816 
INDIAN MEDICINAL PLANTS. 
which the/ thought would prove to be the Asclepione of List (Gmelin's Handb. 
XVII., 368), but subsequently (1885), upon Warden continuing the investiga- 
tion of the drug in the Chemical Laboratory of the Gesundheits Amt, Berlin, 
he found the substance supposed to be asclepione to have a composition cor- 
responding with the formula (/‘'H 5 *!), whereas List's asclepione is represented 
by the formula C l °II 3 ' O 3 . 
The white cauliflower masses of crystals obtained in Berlin were found to 
agree closely, as regards their melting point and behaviour with solvents, 
with a substance called Alban obtained by Payen from gutta-percha (Jahres- 
bericht uber die Fortsehder Chimie, 1852, p. 643), they were accordingly 
named Madar-alban. A yellow resin associated with madar-alban in the drug 
was found to agree, in behaviour with reagents, with the Fluavil found by 
Payen in gutta-percha, but as regards chemical composition the madar-alban 
and madar- fluavil differed from the alban and fluavil of gutta-percha. Dr. 
Warden also separated from the drug a yellow bitter resin, which is probably 
the active principle, and Caoutchouc. 
He found the percentage of the various principles (the results being cal- 
culated on the bark containing 8’079 per cent, of water) to be — 
Madar-alban 0'610 
Madar-fluavil > 2’471 
Black acid resin 0'997 
Caoutchouc free from M.-alban and M.-fluavil 0'855 
Yellow bitter resin (active principle) 0'09S 
The fact that the sap of the Madar plant contains in addition to Caoutohouc 
two principles analogous to the alban and fluavil of gutta-percha is a point of 
some interest, as madar guttapercha has been recommended as a substitute 
for the commercial article. For full particulars of the chemical examination, 
see Pharm Journ., Aug. 22nd, 1885. 
Drs. E. G. Hill and A. P. Sarkar of Muir College, Allahabad, 
have analysed the root-bark and have published the results in 
the Journal-Chemical Society (T. 1915 pp. 1437-1442), of which 
the following is a summary : — 
FOUR kilos, of the root bark broken up and extd. with boiling 
98% ale. for 3 hrs., gave 78 g, oil, 90 g. white solid (A) which sepd. 
partly on cooling and partly on concn., and a residue which, when extd. 
with Et 2 0 and digested with H 3 0, gave 330.5 g. gutta-percha-like resi- 
due and a small amt. of a yellow bitter principle. A long series of 
fractional crystns. from ale. of (A), identical with Warden and Waddel’s 
“ madaralban " Pharm J. 1885, 165), gave, as the less sol. portion, akundarol 
isovalerate (B), C 33 H 5l 0C0 3 C 4 H 9 , needles, m. 210", [n]^ 119“ in Et 3 0, and as the 
more sol., mndarol isovalerate (0), C 30 H 97 OCO 3 C 4 H s , nodules, m. 140", [ci]” 
128° in Et 3 0. Sapou. of (if) gave akundarol (D), C 33 H J3 0 3 , needles, m. 215° 
