206 
TIIE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. [September 10,1&70. 
The chloroplatinate is a yellow amorphous preci¬ 
pitate slightly soluble in boiling water. The cliloro- 
mercurate is a white precipitate soluble in boiling 
water. The hydriodate is very soluble and crystal- 
lizable. The iodomercurate is a white amorphous 
precipitate, melting in boiling water and soluble ; it 
is very soluble in alcohol. The sulphate crystallizes 
in needles; the oxalate also crystallizes, but is 
sparingly soluble in cold water. 
Codamine, C 19 H 23 N0 3 .—Tliis base is purified by 
converting it into sulphate, decolorizing with char¬ 
coal and shaking with ether after addition of ammo¬ 
nia. The base crystallizes from ether or alcohol in 
hexagonal prisms terminated by pyramids. It is 
slightly soluble in water, more so in chloroform and 
in benzol. Its solutions are alkaline and destitute 
of taste. Generally the salts are amorphous and 
bitter. The base melts at 121° C., then it decom¬ 
poses, giving a beautiful crystalline sublimate. 
Concentrated sulphuric acid produces a green 
coloration with codamine, nitric acid gives a bluish- 
green that becomes violet when heat is applied. 
Alkalies precipitate the base and an excess dissolves 
it; bicarbonate of soda also precipitates it in the 
form of white flocks, which aggregate into a resinous 
mass. 
Lantliopine, C 23 H 25 N0 4 .—This base is purified 
by treating the liydroclilorate solution with charcoal, 
precipitating the liydroclilorate with chlorate of so¬ 
dium, decomposing that salt with ammonia and 
crystallizing from chloroform. The base then ap¬ 
pears as a white powder, consisting of microscopic 
prisms scarcely soluble in alcohol and very slightly 
soluble in benzol or in ether. It has no taste nor 
any alkaline reaction. It dissolves only in a large 
excess of acetic acid. It is precipitated from its 
solutions by potash and dissolved by excess of pot¬ 
ash. On the addition of chloride of ammonium to 
this solution the base is separated. This base gives 
no colour with chloride of iron, differing in this 
respect from morphia. Concentrated nitric acid 
transforms it into a red resin; sulphuric acid gives 
a violet coloration. Heated to 190° C. the base be¬ 
comes brown ; it melts at 200°. 
The hydrochlorate of lantliopine C 23 H 25 N 0 4 H Cl 
+ 6H 2 0 forms a gelatinous mass composed of very 
small crystals, which aggregate together hi drying 
to a horny mass that swells up in water and finally 
dissolves. Boiling water dissolves the salt, setting 
free part of the base. The cliloroplatinate forms a 
yellow crystalline powder insoluble in alcohol; it 
contains one equivalent of water. The hydriodate is 
gelatinous and soluble. The iodomercurate is so¬ 
luble in boiling water and in alcohol. The sulphate 
forms very slender needles. 
Thebaine.—This base, discovered by Thiboumery, 
is contained hi the precipitate I obtained in the 
manner described at the commencement of this 
article. That precipitate is dissolved by acetic acid, 
the solution decolorized with charcoal and then 
mixed with powdered tartaric acid; after twenty- 
four hours the crystals of tartrate of thebaine that 
have formed are collected and recrystallized from 
boiling water. Then the base is set free and crys¬ 
tallized from alcohol. Pure thebaine has no taste; 
it melts at 193° C. 
• The acid tartrate forms slender prisms soluble in 
boiling water and boiling alcohol. The salt requires 
130 parts of water at 20° C. for solution. The neu¬ 
tral salt is readily soluble in water and alcohol; it 
may be prepared by using excess of the base, and 
then separating it with ether. 
The liydroclilorate requires 15'8 parts of water at 
10° C. for solution; it is anhydrous at 100° C. 
Tliebenine.—Tliis base is formed by an isomeric 
transformation of thebaine under the influence of 
boiling hydrochloric acid. A solution of 10 parts 
thebaine in 200 parts of hydrochloric acid (l - 04 sp. gr.) 
is heated to boiling, and then diluted with an equal 
volume of water. Gradually crystals separate ; these 
are washed with cold water, and redissolved in boil¬ 
ing water mixed with acetic acid; on cooling tliis 
solution fine crystals of liydroclilorate of tliebenine' 
separate as colourless laminie that are soluble in 
boiling water or boiling alcohol, and in 100 parts of 
cold water. Nitric acid dissolves these crystals with 
a yellow coloration and evolution of nitrous fumes; 
the solution mixed with water gives a yellow amor¬ 
phous precipitate soluble in ammonia. The hydro¬ 
chlorate of tliebenine C 19 H 21 N0 3 HCI-I- 3 H 2 O is 
bitter, but does not appear to be poisonous, while 
thebaine is extremely poisonous. The chloroplati- 
nate is amorphous and yellow. The chloromer- 
curate forms long colourless prisms. Sulphate of 
tliebenine separates on adding sulphuric acid to a 
solution of hydrochlorate as a white crystalline 
powder, but slightly soluble in boiling water, in¬ 
soluble in cold water or alcohol. It is anhydrous at 
100 ° C. 
Thebenine itself is amorphous, insoluble in ether 
or benzol, slightly soluble in boiling alcohol. It is 
insoluble in ammonia, but soluble in potash. It 
absorbs oxygen rapidly, and the potassic solution 
soon becomes brown in contact with atmospheric 
ah'. Sulphuric acid colours thebenine blue, while 
thebaine gives a dark red colour with the acid. 
Thebaicine.—Tliis is probably a second isomer of 
thebaine, formed by the action of strong acids and 
heat. Ammonia gives, after this treatment of the¬ 
baine, an amorphous yellow basic precipitate, inso¬ 
luble in ether, benzol, water or ammonia, slightly 
soluble hi boiling alcohol, from which, however, it 
does not crystallize. Potash dissolves it, and the 
solution turns brown in contact with ah. It dis¬ 
solves with red colour in nitric acid, and with a blue 
colour in oil of vitriol. The sulphate is resinous, as 
well as the liydroclilorate. 
The first precipitate contains also papaverine, and 
this base is present in the mother liquor from 
which tartrate of thebaine has separated. It is pre¬ 
cipitated with ammonia and treated with a little 
alcohol, which renders it crystalline and dissolves 
an amorphous base. It is then converted into oxa¬ 
late, which is crystallized from boiling water. The 
base may be considered pure if it dissolves without 
coloration in oil of vitriol. Papaverine crystallizes 
in colourless prisms, soluble in 258 parts of cold 
ether; it crystallizes from benzol and melts at 
147° C. It dissolves in acetic acid without neutraliz¬ 
ing it; potash and ammonia separate it from this 
solution as a resinous mass that gradually becomes 
crystalline, but is insoluble in excess of the alkali. 
Nitric, sulphuric or hydrochloric acid, added to the 
acetic solution, separate the corresponding salts in n 
crystalline form. 
The author assigns to papaverine the formula 
C 21 H 21 N0 4 , instead of C 20 H 21 NO 4 adopted by 
Merck and Anderson. This formula is confirmed by 
the analysis of the hydrochlorate and of the chloro- 
platinate. The former dissolves in 37 parts of water 
