Amsept.?if8^arm'}  Tincture  of  Strophantus.  457 
variety.  A  quantity  of  the  seeds  were  taken  and  pulverized  and 
dried.  This  was  now  divided  into  two  equal  parts  ;  the  first  packed 
in  a  percolator  and  thoroughly  extracted  with  stronger  ether.  The 
ether  was  evaporated  and  yielded  a  residue  of  oil  of  33*  14  per  cent.1 
A  portion  of  the  oil  was  agitated  with  dilute  sulphuric  acid.  The 
acid  liquid  on  separation  had  a  decided  bitter  taste,  and  after  boiling 
reduced  Fehling's  solution,  showing  that  the  ether  had  exerted  a 
solvent  action  on  the  glucoside.  This  solvent  power  has  been  recog- 
nized by  several  writers  on  the  subject  and  attributed  to  the  small 
percentage  of  moisture  remaining  in  the  seeds  or  to  the  presence  of 
alcohol  or  water  in  the  ether.  The  difficulty  of  thoroughly  drying 
the  seeds  at  a  temperature  of  110°  to  120°F.  is  shown  by  the  second 
loss  of  weight,  shown  by  Dr.  Squibb  to  occur  after  extraction  with 
ether.  It  is  a  fact  well  known  to  workers  on  plant  analysis,  and  to 
which  I  believe  Dragendorff  originally  called  attention,  that  ether  in 
the  presence  of  oils  exerts  a  solvent  action  on  many  substances 
especially  of  an  alkaloidal  nature,  and  to  this  cause  I  attribute  the 
presence  of  glucoside  in  the  oil  extracted  with  ether. 
The  powder  was  now  removed  from  the  percolator,  dried,  and  then 
moistened  slightly  with  a  portion  of  the  menstruum  of  seven  volumes 
alcohol  and  one  volume  water,  repacked  in  the  percolator,  macerated 
for  forty-eight  hours  and  percolated  until  twenty  fluidounces  of 
tincture  were  obtained  for  every  ounce  of  powdered  dry  seed  used. 
The  resulting  tincture  had  a  sp.  gr,  of  '8535,  and  a  fluidounce 
yielded  2*7  grains  of  residue  on  evaporation.  The  color  was  a  very 
pale  green  and  the  tincture  mixed  with  water  without  sediment. 
The  second  portion  of  the  powdered  and  dried  seeds  was  packed  in  a 
percolator  and  treated  with  petroleum  ether2  until  extracted.  On 
LThe  percentage  of  oil  obtained  by  different  investigators  shows  a  very  wide 
range.  W.  Martindale,  using  ether  as  a  solvent,  obtained  27  per  cent. 
Helbing  reports  32*45  per  cent.  Dr.  Squibb  states  23*45  per  cent.;  while  W. 
Elborne,  working  with  petroleum  ether,  reports  20*8  per  cent.,  and  A.  W.  Ger- 
rard  obtained  31  per  cent.,  also  using  petroleum  ether. 
2  The  petroleum  spirit  selected  for  this  experiment  showed  a  sp.  gr.  of  0*6829 
at  60°  F.  corresponding  to  a  commercial  gasolin  of  75°  B.,  was  entirely  volatile 
below  140°  F.,  and  gave  no  greasy  stain  on  evaporation  from  filter  paper,  nor 
residue  on  allowing  50  cc.  to  evaporate  in  a  tared  platinum  dish.  Care  must 
be  exercised  in  the  selection  of  a  benzin  for  this  purpose,  as  much  of  the  com- 
mercial purified  gasolins  and  benzins  are  of  a  sulphury  character,  having  a 
foul  odor,  and  are  totally  unfit  for  pharmaceutical  or  chemical  purposes.  The 
writer  hopes  to  shortly  be  able  to  publish  an  easy  process  by  which  the  phar- 
macist can  purify  these  products,  the  experiments  now  not  being  completed. 
