'September 1C, 1871.] THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
229 
|1 minings of Stitniifit Sntitiits. 
BRITISH PHARMACEUTICAL CONFERENCE. 
Tuesday Afternoon , August 1. 
Air. D. H anbury read a paper on 
Wild Rue or Harmal Seeds (Semen Ilarmalcc). 
BY DR. F. A. FLUCKIGER, 
"Professor of Pharmacy and Pharmacognosy in the 
University of Bern. 
One of the plants named in the Non-officinal List of 
•■the Pharmacopoeia of India is Peganum Harmala Linn., 
the seeds of which have long held a place in eastern 
medicine, and are an article of the Materia Medica re¬ 
specting which Dr. Waring the author of the pharma¬ 
copoeia in question, remarks that further investigation 
is desirable. 
Although the following notes do not tend much to 
-elucidate the therapeutical properties of this drug, re¬ 
garding which information is most wanted, they may 
not he without some value as a contribution to its 
pharmacological history. 
. For convenience of reference, I have arranged my 
iremarks under distinct heads. 
Botanical Origin.—Peganum Harmala Linn., belongs 
-to the Order Rutacece. It is a strong-smelling, herba¬ 
ceous plant from 1 to 3 feet high, found wild in Southern 
Europe, Asia Minor, Egypt, Arabia, North Western 
India, and Southern Siberia. 
History .—The plant is the U-fjyauov ixypiov (Wild Rue) 
'of Dioscorides, Tlr\yavov being the name still applied in 
Greece to several species of Puta. The seeds were used 
medicinally by the ancient Greeks as they are to this 
day in India, where they are chiefly known by the old 
Arabic name of Harmal. In Europe they were formerly 
much employed as Semen Rutce silvestris, and as such are 
enumerated among the simples of several of the early 
London pharmacopoeias. 
Rescript ion .—The seeds are of a dark brown, II lines 
in length and I to 1 line in diameter, variable in form, 
• but usually conical or with a semilunar or crescent¬ 
shaped outline, always angular, and rugose on the sur¬ 
face. They have an aromatic taste resembling rue, with 
: some bitterness. 
Microscopic Structure. —The testa is built up of two 
■ distinct layers, the outer forming a spongy tissue which 
-oonsists of large, thick-walled cells. The cells of the 
inner layer are of a somewhat cubic form showing a 
peculiar, undulated outline. The albumen exhibits the 
usual thick-walled cells, the embryo consisting of a 
-more delicate tissue. These cells contain chiefly albu¬ 
minous matters, fat and essential oil. 
Chemical Composition. —The most interesting fact con¬ 
cerning these seeds which immediately claims attention, 
is the magnificent green fluorescence which they impart 
to alcohol of about 75 per cent.* This optical power is 
partly due to a substance called Harmin , and partly, it 
would appear, to the formation of a peculiar colouring 
matter named Harmala-Red which has not yet been 
fullv examined but which does not pre-exist in the fresh 
seed. 
Fritzsche has showed that the seeds yield 2 to 3 per 
cent, of an alkaloid termed Harmalin , which is contained 
in the outer coat or testa. It is obtainable in colourless 
crystals, sparingly soluble in water or in ether, but more 
readily in alcohol, the solutions being of a bitter taste. 
Its composition is indicated by the formula C 13 lI H N 2 0.f 
By heating the bichromate of harmalin, another alka¬ 
loid, Harmin (C I3 H 12 N 2 0) is produced, of which about 
II per cent, may also be obtained directly from the 
* It may be observed even with a single seed, 
f C = 12, 0 = 16. 
seeds. Harmin forms colourless crystals and colourless 
or slightly yellow salts. The alcoholic solutions of these 
compounds exhibit, when dilute, a blue fluorescence. 
Further details respecting these alkaloids, condensed 
from . Fritzsche’s original papers, may be found in 
Gmelin’s Handbook of Chemistry ,* as well as in Iluse- 
mann’s Pflanzenstoffe. f 
Uses .—In the East, stimulant, anthelmintic and even 
narcotic virtues have long been attributed to harmal 
seeds, but accurate observations respecting then medi¬ 
cinal powers are still required. 
In Southern Russia a red dye, asserted to be both 
brilliant and permanent, is extracted from them. Finally 
they have been grown as an oil-seed. 
Dr. Attfield read a paper on 
A Method of obtaining Distilled "Water 
Economically. 
BY C. A. STAPLES. 
Very few words need be said about the value and im¬ 
portance of distilled water. I do not write a treatise to 
prove a fact patent to every chemist, but knowing the 
great inconvenience many experience where they are 
not in a position to obtain a supply of it promptly, I 
wish to point out to them an easy and inexpensive ar¬ 
rangement by which an abundance is brought within 
the reach of every householder, viz., by the very simple 
expedient of converting the kitchen boiler into a still. 
I first tried the experiment about twelve years ago in 
the simplest manner, not knowing what difficulties or 
even danger I might experience from its use, but I have 
found none. A few improvements have since been added, 
and I now purpose describing the whole plan for the 
benefit of all who may adopt it. 
The boiler is a small cast-iron one, such as is usually 
supplied with the kitchen range for a small private 
family; it is self-filling by a small cistern and ball-cock 
in the usual manner. This cistern having cold water 
constantly flowing through it, I thought that it would 
act as a condenser, and it will be so called in the follow¬ 
ing description. 
The lid of the boiler is closed by a paste of castor oil 
and whiting, which does not harden. The top plate has 
a hole drilled in it at the back corner near the wall, into 
which a piece of stout brass tube, I about nine or ten 
inches long, is fixed. To the top of this a piece of half¬ 
inch tube of pure tin§ is fitted, bent to an angle of about 
60° or 65°, which, passing through a hole in the brick¬ 
work at a regular fall of about 25° or 30°, projects a few 
inches beyond the other side of the wall, where the end, 
slightly contracted by a file and curving downwards, is 
received into the enlarged mouth of a similar piece of 
tube, into which it fits sufficiently firmly without any 
joint or cement. It then enters the condenser near the 
top, is curved half round the inside out of the way of 
the ball, and passes out at the centre of the bottom, 
being secured to the condenser by screw joints ; that at 
the top may be an ordinary brass one, but the lower one 
should be cast in pure tin, or if a brass one is used, it 
must be carefully tinned inside and out, for although 
not in immediate contact with the distilled water, a 
slight moisture might collect on it and injure the water. 
The lower end of the pipe should be tied over with 
muslin, or closed and pierced with fine holes, since in¬ 
sects, attracted by the warmth and moisture, might enter 
it in the night. In fact, the greatest care must be taken 
to ensure the purity of the metal, and that the inside of 
the pipe, from the point of condensation, is protected 
from any metallic or other contamination. The con¬ 
denser should be much larger than usual, a nd have a lid 
* Vol. xvi. (1864) 103. t Berlin, 1870, page 76. 
I Any piece of tube will do. Mine is a piece ot a gas 
pillar, such as is screwed into a counter. _ ... 
§ For a very large boiler a f or even 1-inch pipe might bo 
required, and the boiler should be made of wrought iron. 
