424 
Investigations  on  Strophantus. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
August,  1887. 
Christy,  and  was  collected  in  East  Africa.  Mr.  E.  M.  Holmes  found 
it  to  correspond  with  that  from  Lake  Nyanza,  which  is  referred  to  Sir. 
Kombe.  The  seeds  of  Str.  hispidus  are  chestnut-brown.  The  hairs  on 
the  seed  are  quite  deciduous,  and  the  comose  appendages  are  white. 
One  of  the  pods,  12  inches  in  length,  weighed  14*069  gm.,and  yielded 
seeds  5*99  gm.  (42  per  cent.);  comose  hair  3'119  gm.  (22  per  cent.), 
and  endocarp  4*96  gm.  (35  percent.) 
On  submitting  the  seeds  to  analysis,  petroleum  ether  dissolved  20*8 
per  cent,  of  a  bright  yellow  oil,  having  a  tinge  of  green,  free  from 
bitter  taste,  and  in  a  few  days  depositing  some  colorless  crystals  which 
were  fusible,  and  on  ignition  left  no  ash.  Absolute  ether  took  up  0*9 
per  cent,  of  chlorophyll  and  fat,  and  the  extract  was  free  from  bitterness. 
The  absolute  alcohol  extract,  after  treatment  with  charcoal,  was 
obtained  in  transparent  scales  weighing  1*5  per  cent.;  it  was  soluble 
in  water,  imparted  bitterness  to  380*000  of  water,  did  not  react  with 
alkaloid  reagents,  was  not  precipitated  by  lead  acetate,  and  did  not  re- 
duce Fehling's  solution  until  it  had  been  boiled  with  dilute  sulphuric 
acid.  Cold  distilled  water  extracted  22*5  per  cent,  of  extract,  which 
when  dissolved  in  little  water  and  poured  into  a  large  quantity  of  a 
mixture  of  alcohol  and  ether,  precipitated  albuminous  matters,  and  by 
evaporation  of  the  nitrate  yielded  an  additional  quantity  of  2*9  per 
cent,  of  bitter  principle,  identical  with  the  preceding  in  appearance, 
behavior  and  physiological  action.  The  matter  not  dissolved  by  the 
foregoing  treatment  weighed  54*3  per  cent.  According  to  L.  Larmuth, 
the  bitter  principle  on  being  dissolved  in  water  will,  in  a  few  days, 
undergo  some  change,  and  become  far  more  toxic  than  when  recently 
prepared. 
1 '  he  comose  hairs  yielded  to  absolute  alcohol  0*68  per  cent,  of  brown 
extract,  from  which  water  dissolved  a  very  small  amount  of  slightly 
bitter  matter,  not  acted  upon  by  alkaloidal  reagents.  The  resinous 
residue  was  insoluble  in  ether ;  its  alcoholic  solution  had  a  bitter  taste, 
and  dropped  into  water  produced  a  beautiful  blue  fluorescence.  The 
aqueous  extract  of  the  hairs  was  free  from  bitterness. 
The  endocarp  gave  with  absolute  alcohol  1*3  per  cent,  of  extract, 
yielding  with  water  a  slightly  bitter  solution,  free  from  tannin  and 
not  precipitated  by  Mayer's  solution. 
The  root,  freed  from  the  cortical  portion,  excited  sneezing  when 
powdered,  and  yielded  to  ether  0*7  per  cent,  of  caoutchouc-like  sub- 
stance; to  alcohol  1*1  per  cent,  of  an  intensely  bitter  substance  giving 
