1062 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters. 
be taken as an indication of the presence of relatively large 
amounts of the therapeutically active resins, while a dark shade 
of red implies that the cubebin content is exceptionally large 
or that the resins are present in comparatively small amounts. 
The test of Gluecksmann (1912) in which hydrochloric acid 
is the reagent made use of, appears to be based on the presence 
of cubebin, 1 It is carried out as follows: 
Dissolve a small quantity (a trace) of the oleoresin in concentrated 
acetic acid and dilute with the latter until the solution shows scarcely any 
color. Heat to boiling and add 5 drops of a 35 per cent, solution of 
hydrochloric acid to a 5 cubic centimeter portion. A faint yellowish-brown 
color should appear immediately. Upon standing quietly, the color should 
change in 2 to 4 hours to a brownish-violet, and then to a violet blue, 
after which it should gradually disappear. 
While the foregoing may prove to be a test of considerable 
worth in the identification of the oleoresin, the length of time 
required for its completion would appear to be a drawback to 
its general application. 
The tests of this nature prescribed by the various phar¬ 
macopoeias all involve the use of sulphuric acid. As will be¬ 
come apparent in the following description of these methods, 
the color specified differs to a considerable extent. This may 
be due, as already pointed out, to a variation in the relative 
quantities of the reacting constituents, or, as has been further 
observed in the laboratory, to the strength of the acid employed. 
A very slight dilution with water will cause the color to change 
from red to purple. The following are the tests prescribed 
by the different pharmacopoeias: 
Austrian Pharmacopoeia (1906): The oleoresin should give a red color 
on being triturated with concentrated sulphuric acid. 
French Pharmacopoeia (1908): The oleoresin should give a purple-red 
color with concentrated sulphuric acid. 
Swiss Pharmacopoeia (1907): If 0.01 to 0.02 grams of the oleoresin 
are mixed with a few drops of concentrated sulphuric acid, an intense 
brownish-red color should be produced. Upon diluting with a little water, 
the color should change to a rose and upon further dilution, it should 
disappear. 
Hungarian Pharmacopoeia (1909): A drop of concentrated sulphuric 
1 This assumption is made in view of the fact that the closely related 
compounds, coniferyl alcohol and syringenin, give similar color reactions 
with hydrochloric acid. See Euler, Die Ppmzenehemie (1908), Vol. I, p. 87. 
