132  Oil  of  Ranunculus,  Anemonin  and  Cordol.  {'^"^M^'r'^'islJ'^'^™' 
completed  September  16,  with  the  exception  of  the  liands,  which 
reqiiirod  another  week. 
On  searching  for  a  chemioal  reaction  of  cardol  it  was  observed 
that  the  brown  oil  of  oriental  cashew  nuts  produced  with  aqueous  and 
more  intensely  with  alcoholic  solution  of  potassa  a  green  color,  and 
that  the  alcoholic  solution  turned  black  with  basic  acetate  of  lead. 
The  brown  oil  from  the  West  Indian  cashew  nut  dissolves  in  potassa 
with  a  pale  red  color,  which  gradually  becomes  darker  on  exposure  to 
the  air ;  alcoholic  potassa  yields  a  yellowish-red  color,  darkening  on 
exposure;  after  boiling  and  pouring  the  liquid  in  a  watch  crystal,  a 
violet  red  color  is  observed,  gradually  turning  more  red ;  the  alcoholic 
solution  of  this  cardol  yields  with  basic  lead  acetate  a  pale  red  precipi- 
tate, gradually  becoming  darker;  acetate  of  copper  yields  a  grass- 
green  precipitate.  Anemonin  shows  a  very  similar  behavior  to  that 
described  for  cardol  by  boiling  with  alcoholic  potassa,  but  it  has  none 
of  the  other  reactions. 
The  results  of  the  author  with  cardol  are  summarized  as  follows : 
1.  Cardol  from  West  Indian  cashew-nuts  differs  chemically  from 
that  of  oriental  cashew-nuts ;  the  action  of  the  latter,  on  being  applied 
to  the  skin,  seems  to  be  more  extended  and  more  intense. 
2.  Cardol  may  be  separated  from  mixtures  by  extraction  with  gla- 
cial acetic  acid  and  subsequent  agitation  with  benzol. 
3.  Cardol  is  decomposed  by  potassa,  and  cannot  therefore  be  isolated 
•  by  Radecki's  method  for  cantharidin. 
4.  On  subcutaneous  injection  of  small  doses,  cardol  produces  in  cold- 
blooded animals  paresis,  increasing  to  paralysis,  of  the  extremities^ 
stupor,  paralysis  of  respiration,  and  previous  to  death  tetanic  spasms. 
5.  Large  doses  of  cardol,  swallowed  by  warm-blooded  animals,  have 
no  lethal  effect ;  but  a  resorption  takes  jilace  evincing  its  chief  action 
upon  the  spine  and  brain,  producing  stupor  and  paralysis  of  the 
extremities,  also  a  violent  diarrhoea.  On  dissection  an  intense  inflam- 
mation is  observed,  combined  with  hemorrhages  of  the  mucous  mem- 
brane of  the  small  and  large  intestines;  also  a  slight  hypersemia  of 
the  kidneys. 
6.  The  excretion  of  cardol  appears  to  take  place  to  a  small  extent 
through  the  feces,  and  mostly  through  the  urine,  in  which  the  pres- 
ence of  the  poison  is  best  established.  The  chemical  reactions  may  be 
supplemented  by  the  physiological  effects  on  small  frogs. 
