THE  AMERICAN 
JOURNAL  OF  PHARMACY. 
SEPTEMBER,  1882. 
ARALIA  SPINOSA. 
By  Josiah  Kirby  Lilly,  Ph.G. 
From  an  Inaugural  Essay. 
Noticing  the  great  differences  in  the  results  of  former  investigations 
of  aralia  bark,  the  writer  performed  a  series  of  experiments,  in  hopes 
of  determining  the  nature  of  the  principles  to  which  the  drug  owes  its 
slightly  aromatic  odor,  bitterish  and  acrid  taste. 
The  odor  of  the  bark  proved  to  be  due  to  a  volatile  oil,  present  in 
very  minute  quantity.  By  distilling  eight  ounces  of  the  ground  drug 
with  water  a  few  yellowish-green  globules  of  the  oil  were  separated. 
They  possessed  an  aromatic,  somewhat  camphoraceous  odor,  and  gave 
with  litmus  an  acid  reaction. 
On  continuing  tlie  distillation,  with  the  addition  of  solution  of  potassa, 
no  other  volatile  principles  were  observed. 
The  bitter  taste  resides  in  an  amorphous,  extract-like  mass,  soluble 
in  ether,  alcohol  and  water,  insoluble  in  petroleum  benzin  and  is  not 
precipitated  by  neutral  or  subacetate  of  lead.  The  process  by  which 
it  was  obtained  is  as  follows :  The  drug  was  exhausted  with  alcohol, 
this  removed  by  distillation  until  the  residue  assumed  the  consistence 
of  syrup ;  this  residue  was  then  precipitated  in  water,  the  resinous 
precipitate  separated  by  filtering,  and  the  filtrate  evaporated  to  a  soft 
extract,  which  was  treated  repeatedly  with  stronger  ether.  The  ether 
solution  on  being  allowed  to  evaporate  spontaneously  left  a  yellow  mass, 
which,  Avhen  dissolved  in  water  and  allowed  to  stand,  separated  crystals; 
the  mother  water  from  which,  upon  being  evaporated,  yielded  the  bitter 
mass  already  described. 
It  was  also  separated  from  an  extract,  resulting  from  the  evaporation 
of  a  decoction  l)y  treating  it  with  stronger  ether,  and  proceeding  with 
this  ether  solution  as  with  the  one  above. 
The  crystals  that  were  s(^[)arate(l  from  the  bitter  prin('ij)le  possess(Hl 
a  taste  which  was  at  first  saline,  then  developing  a  slight  astringency ; 
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