Am.  Jour.  Pharjn. 
October,  1908. 
|  American  Pharmaceutical  Association.  483 
On  the  Crystalline  Alkaloid  of  Calycanthus  Glaucus. 
By  H.  M.  Gordin. 
This  is  a  continuation  of  the  work  by  the  author.  From  another 
lot  of  seeds  although  extracted  in  a  similar  manner  to  that  by  which 
he  obtained  the  alkaloid  calycanthine  (Proc.  1904,  p.  345;  1905,  p. 
224)  he  now  obtains  a  different  alkaloid,  to  which  he  has  given  the 
name  isocalycanthine,  and  which  he  considers  to  be  isomeric  with 
the  previously  isolated  alkaloid  calycanthine. 
Air-dried  isocalycanthine  melts  at  212-140.  It  is  easily  soluble 
in  acetone  and  pyridine,  more  difficultly  in  ether,  almost  insoluble  in 
benzene,  and  insoluble  in  petroleum  ether.  A  saturated  solution  in 
alcohol,  prepared  by  shaking  excess  of  finely  powdered  isocalycan- 
thine with  alcohol  in  a  mechanical  shaker  for  eight  hours,  contained 
1.4  grams  in  100  Cc.  A  saturated  solution  in  water,  prepared  by 
the  same  method  at  the  same  temperature,  contained  1  part  in  about 
6000  parts  of  solution.  In  both  cases  the  residues  left  after  evaporat- 
ing the  solvent  were  not  dried  to  constant  weight,  but  kept  at  80 0 
for  three  hours  and  then  in  desiccator  for  one  hour.  The  saturated 
aqueous  solution  of  isocalycanthine  gives  no  turbidity  with  Mayer's 
reagent  unless  acid  be  present ;  with  Wagner's  reagent  turbidity 
appears  even  in  absence  of  acid. 
On  prolonged  exposure  to  the  air,  isocalycanthine  becomes  yel- 
lowish. The  color  reactions  so  far  examined  seem  to  be  identical 
for  both  alkaloids.  An  attempt  to  determine  the  molecular  weight 
of  isocalycanthine  by  titration  with  standard  hydrochloric  acid, 
using  hematoxylin  as  indicator,  gave  unsatisfactory  results,  the  end 
reaction  being  very  unsharp.    Other  indicators  were  not  tried. 
Following  is  a  report  on  the  crystallography  of  isocalycanthine  by 
Dr.  E.  H.  Krauss : 
"  The  crystals  of  isocalycanthine  which  were  subjected  to  a  crys- 
tallographic  examination  were  obtained  by  slow  crystallization  at 
room  temperature  from  a  solution  in  hot  alcohol.  They  are  rather 
small,  the  largest  being  about  2  mm.  in  length.  The  crystals  are 
clear,  colorless  and  transparent,  and  possess  high  refractive  power. 
For  the  most  part  the  crystals  are  well  developed,  the  faces  being 
bright  and  affording  excellent  images. 
From  the  angular  measurements  of  the  crystals  and  the  form  and 
position  of  the  etch  figures  on  the  basal  pinaeoid,  the  crystals  must 
be  referred  to  the  orthorhombic  bisphenoidal  class. 
