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THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. [February 4,1871. 
THE ADULTERATION OF SAFFRON. 
BY JOHN INGHAM. 
Notwithstanding the recent remarks that have 
been made by different writers upon the adultera¬ 
tion of saffron, there seems to be no improvement in 
the article as met with in commerce. 
I hope that this additional exposure of the enor¬ 
mous extent to which the adulteration is practised, 
may be a step towards putting a stop to it, by con¬ 
centrating the attention of the trade more fully upon 
the subject. 
Towards the close of last year I ordered a small 
quantity of crocus sativus opt. from one of the oldest 
drug firms in London, a house whose drugs generally 
are to be relied upon for purity as much as those of 
any other firm; yet the saffron supplied at the rate 
of 506’. per lb. contained from forty to forty-five per 
cent, of impurity. Bearing in mind Mr. Daniel 
Hanbuiy’s remarks on this article, I determined to 
examine what I had. On close scrutiny with the 
naked eye I could see it had much foreign matter 
attached to it; on applying a little H Cl brisk effer¬ 
vescence immediately commenced. 
In order to ascertain to what extent the fraud 
had been carried and what was the adulterant, I 
took 1 drachm of the saffron and washed it two or 
three times with water in a beaker, mixed the wash¬ 
ings, allowed the precipitate to deposit, and decanted 
off the clear liquid. The sediment, when dried till 
it ceased to lose weight, weighed twenty-seven grains. 
Surprised to find so large an amount, I thought that 
some heavier adulterant than carbonate of calcium, 
perhaps sulphate of barium, might have been em¬ 
ployed also. On treatment with H Cl, brisk effer¬ 
vescence ensued, and the greater part was dissolved. 
This portion was easily proved to be nothing more 
than carbonate of calcium. The portion insoluble in 
H Cl was equally so in aqua regia. I endeavoured 
to treat in the usual manner for insoluble sulphates 
as also for silica, but was unable, with the means at 
any command, to obtain sufficient heat to fuse it 
when mixed with a proper flux. From its appear¬ 
ance to the eye I think it is only sand. The quan¬ 
tity compared with the chalk was small, it may pro¬ 
bably have been a mechanical impurity in the latter. 
After such a result I hardly anticipated finding that 
there was a still greater sophistication, yet I felt 
curious to continue my investigation a step further. 
Placing a small portion upon the surface of some 
hot water, I soon perceived some yellowish portions, 
which I had previously taken for stamens, unfolding 
themselves, looking very like ligulate florets; in my 
readiness to believe, I nearly mistook them for such ; 
they were, however, only stamens. These consti¬ 
tuted fully 1 per cent. I do not know the origin of 
this saffron, but I should think it is a very bad speci¬ 
men of the worst Alicante Mr. Hanbury examined, 
k rom the immense time and labour requisite for the 
gathering ol. saffron, it must of necessity always be 
a costly article; and so long as there is a ready 
market lor such qualities as have lately been selling, 
doubtless the supply will be kept up, and be very 
profitable to those primarily concerned. 
The remedy is chiefly in our own hands; if we 
refuse to use, or have anything to do with such quali¬ 
ties, it will soon be found more remunerative to sup¬ 
ply a genuine article, even if a higher price must be 
charged. I am no advocate for cheapness if any 
advantage is to be gamed by higher prices; yet, in 
conclusion, I cannot help reiterating what has often 
been said before, that a drug so costly and of so 
little therapeutical value should be, as soon as possible, 
ordered much less than it is in our Pharmacopoeia, 
or be altogether expunged from it. 
THE COMPOSITION OF THE FERRIC 
IODATES. 
BY CHICHESTER A. BELL, M.B. 
The ferric biniodate having been recently proposed 
as an addition to our list of medicines, and success¬ 
fully employed by many physicians in Dublin, it 
appeared desirable to investigate the chemistry of a 
substance which seems destined to come into more 
general use. The compound hitherto employed, 
however, is both expensive and tedious to prepare, 
and is, moreover, liable to decomposition, although 
very much more stable than the ferrous iodide as a 
substitute for which it was introduced. 'With the 
view, therefore, of devising a more simple and rapid 
mode of preparing it, or of finding some similar and 
equally efficacious compound, a few experiments 
were undertaken, and with the following results:— 
There appear to exist, at least three well-defined 
compounds of ferric oxide and iodic anhydride. One 
of these, the biniodate, is formed by precipitating a 
solution of iron alum by one of potassic or sodic 
iodate added in excess. This is the compound re¬ 
cently proposed for use in medicine, and to it the 
formula Fe 2 0 3 , 2I 2 0 5 , 8H 2 0 has been correctly as¬ 
signed. When first precipitated it is of a yellow or 
yellowish-brown colour; but it soon becomes darker 
on exposure to air, at the same time evolving an 
odour of iodine. If now to a solution of ferrous iodide 
one of potassic chlorate be added, and then an ex¬ 
cess of strong nitric acid, upon heating the mixture 
a fine yellow precipitate is produced. The forma¬ 
tion of this substance is often remarkable, the iodine 
which was at first set free disappearing suddenly 
when the yellow precipitate appears. The compo¬ 
sition of this precipitate corresponds to the formula 
Fe 2 0 3 , 31 2 0 5 or Fe'" 310 3 . It is, therefore, a normal 
iodate. It contains 904 per cent, of iron and 05 - 57 
per cent, of iodine, while the percentages of iron 
and iodine in the crystallized ferrous iodide of 
the Pharmacopoeia are about 15 and 07. It is 
scarcely soluble in cold water and dissolves with 
difficulty even in strong nitric acid. Like other 
iodates it is readily attacked by warm moderately 
dilute li 3 r drochloric acid, chlorine gas being pro¬ 
duced. Boiling water takes up from it both ferric 
oxide and iodic anhydride, a basic salt remaining 
undissolved. It is destitute of both flavour and 
odour. It possesses the advantage over the pre¬ 
ceding compound of being anhydrous and perfectly 
stable. The most suitable proportions for its prepa¬ 
ration seem to be, 2 parts iodine converted in the 
usual manner into ferrous iodide in solution in 5 or 
0 parts water, 2 parts potassic chlorate dissolved in 
a small amount of hot water, and 1| parts strong 
nitric acid. 
When only a small quantity of nitric acid is 
added and the mixture heated to boiling, a con¬ 
siderable amount of iodine escapes, while a deep red 
precipitate is formed. The composition of this pre¬ 
cipitate, when dried at 212° F., appears to be nor¬ 
mally Fe 2 0 3 , I 2 0 5 . It soon, however, decomposes, 
even during washing, and the proportion ot iodic 
