280 
Constituents  of  Frasera  Walteri. 
(  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
\      June,  1881. 
CONSTITUENTS  OF  FRASERA  WALTERI. 
By  George  W.  Kennedy. 
In  the  early  part  of  last  year  (1880)  I  received  from  niy  friend,  Mr. 
J.  U.  Lloyd,  of  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  a  small  quantity  of  powder  of  a 
lemon-yellow  color,  which  he  ol^tained  from  the  root  of  American 
Colombo,  with  the  request  that  I  examine  it  carefully,  as  he  was  under 
the  impression  it  was  identical  with  that  isolated  by  me  from  the  root 
of  Frasera  A¥alteri  in  1873  (^'Proc.  Am.  Phar.  Asso.,"  1873,  p.  636). 
Later  in  the  year  I  received  another  small  quantity  by  mail  from  the 
same  gentleman. 
In  appearance  the  powder  or  very  small  crystals,  which  they 
appeared  to  be,  were  of  the  same  light  yellow  color,  and  very  much 
resembled  those  obtained  by  the  writer.  They  were  submitted  to  the 
same  tests  as  those  which  were  obtained  by  myself,  and  their  behavior 
corresponded  precisely,  again  proving  conclusively,  for  the  second 
time,  that  the  root  of  American  Colombo  contains  constituents  ident- 
with  those  of  Gentiana  lutea,  and  that  the  two  roots  are  closely  ana- 
logous; the  only  difference  I  was  able  to  discover  was  that  the  frasera 
contained  more  of  the  yellow  acid  (gentisic  acid),  and  the  gentian  more 
of  the  bitter  principle  (gentio-picrin). 
The  substance  obtained  from  Mr.  Lloyd  was  submitted  to  additional 
experiments.  With  ferric  chloride  it  produces  a  deep  green-black 
color,  and  in  this  respect  is  similar  to  that  obtained  by  Prof.  Maisch 
from  the  root  of  gentian  ("Am.  Jour.  Phar.,"  1880,  p.  1-4).  It  is 
the  same  substance  which  led  a  number  of  pharmacists  to  believe  that 
gentian  root  contained  tannin.  When  treated  with  a  solution  of  gela- 
tin a  very  delicate  precipitation  was  observed  after  standing  about  8 
hours.  The  substance  was  found  to  be  decidedly  more  soluble  in  hot 
water  than  cold,  the  former  producing  a  j^i'onounced  lemon-yellow 
solution,  whilst  in  the  latter  the  water  was  hardly  tinged. 
Factitious  Tea  has  again  been  observed  in  Russia  by  E.  Johan- 
son,  one  specimen  consisting  altogether  of  the  leaves  of  Epilobium. — 
Phar.  Zeitsch.f,  BicssL,  1881,  p.  231. 
