Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
Feb.,  1889. 
Strophantin. 
85 
STROPHANTIN.1 
By  Arnaud. 
The  crushed  seeds  of  Strophantus  Kombe  are  treated  with  boiling  alco- 
hol of  70°  for  several  hours,  and  the  solution  distilled  to  a  small  bulk 
on  a  water-bath ;  the  distillation  is  finished  in  a  vacuum,  care  being 
taken  that  the  extract  remains  liquid.  The  residue  is  cooled,  the 
supernatant  oil  and  resin  separated,  the  liquid  filtered,  and  heated  with 
a  small  quantity  of  basic  lead  acetate  and  some  finely  powdered 
litharge.  The  liquid  is  again  filtered,  the  lead  removed  by  means  of 
hydrogen  sulphide,  and  the  filtrate  concentrated  at  50°  to  a  thick 
syrup,  from  which  the  strophantin  slowly  crystallizes.  The  crystals 
may  be  purified  by  recrystallization  from  boiling  water ;  the  yield  is 
4*5  grams  per  kilo. 
Strophantin  is  a  white  bitter  substance,  which  crystallizes  in  mica- 
ceous plates,  grouped  round  a  nucleus.  It  readily  retains  water  me- 
chanically, and  also  forms  a  hydrate,  which  loses  its  water  in  a  vacuum 
or  in  dry  air.  The  hydrate  melts  .below  100°,  and  the  residual  stro- 
phantin is  uncrystallizable.  If,  however,  strophantin  is  carefully 
dried  in  a  vacuum,  it  may  be  heated  at  110°  without  alteration. 
Anhydrous  strophantin  becomes  pasty  at  165°,  and  partially  decom- 
poses. It  acts  on  polarized  light :  the  rotatory  power  of  a  2#3  per  cent, 
aqueous  solution  [«]d  =  +30°.  It  is  only  slightly  soluble  in  water, 
and  somewhat  soluble  in  alcohol,  but  is  insoluble  in  ether,  carbon 
bisulphide,  and  benzene.  It  is  precipitated  from  its  aqueous  solutions 
by  tannin. 
Strophantin  contains  no  nitrogen,  and  has  a  composition  correspond- 
ing with  the  formula  C31H48012.  It  seems  to  be  the  immediate  higher 
homologue  of  ouabain  which  it  closely  resembles  in  properties.  Per- 
haps these  and  all  other  cardiac  poisons  have  a  common  nucleus. 
The  removal  of  Warts  by  Carbolic  Acid.— Professor  B.  Frankel, 
in  the  Wiener medizinische  Presse,  Oct.  1888,  recommends  the  following  method 
for  the  removal  of  warts  :  The  skin  surrounding  the  wart  should  be  covered 
with  cotton,  and  thus  protected.  Then,  by  means  of  a  glass  rod,  apply  the 
liquid  carbolic  acid  to  the  wart  and  allow  it  to  dry.  No  pain  is  perceptible. 
In  the  course  of  two  or  three  days  a  part  of  the  wart  will  fall  off.  Renew 
the  application  until  all  has  been  removed. — Med.  News,  Dec.  1. 
1  Compt.  rend.,  cvii.,  179-182  ;  reprinted  from  Jour.  Chem.  Soc,  1888,  p.  1310. 
