FHE  AMERICAN 
JOURNAL  OF  PHARMACY. 
SEPTEMBER,  1881. 
ASCLEPIAS  CORNUTI,  Decaisne. 
By  Walter  Lippincott  Hinchman,  Ph.  G, 
From  an  Inaugural  Essay. 
The  rhizome  of  this  plant  is  long  and  comparatively  slender, 
reaching  from  one  to  six  feet  in  length,  from  one-half  to  one  inch  in 
diameter,  and  runs  horizontally  about  six  inches  below  the  surface  of 
the  ground.  It  is  thickened  at  intervals  of  ten  or  twelve  inches, 
where  the  overground  stems  shoot  out,  otherwise  it  is  uniform  in  size 
and  at  the  end  has  generally  three  rootlets.  It  has  a  thick  bark, 
externally  brown,  the  interior  white^  and  contains  a  number  of  latici- 
ferous  ducts,  someAvhat  scattered,  but  principally  placed  in  two  irreg- 
ular lines.  In  drying  the  bark  shrinks  very  much  and  is  finely 
wrinkled  longitudinally,  and  somewhat  fissured  at  intervals,  leaving  * 
the  wood  exposed.  The  wood,  of  a  yellow  color,  is  hard  and  brittle, 
breaking  with  a  resinous  fracture;  it  contains  a  large  number  of 
medullary  rays  and  also  ducts,  which  are  visible  to  the  naked  eye. 
The  annexed  drawing  has  been  made  by  Mr.  F.  L.  Slocum.  The 
rhizome  has  a  disagreeable,  nauseous  taste  and  a  slight  odor.  The 
fresh  rhizome  in  air  drying  loses  70  per  cent.,  the  air  dry  in  complete 
drying  10  per  cent.,  and  when  completely  dried  yields  6  per  cent, 
of  ash. 
A  portion  of  the  powdered  drug  was  thoroughly  exhausted  with 
petroleum  benzin.  The  benzin  was  partially  distilled  ofi*  and  the 
remainder  allowed  to  evaporate  spontaneously.  This  left  a  sticky, 
yellow  extractive,  overlaying  a  fixed  oil;  these  were  separated.  The 
oil  has  a  fine  yellow  color,  a  bland  taste  and  the  odor  of  the  drug. 
The  sticky  extract  was  washed  with  water  and  then  exhausted  with 
warm  95  per  cent,  alcohol.  This  alcoholic  solution  was  concentrated 
with  a  low  heat  and  set  aside.  Upon  cooling,  yellow,  wart-like  crys- 
tals formed.  By  numerous  solutions  and  recrystallizations  in  alcohol 
these  were  obtained  white.    They  are  wart-like,  odorless  and  tasteless, 
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