THE  AMERICAN 
JOURNAL  OF  PHARMACY. 
NOVEMBER,  1882. 
RESINA  SCAMMONII. 
By  Charles  A.  T.  Doench,  Ph.G. 
From  an  Inaugural  Essay. 
The  author  endeavored  to  purchase  scammony  root  in  Philadelphia 
and  New  York^  but  failing  in  this  procured  a  quantity  from  London 
through  a  Philadelphia  house ;  the  root  was  of  fine  appearance,  and 
answered  the  description  of  the  genuine  root  in  every  respect.  It  was 
powdered  and  passed  through  a  sieve,  No.  60,  and  in  a  percolator 
exhausted  with  stronger  alcohol,  after  a  prolonged  maceration  for  five 
days.  From  5  kilos  of  the  root  8  liters  of  tincture  were  obtained  ; .  to 
this  half  a  liter  of  water  was  added,  most  of  the  alcohol  was  recovered 
by  distillation,  and  the  residue,  measuring  nearly  two  liters,  was  poured 
into  a  large  quantity  of  cold  water.  The  precipitated  resin  was  repeat- 
edly washed  with  warm  water,  then  dried,  redissolved  in  a  small  quan- 
tity of  alcohol,  filtered,  again  precipitated  in  the  manner  described, 
and  carefully  dried.  The  yield  was  270*46  grams,  or  5*4092  per 
cent. 
Thus  obtained,  the  resin  was  of  a  greenish-gray  color,  and  answered 
the  tests  of  the  Pharmacopoeia  for  the  resin  of  scamraony.  Its  beha- 
vior showing  a  decided  difference  from  that  of  some  commercial  scam- 
mony,  three  samples  of  the  latter  were  procured  from  different  whole- 
sale houses,  and  examined  by  treating  5  grams  of  each  successively 
with  ether,  benzol,  oil  of  turpentine,  alcohol  and  water;  each  solution 
was  evaporated,  by  means  of  a  water-bath,  to  dryness,  and  the  residue 
weighed,  when  the  following  results  were  obtained  : 
I. 
II. 
III. 
Ether.  Benzol.  Oil  turp.  Alcohol.  Water.  iimUer. 
1-574           0-025  0-020           1-270  1-080  1-081 
1-173           0-023  0-720           0-303  1-574  l-l!)J) 
2*695           0-()22  0-434           0  733  0-58()  0-530 
The  etherial  extracts  were  dissolved  in  warm  solution  of  potasna, 
