Du Mez—The Galenical Oleoresins, 
991 
though, no attempt appears to have been made to determine its 
composition. Work upon the pigments present in a closely 
related species of fern, Aspidium Filix femina Roth, has re¬ 
sulted in the isolation of carrotin (C 16 H 32 0) and three aspi- 
diophylls, C 208 H 347 O 32 N, C 240 H 320 O 31 N 2 and C 210 H 34e 0 48 N 2? . 27 
The amount of chlorophyll present in the rhizome varies 
with its age and with the season of the year. 28 
Wax. The wax occurring in the male fern rhizome has not 
been studied from a chemical standpoint, although its presence 
in the ethereal extract was observed at a very early date. 29 
Filix Tannic Acid. 30 Filix tannic acid (C 41 H 48 N0 24 ) is a 
glucoside breaking down upon hydrolysis into hexose and a 
mixture of reddish-brown compounds. 31 It is readily soluble 
in water and dilute alcohol. 
Filix tannic acid usually constitutes about 7 per cent, of 
the rhizome, as much as 7.8 per cent, having been isolated there¬ 
from. 32 
Ash. Analyses 33 of the male fern rhizome have shown the 
ash to contain the basic elements, K, Na, Ca, Mg, A1 and Fe 
combined with the acid radicles CF, S0 4 ", P0 4 "', Si0 3 " and 
^Ebard, Ann. Inst. Pasteur (1899), 13, p. 456. The more recent work 
of Willstaetter and his pupils on the chlorophylls isolated from more than 
200 different plants belonging to numerous families indicates that mag¬ 
nesium is a constant consituent of the molecule, which is considered by 
them to be a methyl phytyl ester of the tricarboxylic acid, chlorophyllin, 
C 31 H 29 N 4 Mg (COOH) 3 . Viewed in this light, the above formulae for the 
aspidiophylls are erroneous in that they contain no magnesium and express 
molecular weights which are much too high. Ann. d. Chem. (1908), 358, 
p. 267 ; Ibid. (1910), 378, p. 1. 
28 Kruse has observed that the rhizomes collected in April and October 
have a more intense green color than those gathered in July. Arch. d. 
Pharm. (1876), 209, p. 24. 
29 Batso, Trommsdorff’s n. Journ. d. Pharm. (1827), 14, p. 294; Peschier 
Ibid. (1828), 17, p. 5 and Bock, Arch. d. Pharm. (1851), 115, p. 266, report 
the presence of a stearin-like substance in the ethereal extract. 
Caesar and Loretz have observed that rhizomes rich in wax yield an 
ethereal extract which is not fluid at the ordinary temperature. Gechaefts 
Ber. (1897), p. 62. 
30 In the light of our present knowledge concerning the chemistry of male 
fern, filix tannic acid is not considered to be a constituent of the oleoresin 
when prepared with ether. As its presence in the latter has been reported 
by early investigators, the above description has been included here. See 
analysis by Bock, Arch. d. Pharm. 1851, 115, p. 266. 
31 Malin, Ann. d. Chem. (1867), 115, p. 276; Wollenweber, Arch. d. Pharm. 
(1906), 244, p. 480. 
33 Wollenweber, 1. c. 
33 Bock, Arch. d. Pharm. (1851), 115, p. 257; Spies, Jahresb. d. Pharm. 
(1860), 20, p. 15. 
