Am.  Jour.  Pharm.\ 
March,  1887.  J 
Poivrette. 
149 
olive-stones,  or  precisely  similar  tissue ;  black  poivrette  is  the  same, 
mixed  with  a  little  black  husk.  It  is  to  be  noted  that,  although  it 
contains  no  starch,  yet  it  yields  some  sugar  to  Fehling's  solution,  after 
being  boiled  for  some  time  with  dilute  hydrochloric  acid.  The  quan- 
tity depends  on  the  length  of  time  and  strength  of  acid,  but  may  be 
stated  approximately  about  ten  per  cent.  It  is  important  to  bear  this 
fact  in  mind  when  making  a  full  chemical  analysis  of  pepper  contain- 
ing poivrette.  After  removing  from  such  a  mixture  the  matters  solu- 
ble by  boiling  in  dilute  caustic  alkali,  the  woody  fiber  which  remains 
had  a  yellow  color ;  it  consists  of  the  poivrette,  and  some  of  the  cells 
of  pepper-husk  and  one  of  the  subcortical  layers  of  the  pepper-berry. 
The  pepper-cells  are  made  lighter,  and  the  poivrette  cells  darker  by 
the  alkali,  so  that  the  two  are  more  nearly  of  a  similar  yellow  color 
after  treatment  with  alkali.  This  renders  it  more  difficult  to  distinguish 
such  of  the  cells  as  have  somewhat  similar  markings  ;  but  it  enables  us 
to  distinguish  more  clearly,  as  poivrette,  the  many  torn  particles  which 
have  no  definite  form  or  markings.  The  final  examination  of  the  com- 
plete cells  is  better  made  with  good  daylight  rather  than  with  artificial 
light,  and  in  a  portion  which  has  been  treated  with  water  only. 
The  pepper  cells  are  mostly  different  in  shape,  and  are  colored,  and 
have  generally  a  dark  substance  in  the  interior.  They  are  not  numer- 
ous, but  the  quantity  varies  in  commercial  samples,  owing  to  the  mod- 
ern practice  of  decorticating  the  pepper-berry  to  every  different  extent 
possible,  and  mixing  the  various  portions  so  obtained,  including  husks, 
in  every  variety  of  proportion  with  each  other  or  with  ordinary  pep- 
per. Each  individual  analyst  must  make  himself  familiar  with  both 
kinds  of  cells,  as  no  description  can  convey  an  adequate  idea  of  either. 
In  order  to  form  a  judgment  regarding  the  proportions  of  the  differ- 
ent chemical  constituents  of  commercial  samples,  we  require  to  know 
the  chemical  composition  of  the  different  layers  of  the  pepper-corn  ; 
and  I  hope  soon  to  communicate  to  the  Society  some  figures  bearing 
on  this  point,  as  well  as  to  notice  some  other  substances  used  in  the 
sophistication  of  pepper. 
It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  exemption,  mentioned  in  section  8 
of  the  Sale  of  Food  and  Drugs  Act,  in  the  case  of  a  label  being  af- 
fixed to  the  article  sold,  intimating  that  the  same  is  a  mixture,  does 
not  apply  in  the  case  of  poivrette,  the  admixture  being  made  mani- 
festly for  the  purpose  of  fraudulently  increasing  the  weight  and  bulk. 
Liverpool,  4th  January,  1887. — The  Analyst,  Feb.,  1887,  p.  23. 
