THE  AMERICAN 
JOURNAL  OF  PHARMACY. 
AUGUST,  1882. 
JALAP  AND  POWDERED  JALAP. 
By  VlRGIl.  COBLP]NTZ,  Ph.G. 
From  an  Inaugural  Essay  presented  to  the  Philadelphia  College  of 
Pharmacy. 
Commercial  air-dry  jalap  of  fair  quality  was  examined. 
1.  Moisture. — 5  grams  of  jalap,  heated  to  100°C.  until  it  ceased  to 
lose  weight,  lost  '388  gm.  =  7' 76  per  cent 
2.  Ash. — 5  grams  of  jalap,  on  incineration,  yielded  '5508  gm.  = 
11-016  per  cent,  of  ash,  of  which  85*29  per  cent,  was  solnble  in 
water,  38'23  per  cent,  solnble  in  hydrochloric  acid,  8*82  per  cent,  solu- 
ble in  soda  and  17*64  per  cent,  insoluble.  The  ash  consisted  of  sul- 
phates, phosphates,  chlorides  and  carbonates  of  potassium,  sodium, 
calcium  and  magnesium,  and  silica. 
3.  Benzol  Extract. — 50  grams  of  jalap,  exhausted  with  pure  benzol, 
yielded  9*331  gm.  =  18*62  per  cent,  of  extract  of  a  yellowish-brown 
color,  a  nauseous  smoky  odor  and  sweetish  acrid  taste ;  dissolved  in 
absolute  alcohol  and  the  solution  precipitated  by  water  gave  8*035  gm. 
=  16*07  per  cent,  of  resin  and,  on  evaporation  of  the  aqueous  liquid, 
•648  gm,  of  yellowish-brown  sweetish  extract,  which  contained  sugar, 
was  free  from  tannin  and  yielded  a  yellowish  precipitate  with  basic 
lead  acetate.  The  resin  was  ascertained  to  be  insohible  in  oil  of  tur- 
pentine, sparingly  soluble  in  petroleum  naphtha  and  methylic  alcohol, 
soluble  in  akxjhol,  amylic  alcohol,  chloroform  and  acetic  acid.  On 
being  repeatedly  dissolved  in  alcohol  and  precipitated  in  water,  it 
l)ecame  white  and  almost  inodorous. 
^.  Resin. — On  exhausting  the  resin  with  strong  ether  and  evapor- 
ating, '41139  gm.  —  5*12  })er  cent,  of  a  soft  resinous  mass  was  obtainec', 
having  a  greenish-brown  color,  a  disagreeable  acrid  taste  and  the  pecu  - 
liar odor  of  jala]);  its  alcoholic  solution  has  an  acid  reaction;  its 
sf)lution  in  caustic  alkali  is  red-brown  and  is  precipitated  by  hydn - 
chloric  acid. 
