606  A  Soluble  Compound  of  Hydrastine.  {AfovS£%™' 
Monocalcium 
Time  of  Phosphate.  Hydrastine. 
No,  Trituration.  Per  cent.  Per  cent. 
4  3  minutes  5773  42*27 
5  80  hours3   2900  71*00 
6  80     "    28*03  71 '97 
7  40     "    31*00  69*00 
8  50     "    30*43  69*67 
9  50     "    28*10  71  "90 
10           6  weeks   28*95  7I,05 
3  In  experiments  5  to  10  the  alkaloid  and  the  solution  were  placed  in  a  corked  bottle,  and  this 
was  introduced  into  a  box  provided  with  paddles  and  suspended  on  an  axis,  which  was  kept 
in  constant  agitation  beneath  a  water  tap. 
In  order  to  appreciate  these  figures,  let  us  note  the  theoretical 
percentages  of  the  simpler  possible  combinations  of  monocalcium 
phosphate  and  hydrastine. 
A.  2Ca(H2P04)2  .  C21H21NOe. 
Ca(H2P04)2  ==  54*  10  per  cent. 
C21H2lNOe  —  45*90  per  cent. 
B.  Ca(H2P04)2  .  C21H2iN06. 
Ca(H2P04)2  =  37*9  per  cent. 
C21H21N06  =  62-1  per  cent. 
C.  2Ca(H2P04)2  .  3C21H21NOe. 
Ca(H2P04)2  =  28  9  per  cent. 
C21H21N06  =  71-1  per  cent. 
It  will  be  seen  at  once  that  the  apparent  limit  of  the  amount  of 
hydrastine  which  can  enter  into  combination  with  the  phosphate, 
as  shown  by  analyses  5  to  10,  is  practically  identical  with  the  percent- 
age of  the  alkaloid  present  in  the  hypothetical  salt  C,  where  two 
molecules  of  monocalcium  phosphate  are  in  combination  with  three 
molecules  of  the  alkaloid.  In  the  picrate  of  hydrastine,  one  of  the 
few  crystalline  derivatives,  we  encounter  a  combination  of  equal 
molecules  [QH^NO^OH  .  C21H21N06];  the  amorphous  sulphate 
and  chloride  (C21H21N06  .  H2S04)  correspond,  however,  to  the  for- 
mula B.  While  the  formula  C  is  unsupported  by  analogy  and  the 
aid  of  crystallization  is  lacking,  the  analytical  data  point  strongly 
towards  this  as  the  correct  expression  for  the  product  obtained  by 
the  method  described. 
