204       ESERINE,  THE  ALKALOID  OF  THE  CALABAR  BEAN. 
any  such  careless  habit  as  a  want  of  promptness  in  fulfilling  any 
and  every  promise  to  do  or  promise  to  pay. 
So  varying  and  peculiarly  are  the  auspices  under  which  each 
young  man  enters  business,  that  it  is  not  likely  that  the  forego- 
ing covers  all  the  ground  designed  for  a  reply  to  the  query  I 
accepted ;  these  several  points,  however,  may,  if  acted  upon,  be 
conducive  to  a  proper  estimate  in  the  minds  of  some  of  the 
right  paths  to  follow  in  acquiring  a  commercial  education. 
— Proceedings  of  the  American  Pharmaceutical  Association, 
1865. 
Detroit,  Mick  Sept.,  1864. 
ON  ESERINE,  THE  ALKALOID  OF  THE  CALABAR  BEAN. 
By  MM.  A.  Vee  &  M.  Leven. 
The  authors  begin  with  pointing  out  that  the  physostigmine 
of  Jobst  and  Hesse  only  possesses  some  of  the  characters  of 
an  immediate  principle,  and  is,  in  fact,  a  mixture  of  several 
bodies,  of  which  the  most  considerable  is  a  crystallisable  body 
which  they  call  eserine.  This  is  obtained  in  the  following  way, 
which,  it  is  said,  is  a  modification  of  the  process  of  Stas  for 
separating  alkaloids  in  cases  of  poisoning. 
Calabar  beans  reduced  to  a  fine  powder  are  exhausted  by  cold 
alcohol.  The  alcohol  is  carefully  distilled  from  the  tincture, 
and  the  extract  is  treated  with  a  strong  solution  of  tartaric 
acid.  After  some  time  the  mixture  is  diluted  with  water, 
filtered  and  then  supersaturated  with  bicarbonate  of  potash. 
The  whole  is  now  shaken  with  ether,  and  the  ethereal  solution 
separated  gives  on  evaporation  the  alkaloid  contaminated  with 
foreign  matters.  The  extract  is  dried  over  sulphuric  acid,  and 
then  re-dissolved  in  pure  anhydrous  ether,  from  which  solution 
the  alkaloid  is  obtained  almost  pure.  Repeated  solution  in 
alcohol  or  ether  remove  all  the  impurities,  but  a  little  red  color- 
ing matter  which  obstinately  adheres. 
Esdrine*  is  a  crystallisable  solid  of  a  faintly  bitter  taste,  which 
is  not  immediately  perceived.    It  is  freely  soluble  in  ether, 
[  *This  new  name  is  uncalled  for  ;  we  hope  the  original  name,  from  the 
genus  of  the  plant,  will  be  retained  by  chemists. — Ed.  Am.  Jour.  Phar.] 
