Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
May,  1897. 
}     Starch  and  Strontium  in  Opium. 
245 
square  of  100  square  millimeters.  Should  any  worker  be  without 
a  micrometer,  the  total  number  of  granules  in  a  field  may  be 
counted.  Repeat  the  counting  with  successive  drops  three  or 
four  times,  and  take  the  average  of  the  several  countings.  Having 
approximated  the  number  of  starch  granules  in  the  above  mix- 
ture, prepare  a  syrupy  mixture  of  the  same  starch  as  that  con- 
tained in  the  opium,  say  a  1  per  cent,  mixture,  and  deter- 
mine the  number  of  starch  granules  as  above.  If  the  number  of 
starch  granules  is  greater  or  less  than  those  contained  in  the  opium 
mixture,  dilute  the  mixture  or  make  a  more  concentrated  one,  as 
the  case  in  hand  requires.  If  the  number  of  granules  is  the  same 
in  both  mixtures,  the  per  cent,  of  adulterant  is  readily  calculated. 
When  more  than  one  kind  of  starch  is  present,  the  per  cent,  of 
adulterant  is  more  difficult  to  determine. 
Chemically,  the  starch  can  be  estimated  as  follows  :  Exhaust  10 
grammes  of  the  opium  with  cold  water,  place  the  residue  into  a  flask, 
add  200  c.c.  of  alcohol  containing  5  per  cent,  of  potassium  hydrox- 
ide, and  boil  vigorously  on  the  water  bath  for  about  fifteen  minutes. 
Filter  while  hot  and  wash  the  residue  with  hot  alcohol,  until  the 
filtrate  is  nearly  colorless.  Dissipate  the  alcohol  from  the  residue 
and  introduce  the  latter  into  a  suitable  flask,  add  200  c.c.  of  water, 
16  c.c.  of  hydrochloric  acid  (specific  gravity  ri6),  attach  to  a  reflux 
condenser  and  boil  gently  for  three  hours.  Cool  the  contents  of 
the  flask,  neutralize  with  sodium  carbonate,  filter  and  make  up  to  a 
definite  volume.  In  this  estimate  the  reducing  sugar  by  Fehling's 
solution,  either  volumetrically  or  gravimetrically.  The  weight  of 
reducing  sugar  multiplied  by  09  equals  the  amount  of  starch  con- 
tained in  10  grammes  of  opium. 
Fig.  1.    Epidermis  of  capsule,  magnified  500  diameters. 
