288 
POISONS : THEIR EFFECTS AND DETECTION. [§ 352 . 
Lactic acid. 
Acetic acid. 
Meconidine, C 21 H 23 N0 4 . 
Meconine, C 10 H 10 O 4 . 
Meconic acid, C 7 H 4 0 7 . 
Thebolactic acid. 
Other Constituents. 
Opianine. 
Fat. 
Resin. 
Caoutchouc. 
Gummy matters—Vegetable mucus. 
Ash, containing the usual constituents. 
The various opiums differ, the one from the other, in the percentages 
of alkaloids, so that only a very general statement of the mean composi¬ 
tion of opium can be made. The following statement may, however, be 
accepted as fairly representative of these differences :— 
Morphine .... 
Per cent. 
6 to 23 
Narcotine .... 
• « 
4 to 8 
Other alkaloids 
5 to 2 
Meconine 
a , 
under 1 
Meconic acid .... 
• • 
3 to 8 
Peculiar resin and caoutchouc . 
• , 
5 to 10 
Fat ...... 
• • 
1 to 4 
Gum and soluble humoid acid matters 
. 40 to 50 
Insoluble matters and mucus 
• • 
18 to 20 
Ash...... 
, 
4 to 8 
Water. 
8 to 30 
The general results of the analysis of 12 samples of Turkey opium, 
purchased by Mr Bott 1 from leading druggists in London, Dublin, and 
Edinburgh, are as follows :— 
Water. —Highest, 31*2 ; lowest, 184 ; mean, 224 per cent. 
Insoluble Residue. —Highest, 47-9 ; lowest, 2545 ; mean, 3248 per 
cent. 
Aqueous Extract. —Highest, 5645 ; lowest, 20-90 ; mean, 45-90 per 
cent. 
Crude Morphine (containing about x 7 q of pure morphine).—Highest, 
12-30 ; lowest, 6-76 ; mean, 9-92 per cent., which equals 12-3 per cent, 
of the dried drug. 
Persian Opium, examined in the same way, varied in crude morphine 
from 2-1 to 8-5 per cent. ; Malwa, from 5-88 to 7-30. In 18 samples of 
different kinds of opium, the mean percentage of crude morphine was 
8-88 per cent. (11 per cent, of the dried opium). According to Guibourt, 
Smyrna opium, dried at 100°, yields 11-7 to 21-46 per cent., the mean 
being 12 to 14 per cent. ; Egyptian, from 5-8 to 12 per cent. ; Persian, 
11- 37 per cent. In East Indian Patna opium, for medical use, he found 
7-72 ; in a sample used for smoking, 5-27 per cent. ; in Algerian opium, 
12- 1 per cent. ; in French opium, 14-8 to 22-9 per cent. 
§ 352. Action of Solvents on Opium. —The action of various solvents 
on opium has been more especially studied by several scientists who are 
engaged in the extraction of the alkaloids. 
1 Year Book of Pharmacy , 1876. 
