Am.  Jour.  Pharm  1 
Oct.,  1882.  J 
Quassiin. 
501 
quantities  of  water.  The  united  filtrates  were  evaporated,  at  first  over 
an  open  fire,  subsequently  on  a  water-bath,  to  1^  liter.  After  cooling 
this  was  filtered  and  the  filtrate  precipitated  with  tannic  acid,  taking 
care  to  keep  the  reaction  neutral  or  faintly  acid  by  the  addition  of 
carbonate  of  soda,  since  the  compound  of  quassiin  with  tannic  acid, 
like  many  similar  compounds  of  bitter  substances  with  that  acid,  is 
very  soluble  in  it.  The  precipitate,  after  the  addition  of  well-washed 
pipe-clay  is  easily  collected  and  removed  by  filtration.  The  precipi- 
tate after  being  repeatedly  washed  was  mixed  whilst  moist  with  a 
considerable  quantity  of  freshly  precipitated  lead  carbonate,  and  evapo- 
rated to  dryness  in  small  portions,  with  frequent  stirring,  upon  a 
water-bath.  The- mixture  was  extracted  four  times  with  alcohol,  the 
alcohol  distilled  ofP  and  the  residual  liquid  evaporated  until  the  sepa- 
ration of  crystals  of  quassiin,  which  were  washed  and  dried  between 
filtering  paper.  The  filtrate  yielded  more  crystals  upon  further 
evaporation,  and  some  more  quassiin  M^as  separated  by  shaking  it  with 
chloroform.  Lastly,  the  quassiin  was  recrystallized  from  ether-alco- 
hol and  water. 
In  the  place  of  lead  carbonate,  calcium  hydrate  also  was  used  for 
the  decomposition  of  the  tannic  acid  compound,  and  an  alcoholic  solu- 
tion obtained  that  was  not  so  much  colored,  but  the  yield  was  smaller. 
Upon  evaporating  the  watery  extract  of  quassia  wood,  a  considerable 
precipitate  separated  as  a  smeary  mass.  This  was  treated  with  freshly 
precipitated  lead  carbonate,  evaporated  almost  to  dryness  and  extracted 
with  84  per  cent,  alcohol.  After  the  alcohol  had  been  distilled  off, 
and  the  liquid  sufficiently  evaporated,  some  quassiin  separated,  but  in 
an  impure  condition. 
Quassiin  is  very  freely  soluble  in  chloroform,  and  by  shaking  an 
aqueous  solution  of  it  with  chloroform  it  can  be  nearly  entirely 
removed.  The  author  therefore  tried  to  obtain  the  quassiin  from  the 
aqueous  extract  of  quassia  wood  by  simply  shaking  this  with  chloro- 
form ;  but  the  practical  difiiculty  was  met  with  that  the  chloroform 
does  not  completely  separate  it,  and  a  pasty,  slimy  mass  was  formed, 
the  consistence  of  which  was  not  altered  even  upon  warming.  After 
the  chloroform  had  been  distilled  off  a  very  impure  residue  was  left, 
from  which  the  quassiin  was  only  obtained  by  repeated  recrystalliza- 
tions  from  ether-alcohol  mixed  with  a  little  water.  Neither  (^au  direct 
exhaustion  of  the  quassia  wood  by  chloroform  be  adopted  in  the  prepa- 
ration of  tlie  (juassiin,  since  timch  resin  is  taken  up  with  it,  and  this 
