420 
PHARMACEUTICAL MEETING. 
the whole solidifies into a mass of fine white prismatic crystals, which can be 
obtained quite pure by two further crystallizations from water. 
The crystals are somewhat sparingly soluble in cold water and alcohol, but 
readily dissolve in those liquids when boiling. The solutions are beautifully 
fluorescent, but they lose this property by the addition of a drop of hydro¬ 
chloric acid. When boiled with the latter reagent, and the solution subse¬ 
quently poured into a hot alkaline solution of cupric salt, a precipitate of red 
cuprous oxide was immediately produced. An aqueous solution of the crystals 
only precipitated the cupric solution on prolonged boiling. The substance 
thereffitutt. appeared to be a conjugate compound of grape sugar. 
The purified crystals were dried in vacuo over sulphuric acid for several days. 
They were then submitted to analysis, and then yielded the following 
numbers:— 
I. 0 4793 grm. burnt with cupric oxide yielded 09147 grm. carbonic acid and 
0‘2209 grm. of water. 
II. 0-4176 grm. yielded 0 7937 grm. carbonic acid and 0-1995 grm. water. 
I found on comparison that the foregoing numbers closely correspond with 
those yielded by sesculin, the fluorescent and crystalline principle of horse- 
chestnut bark discovered by Fleischmann, and subsequently analysed by Troms- 
dorff in 1835.* This is clearly shown by the following comparison :— 
iEsculin. I. II. 
C 21 . . . 252 . . . 52-06 . . . 52 04 . . . 51-90 
K 24 . . . 24 . . . 4-96 . . . 5-12 . . . 5 31 
0 13 . . . 208 . . . 42-98 . . . 42.84 . . . 42-79 
414 100-00 100-00 100 00 
Rochleder and Schwarz f found that on boiling cesculin with hydrochloric acid it 
split up into sesculetin and grape-sugar. 
^21 -^24 ^13 + ^ H2 O =C 9 Ho 0 4 -f 2 C 6 H 12 Og* 
When the crystalline substance obtained as above is boiled with hydrochloric 
acid for a few minutes, and allowed to cool, long needle-like crystals, having all the 
appearance of sesculetin, separate. When these latter are boiled with a solution 
of ferric chloride a fine green coloration and precipitate are produced ; this 
reaction is characteristic of sesculetin. I consider it therefore proved that the 
crystalline substance obtained from Hymenodictyon excelsum is identical with 
sesculetin. 
It is a somewhat singular circumstance that the bitter principle of this Indian 
tree should be the same as that of the horse-chestnut. The complete identity 
in the behaviour of the two substances leaves, however, no room for doubt. It 
is also remarkable that horse-chestnut bark has obtained a reputation on the 
continent of Europe, being like the Hymenodictyon in India, a good substitute 
for cinchona bark. Lindley and other authors mention that it has been recom¬ 
mended as a valuable febrifuge in intermittents. 
The occurrence of the same principle in genera so widely separated (bota- 
nicallv) as Hymenodictyon and JEsculus will recall to mind the more famous, but 
parallel instance of the common constituent of tea and coffee. But in the former 
case there is a further interesting link of connection. In an exhaustive chemical 
examination made by Rochleder of the cotyledons and bark of the horse-chest¬ 
nut, he found as a constituent of the former a substance isomeric with quinovine, 
the bitter constituent of cinchona leaves, and also occurring in the bark. The 
full significance of these coincidences will doubtless one day be made apparent. 
* ‘ Annalen tl. Chemie und Pharmacie/ Bd. xiv. 198. 
f Ibid, lxxxvii. 186. 
