Ana.  Jour.  Pliarm.  \ 
August,  1882.  J 
Guacamacha. 
387 
adding  a  minute  amount  of  iodine.  The  property  of  decolorizing 
iodine  is  therefore  regarded  to  be  not  due  to  tannin,  and  the  principle 
as  it  exists  in  the  root  was  found  to  be  insoluble  in  alcohol  and  ether, 
slightly  soluble  in  cold  water,  readily  soluble  in  boiling  water  and 
■destroyed  by  acids,  gradually  in  the  cold  and  rapidly  on  heating. 
The  ethereal  tincture  of  the  recently  dried  root  left,  on  evaporation, 
a  brownish  extract  of  a  very  thick  oily  consistence,  of  a  strong  odor 
and  of  a  persistently  pungent  and  acrid  taste ;  it  was  insoluble  in 
water  but  quite  soluble  in  stronger  alcohol.  The  ethereal  extract 
obtained  from  powder  which  had  been  exposed  to  the  air  for  more 
than  two  years  was  considerably  darker,  thicker  and  but  slightly  pun- 
gent and  acrid. 
The  tincture  contains  an  oily  and  a  resinous  matter,  the  latter  being 
soluble  in  ether  and  in  alkalies  and  from  the  latter  solution  reprecipi- 
tated  by  acids,  Rendered  alkaline  with  potassa  and  distilled,  an  alka- 
line liquid  was  obtained  which,  on  being  neutralized  with  sulphuric 
acid  and  evaporated,  yielded  yellow  crystals,  and  these  by  treatment 
with  charcoal  and  recrystallization  became  white  and  odorless.  The 
crystals  are  stated  to  yield  precipitates  with  phosphomolybdic  acid, 
tannin  and  Mayer's  test,  but  not  with  chloride  of  gold. 
On  distilling  the  root  with  water,  an  opalescent  distillate  was  obtained 
'but  no  volatile  oil.    The  root  yielded  about  5  per  cent,  of  ash. 
Guacamacha  is  a  South  American  tree,  related  to  the  oleander^ 
•emitting,  in  the  rainy  season,  when  wounded,  a  very  active  milk  juice. 
The  activity  resides  in  an  alkaloid,  which  is  chiefly  contained  in  the 
bark,  and  to  a  certain  extent  in  the  wood,  and  is  soluble  in  water,  lit- 
tle soluble  in  absolute  alcohol,  and  insoluble  in  ether  and  chloroform. 
The  aqueous  extract  is  an  effective  preparation.  Dr.  Schiffer  states 
that  it  will  probably  prove  a  suitable  remedy  in  diseases  with  increased 
action  of  the  motor  apparatus,  and  as  a  hypnotic.  In  Frerichs'  clinic, 
a  young  man  suffering  from  spasms  had  0*010  gram  injected,  and  after 
the  stage  of  incubation,  lasting  nearly  |  hour,  in  the  daytime,  slept 
soundly  for  three  hours,  and  awoke  without  feeling  the  least  disturb- 
:ance;  respiration  and  circulation  were  unaltered. — F/iar.  Ztg.,  1882, 
45,  from  D.  Mecl  Ztg. 
