348 POISONS : THEIR EFFECTS AND DETECTION. [§ 4 IO. 
acid (sp. gr. 1-42) is added. After one and a half hour pour into a separating funnel, 
make alkaline with ammonia, and shake out with chloroform. The chloroform takes 
up dinitro-strychnine but not dinitro-brucine. 
§ 410. Brucine (C 23 H 26 N 2 0 4 -|-4H 2 0) occurs associated with strych¬ 
nine in the plants already mentioned ; its best source is the so-called 
false angustura bark, which contains but little strychnine. Its action is 
similar to that of strychnine. If crystallised out of dilute alcohol it con¬ 
tains 4 molecules of water, easily expelled either in a vacuum over sul¬ 
phuric acid or by heat. Crystallised thus, it forms transparent four-sided 
prisms, or arborescent forms, like boric acid. If thrown down by ammonia 
from a solution of the acetate, it presents itself in needles or in tufts. 
Brucine and strychnine contain the same group C 15 H 17 N 2 0 2 , but 
brucine contains two methoxyl groups thus :— 
c 15 h 17 n 2 o 2 - c 6 h 5 c 15 h 17 n 2 0 2 - C 6 H 3 (OCH 3 ) 2 
Strychnine. Brucine. 
The recently crystallised alkaloid has a solubility different from that 
which has effloresced, the former dissolving in 320 parts of cold, and 
150 parts of boiling water ; whilst the latter (according to Pelletier and 
Caventou) requires 500 of boiling, and 850 parts of cold water for solution. 
Brucine is easily soluble in absolute, as well as in ordinary alcohol; 
1 part dissolves in 1*7 of chloroform, in 60-2 of benzene. Petroleum 
ether, the volatile and fatty oils and glycerine, dissolve the alkaloid 
slightly, amyl alcohol freely ; it is insoluble in anhydrous ether. 100 
parts of pyridine dissolve 28 of brucine, but only 1-5 of strychnine ; this 
great difference in solubility may be advantageous in separations. The 
behaviour of brucine in the subliming cell is described at p. 263. Anhy¬ 
drous brucine melts in a tube at 178°. A solution of anhydrous brucine 
in absolute alcohol dissolved in the proportion of 2-129 grms. in 100 c.c. 
of alcohol has a specific rotation [u D ] at 20° = — 80-1 ( Tykociner ). The 
taste is bitter and acrid. Soubeiran maintains that it can be recognised 
if 1 part is dissolved in 500,000 parts of water. If nitric trioxide be 
passed into an alcoholic solution of brucine, first brucine nitrate is formed ; 
but this passes again into solution, from which, after a time, a heavy, 
granular, blood-red precipitate separates : it consists of dinitro-brucine 
(C 2 3H 24 (N0 2 )N 2 0 4 ). Brucine fully neutralises acids, and forms salts 
which are for .the most part crystalline. The neutral sulphate 
(C 23 H 25 N 2 0 4 SH 2 0 4 -j-3|H 2 0) is in long needles, easily soluble in water. 
The acetate is not crystalline, that of strychnine is so (p. 328). 
Brucine is precipitated by ammonia, by the caustic and carbonated 
alkalies, and by most of the group reagents. Ammonia does not preci¬ 
pitate brucine, if in excess ; on the other hand, strychnine comes down if 
excess of ammonia is added immediately. This has been proposed as a 
method of separation ; if the two alkaloids are present in acid solution, 
ammonia in excess is added, and the solution is immediately filtered ; 
