156 
Seed  of  Rhus  Glabra. 
{ 
A.m.  Jour.  Pharm. 
April,  1904. 
Unsaponifiable  Matter. — The  determination  of  unsaponifiable  mat- 
ter was  made  by  a  method  used  for  the  determination  of  the  choles- 
terols  in  oil,  namely,  the  complete  saponification  of  the  oil,  drying 
and  extracting  the  unsaponifiable  matter  by  means  of  ether.  Two 
determinations  gave  an  average  of  -696  per  cent,  of  substance.  By 
repeating  the  process  on  a  large  scale  a  considerale  quantity  of  sub. 
stance  was  obtained.  A  chemical  study  of  the  substance  is  in 
progress.  The  work  done  so  far  would  indicate  that  the  substance 
belongs  to  the  cholesterols,  being  a  monatomic  alcohol.  From  the 
analyses,  it  would  appear  that  the  molecule  is  larger  than  that  of  the 
cholesterols,  though  belonging  to  the  same  class. 
The  Examination  of  the  Husk. — The  husk  and  the  pubescence 
were  removed  from  the  seed  by  the  method  already  mentioned  and 
examined.  The  material  was  of  a  reddish  color,  the  coloring  mat- 
ter being  soluble  in  ether,  alcohol  and  water.  It  has  a  slightly 
acid  and  a  peculiar  astringent  taste.  These  solutions  gave  strong 
tests  for  tannic  acid.  By  shaking  out  the  dried  aqueous  extract 
with  ether,  a  large  amount  of  impure  tannic  acid  was  obtained.  This 
was  subsequently  purified  and  examined. 
On  evaporating  the  aqueous  extract  to  a  thick  syrup  and  allowing 
to  stand  several  days,  a  reddish  granular  mass  appeared  in  the  bot- 
tom of  the  dish.  This  was  removed,  washed  several  times  with 
water  and  recrystallized.  The  substance  then  appeared  as  small 
white  cubical  crystals,  which  were  identified  as  acid  calcium  malate. 
They  had  a  melting  point  of  8i°  C.  The  filtrate  was  found  to  con- 
tain practically  all  of  the  tannic  acid,  but  there  seemed  to  be  no  free 
malic  acid,  as  reported  by  Reinsch.    [Zeitschrift  f.  Chemie,  1886, 
From  the  aqueous  extract,  which  represented  exactly  one-quarter 
of  the  weight  of  the  husk,  the  tannic  acid  and  the  acid  calcium  malate 
were  determined.    The  results  were  as  follows : 
Rhus  Husk  Oil. — The  husk,  which  had  been  extracted  with 
water,  was  dried  and  extracted  with  ether.  The  substance  remain- 
ing after  the  evaporation  of  the  ether,  appeared  as  a  black  oil.  At 
the  ordinary  temperature,  it  was  a  semi-solid.  An  average  of  several 
determinations  gave  8-5  per  cent,  of  oil. 
An  examination  of  the  oil  indicated  that  it  was  quite  different  in 
p.  221.) 
Tannic  acid  .... 
Acid  calcium  malate 
7 "32  per  cent. 
i*35 
