Am.  Jour.  Pharm  ) 
July,  1882.  j 
Note  on  the  Cinchona  Alkaloids. 
365 
may  also  be  present  in  the  quinine  sulphate  of  commerce.  Neverthe- 
less, for  the  detection  of  homoquinine  sulphate  in  quinine  sulphate,  the 
process  given  in  the  German  Pharmacopoeia  for  the  testing  of  quinine 
is  quite  useless.  On  the  contrary  Liebig\s  ether  test  has  proved  to 
answer,  if  a  little  more  ether  be  taken. 
The  acid  chloroplatinate  is  obtained  as  a  yellow  crystalline  precipi- 
tate having  the  composition  CigHgaNaOajPtClgHj-fHgO.  (Found  26*11 
per  cent.  Pt  and  1-95  per  cent.  HgO  ;  calculated,  26'42  per  cent.  Pt 
and  2-43  per  cent.  HgO.) 
The  second  alkaloid  that  I  wish  to  mention  is  cincholine.  If 
Rochelle  salt  and  sulphocyanide  of  potassium  be  added  successively  to 
the  mother-liquor  first  obtained  in  the  preparation  of  quinine  sulphate, 
until  the  latter  no  longer  produces  a  precipitate,  the  light  yellow  solu- 
tion supersaturated  with  caustic  soda,  and  the  alkaloid  set  free  extracted 
by  shaking  the  liquor  out  with  ether ;  the  ether  leaves  upon  evapora- 
tion a  brown  mobile  residue  having  a  peculiar  odor.  Upon  boiling 
with  water  the  volatile  bases  present  pass  off  from  this  residue,  and  can 
be  suitably  collected  in  dilute  hydrochloric  acid.  This  solution  is 
then  evaporated,  the  residue  mixed  with  caustic  soda  solution  and 
extracted  with  ether.  After  the  ethereal  solution  has  been  repeatedly 
washed  with  water,  solution  of  oxalic  acid  in  ether  is  added  to  it  drop- 
by  drop,  and  the  cincholine  oxalate  is  precipitated  as  a  pasty  mass,  which 
quickly  changes  into  shining  laminae. 
Cincholine,  separated  from  the  oxalate  by  means  of  caustic  soda,  is  a 
pale  yellow  oil,  having  a  strong  basic  reaction,  lighter  than  water,  and 
with  a  faint  peculiar  smell.  It  dissolves  freely  in  ether,  alcohol  and 
chloroform,  less  so  in  water,  and  scarcely  at  all  in  soda  solution.  It 
can  be  distilled,  especially  in  the  vapor  of  water,  is  not  colored  by 
chloride  of  lime,  and  dissolves  freely  in  hydrochloric  acid,  which  it  is 
capable  of  neutralizing.  The  neutral  solution  is  tasteless,  and  upon 
evaporation  the  hydrochl orate  separates  in  colorless,  mostly  four-sided 
scales.  With  gold  and  platinum  chlorides  it  gives  only  resinous  pre- 
cipitates. Cincholine  forms  with  oxalic  acid  a  salt  very  sparingly  sol- 
uble in  water. 
So  far  at  present  upon  this  base.  In  a  future  communication  I  pro- 
pose to  refer  to  the  composition  of  this  body,  which  mjiy,  perhaps  play 
some  part  in  the  formation  of  quinine.  For  we  find  this  body,  so  far 
as  my  experience  goes,  only  in  su(3h  barks  as  contain  quinine. 
The  mixture  of  volatile  alkaloids,  obtained  as  above,  when  })urified 
