Am 
July 
hiiy'mi''"''}  Stearopten  of  Biichu  Leaves.  331 
THE  STEAROPTEN  OF  BUCHU  LEAVES. 
By  John  M.  Maisch. 
Head  before  the  Penna.  Pheirmaeeutieal  Anme.  at  WiUiamsport^  June  15. 
In  a  paper  by  Prof.  E.  S.  Wayne,  of  Cincinnati,  published  in  the 
"Amer.  Jour.  Pliar.,"  1876,  p.  18,  some  interesting  experiments  are 
related  concerning  two  crystalline  substances  obtained  from  oil  of 
buchu  by  treatment  with  caustic  soda  and  subsequent  decomposition  of 
the  clear  alkaline  liquid  with  hydrochloric  acid.  The  crystals  yielded 
by  the  oil  distilled  from  partially  exhausted  buchu  leaves  gave  the 
reactions  of  salicylic  acid,  notably  the  deep  purple  color  with  ferric 
chloride.  The  crystals,  however,  yielded  by  oil  distilled  from  20  lbs. 
buchu  gave  with  ferric  chloride  a  blackish  color,  and  the  same  reac- 
tion was  observed  by  Prof.  Wayne  witli  crystals  collected  by  Mr. 
Wm.  M.  Thomson,  then  of  W.  H.  Merrell  &  Co.  The  last-men- 
tioned crystals,  I  have  since  been  informed  by  Mr.  Thomson,  were  sep- 
arated in  the  cooler  during  the  distillation  of  weak  tincture  of  buchu 
in  the  preparation  of  fluid  extract,  and  Prof.  Wayne  obtained  larger 
quantities  of  the  same  substance  by  distilling  the  nearly  exhausted 
buchu  leaves  with  water. 
All  these  observations  were  made  with  short  buchu  leaves,  presum- 
ably with  the  leaves  of  Barosma  betulina,  which  for  a  number  of  years 
past  constitute  the  great  bulk  of  commercial  short  buchu.  Having 
myself  worked  up,  at  different  times,  over  6,000  lbs.  of  buchu  into 
fluid  extract  without  ever  observing  a  crystalline  separation  during  the 
concentration  and  distillation  of  the  weak  tincture,  I  requested  Mr. 
Thomson,  now  of  Smith,  Kline  &  Co.,  of  Philadelphia,  to  inform  me 
in  case  he  should  meet  with  a  similar  crystallization.  This  lie  did, 
about  two  months  ago.  I  found  the  exit  end  of  the  worm  surrounded 
with  considerable  of  a  crystalline  efllorescence,  and  the  upper  side  of 
the  pipe,  as  far  as  could  be  reached  with  the  finger,  covered  with  more 
perfect  crystals,  giving,  like  the  inflorescence,  a  blackish  color  with 
ferric  chloride,  and  this  reaction  was  also  obtained  with  the  distillate, 
which  was  neutral  to  test  paper.  There  cannot  be  any  doubt,  as  Mr. 
Thomson  suggested  to  me,  but  the  substance  in  question  is  the  stear- 
opten of  buchu  oil,  which  was  recently  described  by  Prof.  Fliickiger 
as  dios-'phenoL  One  object,  however,  which  I  had  in  view  could  not 
be  accomplished,  namely,  the  examination  of  the  buchu  leaves  in  their 
natural  state ;  unfortunately,  the  entire  package  liad  been  ground  and 
