612 
Alkaloids  fr'om  Nux  Vomica. 
(■  Am.  Jour.  Pharm» 
\      Eec,  1881. 
iodide^  the  liydriodide  of  brucine  was  recrystallized  as  often  as 
necessary  from  alcohol ;  and  finally  the  alkaloid  was  regenerated 
by  agitating  the  solid  hydriodide  with  solution  of  sodium  carbonate,, 
and  shaking  up  with  chloroform ;  finally  the  chloroform  solution 
was  extracted  with  dilute  acid,  and  the  base  precipitated  with 
ammonia. 
This  mode  of  purification  answered  admirably.  The  brucine 
obtained  did  not  yield  any  evidence  of  the  presence  of  strychnia,  when 
it  ivas  treated  ivith  diluted  nitric  acid,  and  the  product  examined  for 
that  substance,  thus  confirming  the  results  previously  obtained  on  dis- 
tinct lines  of  experiment,  by  A.  J.  Cownley  Pharm.  Jour."  [3],  vi,. 
841 ;  ^'Am.  Jour.  Phar.,"  1876,  p.  351)  and  myself,  when  we  exam- 
ined the  alleged  conversion  of  brucine  into  strychnine  by  the  action  of 
nitric  acid  (Sonnenschein,  Pharm.  Jour."  [3],  vi,  201 ;  Am.  Jour. 
Phar.,"  1875,  p.  345,  etc.),  and  it  easily  yielded  the  acetate  in  crystals 
on  spontaneous  evaporation  of  a  solution  of  the  base  in  acetic  acid.. 
This  salt  has  been  previously  described  as  existing  only  as  a  gummy 
residue  (probably  owing  to  traces  of  impurity  in  the  alkaloid  from 
which  it  was  prepared) ;  it  is  not  very  stable,  quickly  showing  a  slight 
change  of  color. 
Having  now  found  a  means  of  preparing  brucine  free  from  strych- 
nine, and  otherwise  in  a  pure  state,  by  a  process  which  seemed  to  gua- 
rantee that  the  alkaloid  liad  not  undergone  change  during  its  prepara- 
tion, I  made  the  following  analyses  (see  table,  Xos.  I  and  II). 
As  the  alkaloids  which  remained  in  the  mother-liquor  when  the 
greater  portion  was  in  the  first  instance  precipitated  by  sodium  car- 
bonate were  considerable  in  quantity  (90  grams),  and  as  they  would 
contain,  besides  the  brucine  and  strychnine,  the  third  alkaloid,  if  there 
be  one,  I  examined  the  bases  from  this  portion,  very  carefully,  by  the 
following  method.  The  alkaline  liquid  was  washed  with  chloroform 
till  it  was  free  from  bitterness,  and  no  longer  gave  any  precipitate 
with  tannin ;  the  chloroform  solution  obtained  was  extracted  with 
acid  as  before ;  the  acid  sokition  precipitated  by  exposure  to  ammoni- 
acal  fumes,  and  the  brucine  dissolved  from  the  product  with  dilute 
spirit.  The  alcoholic  solution  yielded  the  greater  part  in  crystalline 
form  on  spontaneous  evaporation,  but  a  quantity  remained  in  the 
aqueous  mother-liquor,  which  could  be  partly  removed  by  washing 
with  chloroform,  and  partly  not.  I  will  speak  of  these  three  fractions 
separately. 
