AmMa??i887arm'}         Gleanings  in  Materia  Medina.        .  263 
GLEANINGS  IN  MATERIA  MEDICA. 
By  the  Editor. 
Asparagin  is  lsevorotatory  and  its  crystals  have  left-handed  hemi- 
hedral  faces.  A.  Piutti  (Compt.  Rend.,  vol,  103,  p.  134)  has  obtained 
from  the  mother-liquor  of  crude  asparagin  an  isomeride  with  right- 
handed  crystals  and  dextrorotatory  power,  and  of  a  much  sweeter 
taste.  The  derivatives  of  the  two  varieties  of  asparagin  are  chemi- 
cally identical,  but  differ  optically,  and  the  two  aspartic  acids  com- 
bine in  equal  proportions  to  asparagenic  acid,  which  is  inactive  and 
gives  monoclinic  crystals. 
Smilax  glyeyphylla. — Prof.  E.  H.  Rennie,  of  Adelaide,  South 
Australia,  has  further  examined  the  glycyphyllin  described  in  1881 
(Am.  Jour.  Phar.,  1881,  237).  The  ethereal  extract  of  the  alco- 
holic extract  of  the  leaves  was  repeatedly  crystallized  from  hot  water 
containing  a  very  small  quantity  of  water,  and  the  last  traces  of  color- 
ing matter  were  removed  by  quickly  shaking  up  the  warm  aqueous 
solution,  cooled  down  to  beginning  crystallization,  with  ether  and 
filtering  the  ethereal  solution,  or  by  precipitating  the  coloring  matter 
from  the  hot  aqueous  solution  by  lead  acetate,  treating  the  filtrate 
with  H2S  and  again  filtering.  The  principle  has  the  composition 
C21H24029  and  crystallizes  from  water  with  4J  aq.,  and  from  aqueous 
ether  with  3  aq.  It  is  insoluble  in  chloroform,  benzene  and  petro- 
leum benzin,  somewhat  soluble  in  ether,  freely  soluble  in  hot  water, 
and  very  sparingly  soluble  in  cold  water,  but  imparting  to  it  its 
peculiar  liquorice-like  taste.  The  solution  is  precipitated  by  basic 
lead  acetate,  but  not  by  the  normal  acetate.  The  solution  in  alkali 
becomes  red  brown  on  exposure.  On  boiling  with  dilute  sulphuric 
acid  the  principle  is  decomposed  into  isodulcit  C6Hu06  (melting  point 
93-94°  C),  and  phloretin  C15H1405  (melting  point  250°  C.) ;  the 
latter,  on  being  boiled  with  potassa,  yielded  phloroglucol  C6H603 
(melting  at  208°),  and  phloretic  acid  C9H10O3  (melting  at  127°).  The 
theoretical  yield,  according  to  the  above  formulas,  is  phloretin  65*22 
and  isodulcite  43'33  per  cent. ;  by  experiment,  65*01  to  66*31  per 
cent,  of  the  former  and  42*2  per  cent,  of  the  latter  were  obtained. 
— Jour.  Chem.  Soc,  Dec,  1886,  p.  857. 
Euphorbia  Drummondi,  Boissier,  a  native  of  West  Australia,  is 
stated  to  possess  valuable  anaesthetic  properties,  and  to  contain  an 
alkaloid  which  Dr.  John  Reid,  of  Port  Germain,  South  Australia, 
