Am.  Jour.  Pharm 
Nov.,  1889. 
Cupre'ine. 
573 
was  present.  In  thirty-six  cases  of  gastritis  under  observation  HC1 
was  absent,  only  to  return  with,  return  of  health.  When  HC1  is 
absent  lactic  acid  is  present.  In  a  case  of  chronic  gastritis  Dr.  Bourget 
found  1*60  per  cent  of  lactic  acid  and  no  HC1.  The  lactic  acid  being 
the  product  of  micro-organisms  in  the  stomach,  the  process  of  theu 
development  is  checked  by  HC1.  Bicarbonate  of  soda  is  useful,  but 
brings  no  permanent  benefit.  Instead  of  using  these  drugs,  he  says, 
"Prevent  the  formation  of  lactic  acid  by  the  administration  of  HC1." 
From  these  observations  he  concludes  (1)  that  pepsin  is  nearly  always 
useless  in  the  treatment  of  these  diseases,  (2)  that  pyrosis  ought  to  be 
combated  not  by  alkalies,  but  by  HOI,  (3)  and  that  alkalies  should 
never  be  given  until  the  process  of  digestion  is  completed. 
CUPREINE.1 
By  A.  0.  Oudemans,  Jr. 
The  pure  base  was  prepared  as  follows :  The  commercial  basic  sul- 
phate was  converted  into  the  neutral  hydrochloride  by  heating  it  with 
10  times  its  weight  of  water,  and  adding  hydrochloric  acid  until  a 
clear  solution  was  obtained.  To  this  was  added  the  calculated  quan- 
tity of  barium  chloride  required  to  precipitate  the  sulphuric  acid,  the 
solution  being  continually  shaken  ;  the  precipitate  was  allowed  to  set- 
tle, the  liquid  filtered  through  animal  charcoal,  and,  when  cold,  poured 
little  by  little  into  a  dilute  solution  of  ammonia,  which  was  shaken 
continually  ;  finally,  the  precipitate  thus  obtained  was  washed  rapidly 
with  cold  water.  If  any  had  become  colored,  it  was  digested  with  70 
per  cent,  alcohol,  and  the  residue  dissolved  in  alcohol,  and  precipitated 
by  the  cautious  addition  of  water ;  the  alkaloid  was  thus  obtained  per- 
fectly white  and  pure.  The  formula  is  3(019H22N2O2)+H2O.  When 
anhydrous,  it  melts  at  197°  ;  its  specific  rotatory  power  is  [a]D=175*4° 
in  "dilute  aqueous  or  alcoholic  solution. 
Various  salts  were  prepared,  and  their  solubility  in  water  and  their 
specific  rotatory  power  determined.  The  solubility  was  determined  at 
temperatures  varying  between  15°  and  17°,  and  is  given  below  in 
terms  of  the  anhydrous  salt.  The  specific  rotatory  power  was  deter- 
mined at  17°  for  aqueous  (and  in  some  cases  also  for  alcoholic)  solu- 
1  Rec.  Trav.  Chim.,  viii,  147-172;  reprinted  from  Jour.  Chem.  Soc,  Oct.,  1889, 
p.  1018.  Compare  also  papers  in  Amer.  Jour.  Phar.,  1884,  pp.  517  and  575; 
1885,  p.  249,  and  1886,  p.  132. 
