150 
Osmorrhka  Longistylis, 
(  Am.  Jour.  Pharm_ 
\      April,  1882. 
The  aromatic  quality  of  the  roots  and  i-hizoina  is  due  to  the  presence 
of  a  volatile  oil  of  light  brown-yellow  color ;  the  odor  and  taste  recall 
those  of  anise,  but  are  distinct.  The  oil  is  heavier  than  water,  solidi- 
fies at  38°F.  to  a  crystalline  mass  resembling  oil  of  anise,  with  which 
it  may  be  chemically  identical.  The  yield  from  the  fresh  root  is  about 
per  cent.,  but  in  the  dry  state  the  yield  probably  would  be  much 
larger,  as  the  fresh  root  contains  68  J  per  cent,  of  moisture.  A  weighed 
portion  of  the  root,  after  drying  at  a  temperature  of  220°F.,  and 
allowed  to  stand  in  the  atmosphere  for  a  week,  and  again  weighed,  was- 
found  to  have  absorbed  3  per  cent. 
A  portion  of  the  dried  root,  exhausted  by  percolation  with  ether^ 
gives  a  bright  yellow  solution,  which  when  evaporated  leaves  a  dark 
brown  oleo-resinous  extract,  Avhich  yields  about  half  its  bulk  to  95 
per  cent,  alcohol,  leaving  a  dirty  brown  fatty  mass,  insoluble  in  liot 
alcohol,  freely  soluble  in  cold  chloroform,  and  more  so  in  carbon  disul- 
phide  and  hot  chloroform.  It  })artly  saponifies  on  being  boiled  with 
caustic  alkalies,  and  on  the  addition  of  an  acid  to  the  saponified  solu- 
tion an  insoluble  fatty  acid  vSeparates. 
The  portion  taken  up  by  alcohol,  evaporated  in  a  silver  dish  on  a 
water-bath,  leaves  a  residue  consisting  of  two  liquids  of  different 
densities,  the  denser  liquid  being  of  a  bright  yellow  and  the  other  of 
a  dark  brown  color.  On  being  shaken  with  water  the  denser  liquid 
mixes,  but  does  not  dissolve.  This  aqueous  mixture  is  not  materially 
changed  on  being  shaken  with  chloroform.  On  boiling  the  mixture 
it  becomes  clear,  but  on  cooling  the  matter  again  deposits ;  on  the 
addition  of  a  caustic  alkali  the  separated  matter  darkens  in  color ;  on 
the  addition  of  an  acid  the  color  is  again  restored.  On  evaporating  a 
portion  of  this  mixture  to  dryness,  in  a  platinum  dish  on  a  water^ 
bath,  a  yellow  mass,  having  the  general  characters  of  a  resin,  is  left. 
The  darker  liquid,  which  has  a  nauseous,  bitter  taste,  is  completely 
taken  up  by  chloroform  and  carbon  disulphide.  It  appears  to  be  a 
mixture  of  fixed  oil,  a  fatty  substance  and  the  essential  oil  of  the  root^ 
After  extraction  with  ether,  the  residue  exhausted  witli  95  per  cent^ 
alcohol  gives  a  light  yellow  solution,  which  when  evaporated  to  dry- 
ness, in  a  silver  dish  on  a  water-bath,  yields  a  nut-brown  extract,, 
almost  wholly  soluble  in  water,  the  solution  being  somewhat  cloudy,, 
due,  perhaps,  to  the  presence  of  a  small  quantity  of  resinous  matter. 
A  portion  of -this  extract,  boiled  with  dilute  sulphuric  acid,  then 
neutralized  with  calcium  carbonate  and  the  calcium  sulphate  formed 
