446 
Alkanet  Root. 
( Am.  Jour.  Pharra. 
I  September,  1897. 
^Esculin.  Gelsemic  Acid. 
C]5H1609  +  ij4H20—  melts  at  i6o°  C.  C13Hn05  —  melts  at  2060  C. 
Forms  a  penta-acetyl  derivative,  melts  Forms  a  diacetyl  derivative,  melts  at 
at  203°-2o6°  C.  i8o°  C. 
Splits  up  into  sugar  and  aesculetin.  Does  not  hydrolyze. 
Bromine  derivative  melts  I93°-I95°  C.  Bromine  derivative  melts  2500  C. 
Chloro  subst.  prod,  not  prepared.  Chloro  subst.  prod,  melts  1900  C. 
The  author  desires  to  express  his  thanks  to  Prof.  Dr.  A.  Hilger 
(Munich),  for  valuable  advice  given  during  a  portion  of  the  above 
investigations. 
^  ALKANET  ROOT.1 
By  B.  M.  Holmes,  F.L.S. 
Although  alkanet  was  known  as  a  drug  to  Theophrastus,  Dios- 
corides,  and  Pliny,2  and  similar  roots  have  been  used  in  the  East  for 
centuries,  comparatively  little  is  to  be  found  concerning  the  drug  in- 
modern  text-books  on  Materia  Medica,  notwithstanding  the  fact 
that  there  are  probably  few  pharmacists  who  do  not  keep  the  root 
in  stock.  The  plant  is  not  described  either  in  Pereira's  "  Materia 
Medica,"  or  in  "Pharmacographia,"  nor  is  any  figure  of  the  plant 
to  be  found  in  Bentley  and  Trimen's  or  other  English  works  on 
medicinal  plants.  In  Woodville's  "  Medicinal  Plants  "  (Vol.  II,  third 
ed.,  plate  106)  the  drug  is  referred  to  Anchusa  tinctoria,  but  the 
figure  given  is  that  of  A.  officinalis,  L.  {vide  Index  Kewensis,  I,  p- 
119),  which  does  not  yield  a  red  root.  The  author,  indeed,  remarks 
(/.  c,  p.  315) :  "  In  this  climate  its  roots  never  acquire  the  deep  color 
on  which  its  utility  depends."  The  only  good  figure  that  I  have 
seen  of  Alkanna  tinctoria,  Tausch,  the  plant  which  is  the  chief 
source  of  the  alkanet  root  of  commerce,  is  given  by  Berg  in  "  Offizin. 
Gewachse  "  (plate  xxiv,  c). 
I  have  never  seen  the  plant  cultivated  in  botanic  gardens  in  this 
country,  and  for  some  years  I  have  endeavored  to  obtain  the  plant, 
which  is  a  native  of  the  south  of  Europe,  through  pharmacognosists 
in  Austria,  but  without  result.  At  the  commencement  of  this  year 
I  saw  the  plant  mentioned  in  the  seed  list  of  the  Botanic  Garden  of 
Montpellier,  and,  on  writing  for  some,  was  informed  that  the  demand 
for  the  seeds  had  been  so  great  that  the  stock  was  exhausted.  Pro- 
fessor L.  Planchon,  however,  was  good  enough  to  send  me  several 
1  Pharmaceutical  Journal,  July  24,  1897. 
2  "  Pharmacographia  Indica,"  Vol.  II,  p.  524. 
