September 10, 1870.] THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
205 
• Polypodium vulgare, Linn. “ Common Polypody.” 
This common European fern was at one time in 
high repute. A decoction of the fronds was for¬ 
merly administered to children for worms, cold and 
whooping-cough. The ancients attributed many 
virtues to this plant,—Dioscorides, for limbs out of 
joint and chaps between the fingers; Pliny, for chaps 
on the toes ; and others to purge melancholy. It is 
the “rheum-purging Polypody” of Shakspere. 
Pteris aquilina, Linn. “ Common Bracken.” Na¬ 
tive of Europe. The rhizome is said to be astrin¬ 
gent and anthelmintic. Lindley says that it has 
been used with some success as a substitute for hops. 
Its esculent qualities must be very poor, although 
it is said to be sometimes eaten. The ancients used 
rhizomes and fronds, in decoction, in chronic disor¬ 
ders arising from obstructions of the viscera and 
spleen. It is sometimes employed abroad in dress¬ 
ing and preparing kid and chamois leather. 
Scolopendrium vulgare, 8m. “ Hart’s-tongue.” 
Old herbalists seem to have had great faith in this 
fern. Lightfoot says that in Scotland it was used 
by the country people for burns and scalds; and 
Ray writes of it as applied in the form of ointment 
to wounds and ulcers. In France it is employed as 
an astringent in diarrhoea and haemorrhage. 
Undetermined Indian Ferns. Several fern pro¬ 
ducts employed in India have been enumerated, but 
at present without accurate identification. Amongst 
these are “ Iskoolikundrion,” a species of Scolopen¬ 
drium ; “ Doonditarus,” a species of Dryopteris ; 
“ Surkhus ” or “Bitarus,” probably a species of 
Pteris; and “ Bisfaij ” or “ Bulookunboon,” which 
is referred to a species of Polypodium .” 
NEW ALKALOIDS OP OPIUM. 
BY O. HESSE. 
The author has succeeded in extracting from opium 
several new alkaloids. When an aqueous infusion 
of opium is precipitated by caustic soda or lime- 
water in excess, there remains in solution a substance 
which may be separated by ether. This substance 
gives with dilute sulphuric acid a purple colour 
like rheadine. The coloration was observed formerly 
by Merck, but he did not isolate the substance; 
what he described under the name of porpliyroxine 
being, according to the author, a mixture of several 
alkaloids which he has now separated by the follow¬ 
ing method. 
The alkaline liquor is shaken with ether, and after 
acidulating the etlierial solution with acetic acid, the 
ether is evaporated off. What remains is mixed with 
a dilute alkaline solution gradually and stirred 
meanwhile, so that the resin which separates may 
clot together. If this operation is properly conducted 
the alkaloids remain in solution. 
After twenty-four hours the precipitate is sepa¬ 
rated, the liquid mixed with slight excess of hydro¬ 
chloric acid, and then with ammonia, which precipi¬ 
tates the bases. The whole is then shaken with 
chloroform, the solution, thus obtained, acidulated 
with acetic acid, the chloroform driven off and the 
residue neutralized with ammonia. This throws 
down a resinous reddish-coloured precipitate which 
becomes crystalline and consists of impure lantho- 
pine. After twenty-four hours the filtered liquid is 
mixed with caustic soda, very little more than suffi¬ 
cient to decompose the ammonia salts present; it is 
then shaken with ether several times to separate the 
codeia that renders it turbid. This alkaloid is dis¬ 
solved by ether more readily than the other bases— 
meconidine, codamine, laudanine, and another which 
the author designates x. Ether does not extract 
these latter from the solution containing fixed alkali 
until after chloride of ammonium has been mixed 
with it. 
When the etlierial solution of these bases is al¬ 
lowed to evaporate very slowly, laudanine crystallizes 
first, the other three bases remaining as an almost 
amorphous residue after the ether has evaporated. 
But if, before the ether has evaporated off entirely, 
the mother liquor be mixed with solution of bicar¬ 
bonate of soda, crystals of codamine are deposited on 
further evaporation of the ether. 
The mother liquor from which codamine has sepa¬ 
rated is then mixed with acetic acid and with chloride 
of sodium, which precipitates chlorhydrate of meco¬ 
nidine, while the base x remains in solution. The 
latter is entirely separated from meconidine by re¬ 
peatedly dissolving the hydrochlorate in water, shak¬ 
ing with bicarbonate of soda and ether, and then 
evaporating the etlierial solution. 
Meconidine, as left on evaporation of an etherial 
solution, is in the form of a yellowish varnish. It 
melts at 58° C., cannot be sublimed, dissolves in alco¬ 
hol, ether, benzol, chloroform and acetone. It blues 
litmus paper, is destitute of taste, but its salts are 
bitter. 
A solution of a salt of meconidine gives with potash 
a flocculent precipitate soluble in excess of the pre¬ 
cipitant. The solvents of meconidine do not extract 
it from tills solution. A large excess of ammonia or 
of lime will also dissolve meconidine; but ether will 
separate it from these solutions. Strong acids de¬ 
compose meconidine, especially with the aid of heat, 
producing a rose coloration that afterwards becomes 
purple. Acetic acid alters meconidine only when 
boiled with it, and then only partially. Concentrated 
sulphuric acid dissolves it with olive-green colora¬ 
tion. 
Meconidine is distinguishable from rheadine by its 
solubility in potash and by its composition, C 21 H 23 N0 4 , 
while rheadine is C 21 H 25 N0 6 . 
The salts of meconidine are very instable, the 
hydrochlorate and the liydriodate are amorphous, 
soluble in water and in alcohol. The chloraurate is 
a dirty yellow amorphous precipitate. The eliloro- 
mercurate, white and amorphous ; hydrochloric acid 
gives it a rose colour. The chloroplatinate 
(Co 1 H 23 N0 4 HC1) 2PtCl 4 is an amorphous yellow 
precipitate. 
Laudanine.—This base, crystallized from boiling 
dilute alcohol, forms colourless hexagonal prisms. 
It dissolves in benzol, chloroform and in boiling 
alcohol; cold alcohol dissolves only ^th. It has 
an alkaline reaction. 
The salts of laudanine are bitter. Potash and 
ammonia throw down from solutions a white preci¬ 
pitate soluble in excess of alkali. Chloroform ex¬ 
tracts the base readily from its ammoniacal solution. 
Protochloride of iron colours the salts green, and 
dissolves them. Oil of vitriol dissolves them with 
an orange coloration, nitric acid with a rose colour, 
which becomes dark violet when heat is applied. 
Laudanine has the formula C 20 H 25 N 0 3 ; it melts 
at 168° C., and does not sublime. 
The hydrochlorate forms colourless prisms soluble 
in water and in alcohol. 
