THE  AMERICAN 
JOURNAL  OF  PHARMACY 
APRIL,  i go 4. 
A  CHEMICAL  STUDY  OF  THE  SEED  OF  RHUS  GLABRA. 
By  G.  B.  Frankforter  and  A.  W.  Martin. 
The  Anacardiacese  or  Cashew  family  contains  about  450  species. 
Most  of  these  occur  in  the  tropical  regions.  The  genus  Rhus  or 
sumac  represents  about  the  only  members  of  the  order  occurring  in 
Northern  United  States.  Of  the  120  species  of  Rhus,  about  20 
are  considered  as  having  medicinal  or  commercial  value.  An 
infusion  of  the  leaves,  the  bark  and  the  pubescence  of  the  seed  of 
several  species,  is  used  in  both  the  dyeing  and  the  tanning  industries. 
Sixteen  species  are  mentioned  in  the  United  States  Dispensatory. 
Rhus  glabra,  the  species  under  discussion,  is  one  of  the  most  com- 
mon in  the  Northern  States.  It  has  been  studied  several  times. 
Watson  made  an  examination  of  the  bark  of  the  root,  recording  the 
following  constituents :  gum,  resin,  caoutchouc,  starch,  albumin, 
gallic  and  tannic  acids  and  coloring  matter.  (Amer.  Jour,  of 
Pharm.,  25,  p.  194.)  The  amount  of  tannin  in  the  leaves  has  been 
found  to  vary  widely.  Analyses  of  the  leaves  from  the  Northern 
States  show  an  average  of  16  per  cent.,  while  the  leaves  from  the 
same  species  growing  farther  south  contain  as  high  as  25  per  cent. 
An  examination  of  the  galls  of  the  same  species  showed  nearly 
62  per  cent,  of  tannin.    (Amer.  Jour,  of  Pharm.,  62,  p.  564.) 
The  seed  of  the  Rhus  glabra  has  been  mentioned  ;  but,  so  far  as 
could  be  ascertained,  only  the  briefest  preliminary  examination  has 
been  made.  Tannin  has  been  recognized  in  the  seed  and  malic  acid 
in  the  pubescence.  In  addition  to  these  constituents,  fixed  oil,  a 
volatile  oil  and  coloring  matter  have  been  mentioned. 
(151) 
