D90 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS 
[June 10, 1871. 
separates, which has received the name of ericolin; this, 
again, is a glucoside, which, when treated with a dilute 
acid, splits into grape sugar, and an odorous substance 
having the character of a volatile oil, ericinol; both 
have been noticed already by Kawalier in his investiga¬ 
tion. In preparing ericolin from the mother-liquor of 
arbutin, I found that a portion of ericolin is decomposed 
as soon as it forms into ericinol, giving rise to the strong 
disagreeable odour of the latter. Ericolin is a dark 
brown resin, becoming somewhat lighter when dried and 
rubbed to powder; its chemical composition is C 6S H 56 0 42 . 
Its decomposition into ericinol is shown by the follow¬ 
ing:— 
Ericolin. Ericinol. Grape Sugar. 
^gs■^■56^42 + 8HO =Co 0 H 16 0 2 -j-4C 12 H 12 0 12 . 
[The literature on ericinol and ericolin is now re¬ 
viewed, and their occurrence in different plants spoken 
of. The precipitate obtained with hydrated oxide of 
lead was'found to contain tannin, gallic and malic acids, 
but to be free from tartaric and citric acids. The preci¬ 
pitate obtained by adding alcohol in a concentrated in¬ 
fusion of the leaves, contained gum, glucose and a lime 
salt. The leaves, previously exhausted with water, were 
treated with ether, and Trommsdorff’s urson was pre¬ 
pared from the ethereal tincture (see Am. Journ. Ph., 
1854).] 
Trommsdorff’s process directs the ethereal extract to 
be washed by ether before treating with alcohol; this 
removes, besides the colouring matter, some fatty mat¬ 
ter ; but when operating upon larger quantities, I be¬ 
lieve that animal charcoal will answer the same purpose. 
Another way to prepare urson is to percolate the leaves, 
previously exhausted by water, with strong alcohol; the 
dark-green tincture deposits already on standing a large 
quantity of nearly white urson, which only needs re- 
crystallizing ; the remainder of the tincture is evapo¬ 
rated, treated with water, and then washed with ether 
and recrystallized from alcohol. Urson, when pure, 
possesses neither odour nor taste; it is insoluble in 
water, sparingly soluble in alcohol and ether. It is not 
affected by alkalies or dilute acids. 
Concentrated sulphuric acid turns it black and gra¬ 
dually carbonizes it, the acid assuming a red colour. 
Concentrated nitric acid turns it yellow, gradually dis¬ 
solving it, giving off nitrous apid. When heated, urson 
melts into an amorphous transparent mass; at a still 
higher temperature it boils and sublimes in a test-tube 
unchanged. Its medical properties have as yet not been 
ascertained, at least no physiological experiments have 
been made with it, and very probably it is entirely inert. 
A small quantity of volatile oil was found in the aqueous 
solution of the ethereal extract, besides some tannic and 
gallic acids. 
The organic constituents of uva ursi as obtained by 
this investigation, therefore, are:— 
Arbutin, and its product of decomposition, hydro- 
kinone; ericolin, ericinol, urson; (ursin, the diuretic 
principle of Hughes, was found to be impure arbutin ;) 
tannic, gallic and malic acids, then a small quantity of 
volatile oil, fatty matter, wax, gum, sugar, albumen, 
colouring matter, etc. 
The test for arbutin may, perhaps, serve for finding 
this principle in plants, without isolating it, for an in¬ 
fusion of uva ursi, when diluted with sufficient water to 
make it perfectly colourless and then rendered alkaline, 
produces, on the addition of phosphomolybdic acid, the 
blue reaction due to arbutin ; when the alkali (ammonia) 
is added to the diluted colourless infusion, a colour 
(orange) again appears, owing to the astringent acids 
present; this colour must also be removed by again di¬ 
luting it with water, before the final addition of the 
phosphomolybdic acid. 
This test cannot be applied to a strong infusion, be¬ 
cause phosphomolybdic acid reacts with tannic and gallic 
ncids green, and the blue colour cannot then be observed. 
— Amer. Journ. of Pharmacy. 
ERYTHROCENTAURIN IN AMERICAN CENTAURY. 
BY JOHN F. HUNEKER. 
This principle was discovered in European centaury 
(Erythrcea Centaurium), a few years ago, by Mehu, a 
French chemist, who obtained it in the minute quantity 
of one grain in three thousand grains of the herb. 
The question very naturally arose, whether American 
centaury ( Sabbatia angularis) also contained this princi¬ 
ple; the experimenter will prove that it may be ob¬ 
tained. 
The flowers and leaves of Sabbatia angnlaris to the 
amount of two pounds were exhausted with one gallon 
of water, a portion of which was evaporated by a water 
bath, and allowed to stand to deposit the apotheme. 
This was separated by filtration, and strong alcohol 
added to the filtrate, which precipitated gum. On again 
filtering, the infusion was evaporated to the consistence 
of a syrup, and, on cooling, washed with strong ether, 
which took up erythrocentaurin and deposited it on 
spontaneous evaporation. Erythrocentaurin, as thus 
obtained, is a non-nitrogenous principle, in small acicu- 
lar crystals, which are transparent, but in this case were 
contaminated with yellow colouring matter, and, being 
in such a small quantity, the experimenter feared losing 
them in decolorizing. 
The crystals have a sharp acrid taste, reminding one of 
tobacco, and are soluble in alcohol, ether, water, alkalies 
in solution and acids, but insoluble in fixed and volatile 
oils, being also slightly volatilized by heat. 
The only proofs that they are similar to erythrocen¬ 
taurin of the European centaury are:—first, that they 
exist in the same minute quantity; second, that they 
are reddened by solar light, but if dissolved and recrystal¬ 
lized, regain their original colour. Therefore there is 
not a doubt but that these principles are similar in com¬ 
position and character. 
[The author made a series of experiments to deter¬ 
mine the proximate composition of American centaury, 
and found, besides erythrocentaurin, resin, chlorophyll, 
fatty matter, gum, albumen, pectin, bitter extractive, 
trace of volatile oil, an organic acid, red colouring matter 
and salts. He was unsuccessful in his attempts to isolate 
and crystallize the bitter principle. 
The author regards the aqueous extract as the most 
concentrated pharmaceutical preparation; he gave ten 
grains of it to a half-grown cat, which in a short time 
appeared to be under the influence of a narcotic seda¬ 
tive ; after sleep, lasting for two hours, violent purgation 
set in, causing death in twenty-four hours.—E d. Amer . 
Journ. Pharm.~\ 
THE CHEMISTRY OF CALICO PRINTING.* 
BY JAMES BLAIR. 
The art of producing coloured figures or patterns on 
cotton cloth has been known and practised for many 
years in this country, and for centuries in India and 
China. Within the last quarter of a century this indus¬ 
try has made great progress, due to the use of improved 
appliances, and the more accurate knowledge of colour¬ 
ing matters and their various compounds, besides the 
discovery of many new colouring matters, the result of 
unwearied chemical investigation and research. This 
result has been greatly attained by calico printers them¬ 
selves, among wdiom are to be found many able che¬ 
mists. 
The old plan of printing with blocks by hand has 
been almost entirely superseded by the cylinder printing 
machine, and in every department more perfect ma¬ 
chinery has been introduced, with a corresponding de¬ 
crease of manual labour. The result of this is, that 
* Paper read before the Liverpool Chemists’ Association, 
on March 16th and April 13th, 1871. 
