832 
Stearopten  of  BucJiu  Leaves. 
( Am.  .To)ir.  Pliarm. 
t       July,  1881. 
used  in  the  preparation  of  fluid  extract,  so  that  it  was  impossible  to 
■determine  whether  the  leaves  were  all  derived  from  one  species.  All 
the  information  that  Mr.  Thomson  could  give  me  on  this  point  was 
that  it  was  the  short  variety,  probably  Barosma  hetulina,  and  that  the 
leaves  were  of  a  brighter  green  and  fresher  in  appearance  than  buchu 
is  usually  found  in  the  market. 
That  the  crystallization  of  stearopten,  under  the  circumstances  men- 
tioned above,  has  not  been  observed  moi-e  frequently  may  be  accounted 
for,  probably,  for  one  or  two  reasons,  either  the  same  species  of 
JBarosma,  under  the  influence  of  soil  and  climate,  or  from  diflerence  in 
age,  may  contain  variable  quantities  of  volatile  oil  or  of  stearopten ; 
or  commercial  buchu  may  sometimes  be  mixed  with  the  leaves  of  a 
species  which  is  naturally  richer  in  volatile  oil  or  in  stearopten.  As 
regards  the  former,  it  may  be  mentioned  that,  in  1863,  Prof.  Bedford 
obtained  from  short  buchu  between  1*02  and  T60  per  cent,  of  volatile 
oil.  From  Barosma  betulina  Fliickiger  and  Hanbury  obtained  1'56, 
and  when  operating  on  larger  quantities,  1'63  per  cent.  ('^  Pharmaco- 
graphia");  recently,  however,  Prof.  Fliickiger's  yield  from  35  kilos  of 
round  buchu  was  ouly  180  grams,  or  a  little  more  than  one-half  per 
cent.  ("Yearbook,"  1880,  p.  461).  If  the  j^roportion  of  stearopten  be 
the  same  in  these  cases  (nearly  ^  the  weight  of  the  volatile  oil,  Fliick- 
iger), it  will  be  observed  that  the  quantity  contained  in  some  leaves  is. 
more  than  three  times  greater  than  in  other  leaves  of  the  same  com- 
mercial variety. 
The  leaves  of  Barosma  serratifolia,  or  long  buchu,  yielded  to  Prof. 
Bedford  between  0*62  and  0*71  per  cent,  of  volatile  oil.  I  am  not 
acqnainted  with  other  determinations  of  volatile  oil  in  buchu  leaves  of 
known  botanical  origin,  or  of  known  commercial  variety. 
Diosphenol  is  characterized  by  Fliickiger  {loc.  cit.)  as  follows:  Ele- 
mentary analysis  leads  to  the  formula  C14H22O3.  It  crystallizes  in 
colorless  needles  or  somewhat  larger  prisms  of  the  monosymmetric 
(monoclinic)  system,  melts  at  83°C.  (181-4°F.),  boils  at  233°C. 
(451'4°F.),  sublimes  in  the  heat  of  a  steam-bath  in  thin  prisms,  but 
cannot  be  distilled  without  partial  decomposition.  It  is  readily  solu- 
ble in  alcohol  of  0*83  sp.  gr.,  less  so  in  ether,  but  very  sparingly  in 
water;  the  solution  in  boiling  water,  on  cooling,  affords  acicular  crys- 
tals. The  solutions  are  perfectly  neutral,  and  on  addition  of  an  alco- 
holic solution  of  ferric  chloride  assume  a  dark  coloration  of  dingy 
green.    Diosphenol  has  a  slightly  aromatic  odor  and  taste  sui  generis, 
