210 
BRITISH PHARMACEUTICAL CONFERENCE. 
to examine in this respect the various Indian opiums, which I presume to 
be of a somewhat different composition. From all the various reports on 
them, it appears that the Indian juice is more fluid than that collected in 
Asia Minor. Does this partly depend upon the absence of pectic acid or of 
mucilage P This investigation must be expected from chemists having at their 
command considerable quantities of the residues of genuine opiums ; they 
may state, whether I am correct in saying, that a pectic body must have a 
place among the normal constituents of the poppy juice. 
After the treatment of the opium with ammonia, water is without any 
action upon the residue, which does not even swell; I consequently cannot 
agree with those chemists who admit bassorine as one of the principles of 
opium. 
Examined under the microscope, the opium powder thus deprived of all 
soluble matters, shows very distinctly that it consists now exclusively of 
fragments of the capsule, which by incineration yield some ash, but not the 
whole amount of it, the inorganic salts having been already partly removed 
by alcohol, water and acetic acid. Among them a comparatively large pro¬ 
portion of alkaline sulphates, as well as of sulphate of lime is always met with. 
Sulphuric acid is set at liberty, if the precipitate obtained by neutral acetate 
of lead is decomposed by sulphuretted hydrogen in an alcoholic solution, 
which causes the mucilage to be precipitated. 
In the manner indicated I completely exhausted 10 grammes of good 
Turkish opium successively with the above liquids, devoting about a week to 
this task. The results will, I hope, clearly show, which direction should be 
followed, in order to promote our knowledge of opiuim It is that part ex¬ 
tracted by alcohol, which contains the constituents not yet known, and upon 
which further researches, which I hope to institute, may probably throw 
some light. 
numbers, calculated for 100 parts, were obtained. The 
The following 
opium yielded— 
To benzol 
,, alcohol 
10-83 
= { 
water . . 
acetic acid . 
,, ammonia 
By incineration 
4*50 narcotine and 
6 - 33 caoutchouc, with traces of fatty matter. 
57*67 representing about 20 per cent, of unknown 
bodies. 
9'67 of mucilage. 
T73 salts, a little pectic acid and colouring matter. 
7'33 pectic acid, reddening litmus. 
10*38 per cent, were burnt (cellulose), leaving 
2*39 ash ; the whole amount of the ash in the drug 
under examination being equal to 5*32 per 
_ cent., when it was directly burnt. 
100*00 
I have observed that the pectic acid is not obtained immediately in a pure 
state; it appears to be always accompanied by some of the so-called 
humic bodies. Yet by dissolving it again in ammonia and precipitating by 
alcohol, it at last becomes nearly colourless and devoid of inorganic matter. 
It is always very difficult to powder ; when heated, it evolves acid vapours, 
but in a less pure state it retains some albuminous matter yielding then am- 
moniacal vapours. 
The purified pectic acid, when thoroughly boiled with water, partly forms a 
jelly, which at first is almost imperceptible, being perfectly colourless and 
transparent. Neutral acetate of lead somewhat thickens it, without any 
turbid appearance; an abundant precipitation takes place only on addition of 
ammonia. 
