. 
Brandel, I. IV., reviews some of the recent literature relating to 
caffeine.— Pharm. Rev., Milwaukee, 1906. v. 24. pp. 179-180. 
Ammann, Paul, (Agric. prat, des pays ehaud, April) discusses the 
sources of caffeine and gives some interesting analytical results. — 
J. cT Agric. trop., Par., 1906, v. 6, p. 175. 
Weigel, G., asserts that the Ph. Xdl. requirement for the melting 
point of caffeine, 234° to 235°, is correct and that the Ph. Germ. IV, 
figures, 230.5°, are too low. — Pharm. Zentralh., 1906, v. 47, p. 400. 
Riedeks Berichte reports that air dry caffeine was found to melt 
at 229.5°. When dried for the same time at 100° C., or over sul- 
phuric acid, it requires 234° C.. and in an air bath 236.5° C. — Riedeks 
Berichte, Berl., 1906, p. 24. 
Hanus and Chocensky (Ztschr. f. Untersuch. Xahr. U, Genussmtl., 
v. 11, 1906, pp. 313-320) discuss the use of the immersion refrac- 
tometer in food analysis, and show that this instrument may be used 
to determine the amount of caffeine present in aqueous solution 
quickly and accurately. — Exper. Sta. Rec., v. 17, Xo. 11, p. 1039. 
Wolff, Carl, outlines a method for determining caffeine in green 
coffee by extracting with chloroform, and estimating the nitrogen 
content of the extractive. — Ztschr. f. offentl. Chem., 1906, v. 12, pp. 
186-189. 
Brissemoret (Bull. Soc. Chim., Par., 1906, v. 35, pp. 316-321) 
describes several new derivatives of caffeine and discusses their com- 
position and reactions. — Biochem. Centralbl., Leipz., 1906-07, v. 5, 
p. 882. 
Fischer and Acli discuss the conversion of caffeine into paraxan- 
tliin. theophyllin, and xanthin. — Jahresb. ii. Tier. Chem. for 1906, 
Wiesb., 1907, v. 36, p. 113. 
Brissemoret, A., in the course of his researches on the combina- 
tions of caffeine with the tannoids, has established the existence of new 
