986 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters. 
Filixnigrin 5 .. “ “ 6.00 “ “ 
Chlorophyll 6 . . “ “ 
Wax 7 ... . “ “ 
Ash . 1 ‘ 3.50 to 5.00 “ “ 
Occurrence and Description of Individual Constituents. 
Volatile oil. 8 The volatile oil as described by Ehrenberg is 
a clear yellow liquid having a specific gravity of 0.85 to 0.86 
at 15°C, and is stated by him to be composed principally of 
fatty acid esters of hexyl and octyl alcohol, the acids ranging 
from propionic to caproic. 
The quantity of essential oil present in the rhizomes is stated 
• to vary with the seasons of the year, 0.04 to 0.045 per cent, being 
contained therein at the time of the year when the drug is 
usually collected. 9 
Fatty oil. 10 The fatty oil as obtained from the male fern 
rhizomes by extraction with ether and subsequent purification 
is stated by Katz 11 to be composed of the glyceryl esters of oleic, 
palmitic, cerotic and butyric acids. 12 
Filix acid 13 (Filicin) 14 Filix acid (C 35 H 38 0 12 ) crystalizes 
5 Kraft, Schweiz. Wochenschr. f. Chem. u. Pharm. (1902), 40. p. 323. 
6 Bock, Arch. d. Pharm. (1851), 115, p. 266. 
7 Kraft, 1. c. 
8 The volatile oil as described above is that obtained from the rhizomes 
by steam distillation and in all probabilities differs somewhat from the same 
as it exists in the galenical oleoresin. 
9 Ehrenberg reports the presence of volatile oil as follows: rhizomes 
gathered in April, 0.008 per cent; in June .025 per cent; in September, Octo¬ 
ber and November, 0.04 and 0.045 per cent. Arch. d. Pharm. (1893), 231, 
p. 345. 
10 The fatty oil of male fern was probably first isolated by Luck. In 
1851, he reported that the oily portion ( filixolme ) of the ethereal extract 
was a glyceride yielding filomysilsaeure and filixolinsaeure upon saponifi¬ 
cation. Jahrb. f. prakt. Pharm. (1851), 22. p. 130. 
From Luck’s description it is considered that these acids were in all 
probability butyric and oleic, respectively. 
n Arch. d. Pharm. (1898), 236, p. 655. 
12 Butyric and oleic acids have also been identified by Farup in the fatty 
oil obtained from Aspidium Spinulosum. In addition a phytosterol, lino- 
linic, and probably isolinolinic acid are stated to have been detected. Arch, 
d. Pharm. (1904), 242, p. 17. 
13 The term filixsaeure was first used by Luck to designate this constituent. 
Filix acid is the translation given above rather than the usual English 
form, filicic acid, to avoid confusion with the filicmsa&ure of Boehm, a re¬ 
duction product of the former, Ann .d. Chem. (1899J, 307, p. 249, or the 
Acidum filiceum of Batso, a supposedly volatile acid which the latter isolated 
from the ethereal extract. Tromsdorff’s n. Joura. d. Pharm. (1827), 14, 
p. 249. 
14 Filicin is the term introduced by Poulsson to designate the crystalline 
form of filix acid as he was of the opinion that it also existed in the amor- 
