146 
Ilomatrojyinc. 
(  Ani.Joiir.  I'lmrm. 
(      April,  IS!- -2. 
barium  liydratc  or  liydrocliloi'ic  acid,  succeeded  in  deconipofsing  it  into 
tropine  and  tropic  acid. 
Atropine.  'rr()i)iiic.  Tro])ie  Acid. 
The  most  important  step  in  tlie  direction  of  the  synthesis  or  artifi- 
cial formation  of  atropine  was  the  subsequent  success  of  Ladenburg^ 
in  combining  these  two  products  of  decomposition,  or  forming  tropate 
of  tropine,  and  by  heating  with  dilute  hydrocliloric  acid  at  a  tempera- 
ture below  KJO^C.,  whereby  a  mok-cule  of  water  is  eliminated,  accom- 
plishing tlie  inverse  i)r<)duction  of  atropine.  The  success  of  this  reac- 
tion led  the  same  chemist  to  the  expectation  that  other  bases  might  be 
obtained  in  the  same  w\ay,  by  the  treatment  of  various  tropine  salts 
with  dilute  hydrochloric  acid.  Tliis  hope  was  fully  realized,  and  in 
this  manner  an  entire  group  of  alkaloids  may  be  formed,  which,  like 
atropine  itself,  are  deducted  from  tropine,  and  to  which  the  generic 
name  of  tro'peines  has  been  a])plied.  The  alkaloids  hyoscyamine,  datu- 
rine  and  duboisine,  which  Ladenburg  has  jjroved  to  be  among  them- 
selves identical,  and  isomeric  with  atropine,  are  also  with  regard  to 
the  analogy  of  their  products  of  decomposition  tropeines.  Of  the  new 
bases  or  tropeines,  wdiich  may  be  formed  by  the  above-mentioned  reac- 
tion, the  following  have  been  prepared  and  more  particularly  described 
by  Ladenburg  r  oxybenzoyltropeine,  C^Ji^^NO'^,  paraoxyhenzoyltro- 
peine,  CjgHjyNOg,  orthocxyhenzoyltropeine,  or  salieyltroj^elne,  Ci-^H^qNO^, 
henzoyltropeine,  CigHigNOg,  atropylfropieine,  or  anhydro-atropine, 
C-^^jH^J^^O^,  phtalyltropeine,  C2fi:i.2i^2^iy  dnnamyltropeine,  C^yHjiNOg, 
and  oxytoluyltropeine  or  ho7natrop€ine,  C-^qH^iNO^.  It  is,  however,  to 
the  description  of  the  latter  com^^ound,  or  its  hydrobromate,  which 
alone  has  as  yet  found  a  practical  application,  and  which  seems  des- 
tined to  occupy  a  prominent  place  among  the  mydriatics  of  pharmacy, 
that  attention  will  here  be  confined.  The  base  is  readily  obtained  by 
the  treatment  of  amygdalate  of  tropine  with  hydrochloric  acid,  whereby 
the  elements  of  water  are  eliminated  from  the  molecule  and  liomatro- 
pine,  CigH^iNOg,  is  produced  : 
C3H„NO.QH303-Hp=C„H„NO.,. 
Troi:>ine  amygdalate.  Plomatroijine. 
1  "Ber.  der  Deutsch.  Chcm.  (jos.,"  187!),  p.  !)41— !J44. 
2  Ibid.,  1880,  p.  104— 110  and  j..  1081— 1{)88. 
