640        Recent  Literature  Relating  to  Pharmacy.  {^SS* 
RECENT  LITERATURE  RELATING  TO  PHARMACY. 
ASCLEPIAS  CUKASSAVICA  AS  AN  INSECTIFUGE. 
The  following  information  concerning  the  uses  of  this  plant  is 
taken  from  the  Kew  Bulletin,  October,  1897,  and  which,  as  there 
stated,  appears  to  be  unrecorded  : 
The  plant  grows  everywhere,  as  a  weed  about  the  Isthmus  of 
Tehuantepec  (Southern  Mexico),  and  is  used  by  the  Indians  there 
to  keep  away  vermin,  especially  fleas,  for  which  latter  purpose  it  is 
reported  as  being  most  successful.  They  make  a  rough  broom  of 
it,  and  sweep  the  floors  and  walls  of  their  huts,  and  find  that  they 
are  not  troubled  with  fleas  for  a  considerable  time  afterwards. 
They  have  tried  brushing  dogs  with  it  when  their  coats  are  full  of 
vermin,  and  it  appears  to  answer  the  same  purpose  with  them. 
The  Indian  name  of  the  plant  is  "  Chilpati." 
DETERMINATION  OF  THE  ALKALOIDS  IN  SOLANUM  CAROLINENSE. 
In  a  recent  communication  {The  Journal  of Pharmacology ,  Vol.  4, 
p.  225),  Charles  Gundlich  refers  to  the  results  obtained  by  G.  A. 
Krauss  and  Professor  J.  U.  Lloyd  in  their  investigations  of  Solanum 
Carolinense.  He  then  outlines  the  processes  which  he  employed  for 
the  extraction  of  the  alkaloidal  constituents  of  the  drug.  The  alcoholic 
liquid  in  which  the  fruit  was  preserved  was  examined  by  various  meth- 
ods, but  only  traces  of  alkaloid  could  be  found.  Then  an  examination 
of  the  fruit  was  undertaken,  but  only  traces  of  alkaloid  were  found 
in  500  grammes  of  material.  Next,  10  grammes  of  the  powdered 
root  were  examined,  using  various  solvents  for  the  extraction  of  the 
alkaloid,  but  only  traces  could  be  found.  Lastly,  1,000  grammes  of 
the  finely-powdered  root  were  treated  with  dilute  acetic  acid  (10  per 
cent),  but  with  no  better  results.  At  this  juncture,  the  author 
learning  that  Professor  Lloyd  had  used  several  hundred  pounds  of 
drug  for  obtaining  his  material,  the  investigation  was  given  up. 
CAFFETANNIC  ACID. 
Paul  Cazeneuve  and  E.  Haddon  (Compt.  rend.,  1897,  £  145$- 
1460)  have  recently  studied  this  subject.  Since  the  investigations 
of  Hlasiwetz,  caffetannic  acid  has  been  usually  regarded  as  having 
the  formula  C15H1808,  but  the  authors,  from  a  study  of  the  behavior 
of  the  substance  towards  phenylhydrazine,  conclude  that  it  has  the 
composition  C21H28014,  and  ascribe  to  it  the  constitutional  formula : 
COOH  .  CH  :  CH  .  C6H3(0  .  C6Hu05)2. 
