446 
Progress  in  Pharmacy. 
J Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
I  September,  1908. 
content  of  these  several  acids,  both  free  and  in  combination,  suggests 
that  the  acetylsalicylic  acid  is  probably  saponified  in  the  course  of 
manufacture  and  that  this  change  has,  as  yet,  not  been  taken  into 
account  by  the  manufacturer.    {Apothek.  Zeifg,  1908,  page  529.) 
Synthetic  Suprarenin  or  Adrenine.—Vrof.  Arthur  R.  Cushny 
[Phar.  Jour.,  May  23,  1908,  page  668)  reiterates  the  opinions  previ- 
ously published,  that  natural  suprarenin  has  almost  exactly  twice 
the  power  of  the  artificial  base  in  raising  the  blood  pressure. 
He  believes  this  to  be  due  to  the  fact  that  d-suprarenin,  which 
comprises  50  per  cent,  of  the  synthetic  preparation,  is  inert  so  far  as 
the  blood  pressure  is  concerned.  This  assumption  appears  to  be 
further  proven  by  some  experiments  he  has  made  with  a  preparation 
containing  a  larger  proportion  of  this  dextro-rotatory  base. 
Arterenol  is  the  name  given  to  a  derivative  of  synthetic  suprarenin. 
It  is  said  to  possess  similar  properties  and  to  have  the  same  action 
as  suprarenin     {Phar.  Zeifg,  1908,  page  529.) 
Homorenan  is  the  name  given  to  an  intermediate  product  obtained 
in  the  manufacture  of  synthetic  suprarenin,  the  properties  of  which 
it  is  said  to  possess.    {Phar.  Zeifg,  1908.  page  529.) 
Valuation  of  Asafetida. — A.  Hellstrom  publishes  a  lengthy  inves- 
tigation of  thirty  samples  of  asafetida.  He  finds  that  the  permissible 
ash  content  in  all  pharmacopoeias  is  too  low  and  should  be  raised 
to  20  or  25  per  cent.  The  relation  of  resin,  oil  and  gum  he  finds  to 
correspond  to  the  equivalent  of  3  :  2  :  r. 
His  examinations  show  the  following  variations  :  Ash  content  from 
4  to  39  per  cent. ;  alcohol  soluble  material  from  50  to  66  per  cent.  ; 
acid  number  from  20  to  39  per  cent.;  saponification  number  from  98  to 
112;  ether  number  from  67  to  80.    {Phar.  Zenfh,  1908,  page  428.) 
Detection  of  Barium  in  Strontium  Salts. — Caron  and  Raquet  rec- 
ommend the  use  of  a  mixture  of  potassium  chromate  and  potassium 
bichromate  for  the  detection  of  barium  in  either  strontium  or  calcium 
salts.  For  solutions  containing  up  to  3  per  cent,  of  a  strontium 
salt  they  recommend  a  solution  of  3  per  cent,  potassium  chromate, 
with  ri  per  cent,  of  potassium  dichromate. 
For  solutions  containing  more  than  3  per  cent,  of  a  strontium  salt 
they  suggest  the  use  of  a  solution  containing  from  1*5  to  2  per  cent,  of 
potassium  chromate  with  1  per  cent,  of  potassium  dichromate.  This 
reagent  is  said  to  demonstrate  the  presence  of  1- 1 5000  part  of  barium 
in  strontium.  {Apothek.  Zeifg,  1908,  page  439,  from  Btdl.  de  la  Soc 
Chim.  de  France.) 
