I 
^'^DecTiss'r'"  }  Alkaloids  from  Nux  Vomica.  611 
ting  at  rest  the  question  of  the  existence  of  a  third  alkaloid,  igasurine, 
in  nux  vomica  seeds. 
With  the  kind  aid  of  Messrs.  Hopkins  and  Williams,  56  lbs.  of  the 
seeds  of  Strychnos  nux  vomica  were  powdered,  exhausted  with  alcohol, 
to  which  one-sixth  part  of  water  had  been  added,  and  the  bulk  of  the 
spirit  recovered.  The  product,  in  the  form  of  a  not  very  thin  extract, 
was  mixed  when  cold  with  4  gallons  of  water,  containing  three-tenths 
per  cent,  of  sulphuric  acid,  which  dissolved  the  alkaloids,  leaving  the 
greater  part  of  other  organic  substances  behind.^ 
The  acid  solution  separated  from  the  undissolved  matter  was  mixed 
with  excess  of  sodium  carbonate,  and  after  a  few  hours  the  precipitate 
was  collected.  The  mother-liquors,  wdiich  retained  a  large  quantity 
of  alkaloid,  were  examined  fully  by  a  process  which  will  be  described 
later. 
The  precipitate  produced  by  potassium  carbonate  was  dissolved  in 
■chloroform,  and  the  solution  extracted  by  thoroughly  washing  with 
water  to  whicli  sulphuric  acid  was  added  gradually  during  the  process, 
the  first  washing  being  withdrawn  whilst  still  alkaline,  in  order  to 
avoid  crystallization,  which  was  apt  to  occur  rather  easily  with  strong 
and  at  the  same  time  acid  solutions ;  the  subsequent  washings  were 
made  with  excess  of  acid.  The  solution  of  brucine  sulphate  thus 
obtained  was  still  far  from  pure,  and  Avhen  alkalies  were  added  to  it  in 
the  ordinary  way,  gave  a  very  luisatisfactory  precipitate,  but  ^vhen  the 
solution  was  placed  in  a  shallow  dish  with  a  beaker  containing  some 
diluted  solution  of  ammonia  in  the  centre,  and  the  whole  was  covered 
up  pretty  closely,  the  gradual  action  of  the  ammonia  caused  the  alka- 
loids to  separate  in  crystals,  which  it  was  easy  to  deal  with  afterwards. 
The  250rtion  of  the  bases  which  had  been  got  in  the  crystalline  state 
in  this  manner  was  treated  with  dilute  spirit,  to  dissolve  the  brucine, 
and  the  solution  allowed  to  evaporate  spontaneously.  A  crystalline 
mass  of  brucine  then  remained,  which  still  contained  much  strychnia; 
it  was  dissolved  in  dilute  sulphuric  acid,  added  in  such  quantity  as  to 
leave  a  faintly  alkaline  solution,  and  precipitated  with  potassium 
1  This  method  was  ado^ited  after  repeated  trials  on  a  small  scale,  whicli 
showed  that,  on  account  of  the  large  amount  of  mucilaginous  substances 
in  the  seeds,  a  tolerably  economical  method  of  extraction  without  the  use 
of  spirit  was  impossible,  and  of  course  the  use  of  alcohol  made  it  neces- 
sary to  remove  it  subsequently  by  heat,  as  brucine  is  very  freely  solube  in 
in  that  liquid. 
