Am.  Jour.  Pliarm  ) 
Dec,  1881.  J 
Alkaloids  from  Nux  Vomica. 
617 
by  the  action  of  baryta- water,  have  obtained,  not  products  such  as 
those  obtained  by  Wright,  Ladenburg  and  others  from  several  alka- 
loids, but  very  oxidizable  bodies,  0211126^20^  and  O21H28X2O5,  formed 
respectively  by  the  assumption  of  2  and  3  molecules  of  water,  which 
differ  from  strychnia  in  their  color  reactions,  and  whose  gold  and 
platinum  salts  are  not  stable.  As  their  work  does  not  appear  to  have 
extended  to  brucine,  I  have  been  much  interested  at  the  result  of  my 
p)reviously-projected  experiments  in  this  case. 
When  brucine  was  heated  with  water,  aqueous  potash  or  dilute  sul- 
phuric acid  in  sealed  tubes  to  various  temperatures,  and  for  various 
times,  nothing  further  was  obtained  on  examining  the  products  than 
unaltered  alkaloids,  small  quantities  of  yellow,  slightly  basic  varnishes 
which  did  not  yield  crystalline  salts,  and  mother-liquors,  which  under- 
went rapid  oxidation  on  exposure  to  air.  Examination  for  acids  by 
acidification  and  distillation,  or  treatment  of  the  acidified  solutions 
with  ether  and  other  such  solvents,  gave  no  results.  When,  however, 
alcoholic  soda  was  employed,  there  was  obtained  a  substance  rather 
soluble  in  water,  which,  after  preliminary  trials,  was  prepared  as  fol- 
lows : 
About  60  grams  of  commercial  brucine  was  placed  with  600  cc.  of 
.  -5  per  cent,  alcoholic  soda  in  a  copper  bottle  securely  closed,  and  was 
heated  in  a  bath  of  boiling  water  for  12  hours.  The  contents  of  the 
bottle  were  then  diluted  with  spirit  and  treated  with  carbon  dioxide  to 
remove  the  alkali,  filtered  and  the  filtrate  exposed  that  the  spirit  might 
evaporate.  There  remained  a  mass  of  black,  varnish-like  substance 
containing  numerous  minute  crystals;  this  was  treated  with  the 
smallest  possible  quantity  of  water  to  form  a  sort  of  syrup,  and  filtered, 
and  the  residue  was  washed  with  as  little  water  as  })0ssible.  In  this 
way  I  obtained  a  little  over  7  grams  of  a  grey  crystalline  powder,  con- 
siderable loss  having;  occurred  in  securino;  it.  Various  methods  of 
purification  involving  recrystallization  having  failed  in  consequence  of 
the  instability  of  the  substance  in  solution,  it  was  dissolved  in  a  very 
small  quantity  of  water  with  dilute  hydrochloric  acid,  filtered  quickly, 
precipitated  with  ammonia  and  washed  with  distilled  water.  Two  such 
treatments  yielded  the  body  not  absolutely  pure,  but  very  nearly  so, 
and  in  as  pure  a  state  as  was  practicable,  since  the  solution  in  acid 
visibly  imderwent  change  if  left  more  than  two  or  three  minutes.  About 
2J  grams  were  secured  in  nearly  colorless  microscopic  crystals,  which 
were  quite  stable  in  the  dry  state,  with  the  following  distinct  charac- 
