Am.  Jour.'Pharm. ) 
Dec,  1881.  ]■ 
Constituents  of  Iris  Versicolor. 
601 
THE  CONSTITUENTS  OF  lEIS  VERSICOLOR. 
The  following  extracts  have  been  made  from  a  thesis  by  Wm.  E. 
Jenks,  Ph.G. : 
The  recently  collected  rhizome  of  blue  flag  imparts  a  disagreeable 
nauseous  acrid  taste  to  water  by  decoction,  and  more  decidedly  to  alco- 
hol and  ether.  The  acrimony  as  well  as  the  medicinal  virtues  grad- 
ually diminish  by  age.  The  fleshy  rhizome  transversely  sliced  and 
dried  in  an  atmosphere  heated  to  lOO^F.,  then  pulverized  and  placed 
in  darkened  well-closed  vessels  excluded  from  light  and  air,  will  have 
its  therapeutic  properties  unimpaired  for  a  great  length  of  time. 
The  oleoresin  of  blue  flag  is  readily  obtained  by  exhausting  the  rhi- 
zome in  moderately  fine  powder  with  alcohol,  sp.  gr.  '835,  and  distil- 
ling off  the  alcohol,  the  heat  being  carefully  regulated  towards  the 
latter  part  of  the  operation.  It  is  a  dark  reddish-brown  liquid  of  a 
thick  viscid  consistence,  and  of  a  peculiar  odor  and  acrid  astringent 
taste.  On  treatment  with  ether  and  subsequent  evaporation,  it  was 
^comparatively  free  from  astringency,  more  acrid  and  lighter  in  color. 
The  residue  remaining  after  treatment  with  ether  possessed  a  some- 
what saccharine  taste,  was  readily  soluble  in  water  and,  with  Trom- 
mer's  test,  showed  the  presence  of  glucose. 
The  powder  exhausted  by  alcohol  was  percolated  with  water,  and 
yielded  a  transparent  reddish-brown  liquid  having  a  very  astringent 
and  scarcely  acrid  taste.  Ferric  chloride  produced  a  blue  black  color, 
^nd  with  gelatin  solution  a  gelatinous  precipitate  was  obtained.  Alco- 
hol yielded  a  voluminous  precipitate  of  gum  which  was  readily  soluble 
in  water,  and  in  this  solution  gelatinized  with  ferric  chloride.  The 
presence  of  albuminous  matter  and,  in  the  decoction,  a  starch  was  like- 
'wise  proven. 
The  thesis  of  D.  W.  Cressler,  Ph.G.,  treats  of  the  chemical  consti- 
tuents of  the  rhizome ;  the  following  is  a  synopsis  of  his  results : 
After  macerating  five  troyounces  of  the  coarsely  powdered  blue 
iflag  with  water  and  then  distilling  a  minute  quantity  of  volatile  mat- 
ter was  obtained  as  a  brownish  viscid  mass,  by  agitating  the  distillate 
•with  chloroform  and  evaporating  the  latter.  The  decoction  left  in  the 
retort  was  found  to  contain  sugar,  gum,  tannin  and  starch. 
Sixteen  troyounces  of  the  drug  were  exhausted  with  95  per  cent, 
alcohol,  the  tincture  was  concentrated  by  distillation  and  then  treated 
with  water  acidulated  with  acetic  acid ;  the  precipitate,  after  washing 
