602 
Quassim. 
Am.  Jour,  Pharm> 
Oct.,  1882. 
can  only  be  separated  by  the  ether-alcoliol  method,  which  involves 
considerable  loss.  The  last  two  experiments  show,  however,  that 
quassiin  exists  as  such  in  the  wood,  and  is  not  a  product  formed, 
during  tlie  treatment. 
The  quassiin,  obtained  as  above  described  with  tannic  acid,  was 
purified  by  recrystallization  from  the  smallest  possible  quantity  of 
warm  alcohol,  in  which  it  is  so  much  more  soluble  than  in  cold  that 
the  solution  solidifies  into  a  paste  upon  cooling.  After  the  crystals 
had  been  washed  with  dilute  alcohol  and  dried  between  filter-jmper 
and  then  over  sulphuric  acid  they  were  white  and  gave  a  colorless 
solution.  They  were  recrystallized  once  more  by  the  addition  of' 
boiling  water  to  a  hot  concentrated  alcoholic  solution ;  the  crystals 
that  separated  on  cooling  showed  the  same  melting  point  as  those  of 
the  first  crystallization  and  were  used  in  the  further  experiments. 
With  respect  to  the  proportion  in  which  quassiin  occurs  in  the  wood,, 
the  author  obtained  from  18  kilos  of  Jamaica  wood  Picrsena  excelsa") 
12  grams  of  impure  substance,  equal  to  0*6  per  1,000.  But  in  treating 
a  subsequent  consignment,  both  of  Jamaica  and  Surinam  wood,  he 
found  to  his  surprise  that  in  repeated  experiments  upon  considerable 
quantities  of  both  kinds  he  could  obtain  scarcely  any  quassiin.  A 
sample  of  Quassia  amara  wood,  that  yielded  2*8  per  cent,  of  extract, 
and  one  of  Picra^na  excelsa  wood,  that  yielded  2*6  per  cent.,  yielded 
no  quassiin.  The  sample  of  Picraena  excelsa  wood  that  gave  0*6  per 
1,000  of  quassiin  yielded  3"2  per  cent,  of  extract.  The  author  is  unable 
to  explain  the  cause  of  this  difference ;  but  if  the  value  of  quassia 
wood  is  dependent  upon  the  proportion  of  quassiin  it  contains,  the 
results  do  not  afford  much  justification  for  the  exclusion  of  the  Jamaica 
Avood  from  some  pharmacopoeias. 
Pure  quassiin  forms  very  thin  rectangular  double  refracting  crystal- 
line scales.  It  has  an  intensely  bitter  taste,  is  Avithout  smell,  perma- 
nent in  air,  and  gives  neutral  solutions  with  alcohol,  water,  etc.  It 
melts  at  205°  with  slight  puffing — possibly  due  to  the  giving  off  of 
water — to  a  yellow  resin-like  mass,  which  upon  solution  and  recrystal- 
lization is  recognized  as  unaltered  quassiin. 
Water  left  in  contact  with  finely  powdered  quassiin  several  days, 
with  frequent  shaking,  at  15°C.,  dissolved  1  part  in  1,230.  A  warm 
saturated  solution  left  forty-eight  hours  at  15°C.,  with  frequent 
shaking,  contained  1  part  in  735.  Boiling  water  dissolves  quassiin 
with  difficulty,  but  much  more  freely  than  cold.    In  alkalies  it 
