Am.  Jour.  Pbarm.  "> 
Sept.,  18S7.  J 
Gleanings  in  Materia  Medica. 
445 
GLEANINGS  IN  MATERIA  MEDICA. 
By  The  Editor. 
Ustilagine  is  the  name  of  an  alkaloid  which  Dr.  C.  J.  Eademaker  and 
J.  L.  Fischer,  Ph.  G.,  have  isolated  from  Ustilago  maydis  {Med.  Herald, 
April  1887,  p.  775).  The  cornsmut  is  exhausted  with  dilute  alcohol ; 
after  the  alcohol  has  been  spontaneously  evaporated  from  the  tincture, 
a  little  sulphuric  acid  is  added,  the  mixture  is  dialyzed,  the  dialysate 
■evaporated  to  dryness,  the  residue  washed  with  absolute  alcohol,  dissolved 
in  water,  rendered  alkaline  by  potassa  in  excess,  agitated  with  ether,  and 
the  ethereal  solution  evaporated  spontaneously.  The  crystalline  alka- 
loid is  white,  bitter,  of  an  alkaline  reaction,  and  soluble  in  ether,  alco- 
hol and  water ;  sulphuric  acid  produces  a  maroon  color  changing  to 
green ;  ferric  chloride  colors  yellow.  The  salts  are  crystallizable  and 
soluble  in  water. 
The  other  constituents  found  were  :  fixed  oil,  6  5,  resin,  8'0,  and 
wax,  5*5,  soluble  in  petroleum-benzin ;  trimethylamine,  1'5,  scle- 
rotic or  maisenic  acid,  2"0,  wax,  6'25,  and  resin,  4*5,  soluble  in  ether; 
sclerotic  acid,  0*5,  and  resin,  3'5,  soluble  in  alcohol;  sugar,  3*75, 
pectin,  2.25,  salts,  4.5,  and  extractive,  9*5,  soluble  in  water.  The 
authors  believe  trimethylamine  not  to  be  a  product  of  decomposition 
of  the  albuminoids.  Another  alkaline  body,  but  non-crystallizable, 
was  obtained,  which  will  be  further  investigated. 
The  acid  called  sclerotic  acid  is  described  as  crystallizing  in  needles, 
to  be  soluble  in  water,  alcohol  and  ether,  and  to  yield  crystallizable  salts. 
It  does  not  appear  to  be  identical  with  DragendorfPs  sclerotic  acid. 
Drosera  Whittakeri  grows  plentifully  on  the  hills  near  Adelaide, 
South  Australia,  and  is  conspicuous  in  the  spring  time  by  its  pretty 
white  flowers,  resembling:  those  of  oxalis.  From  the  tubers  of  this 
plant  Mr.  Francis  extracted,  by  means  of -carbon  bisulphide,  a  volatile 
red- coloring  matter,  which  produced  on  silk  beautiful  tints  with 
various  mordants. 
Prof.  E.  H.  Rennie  (Jour.  Chem.  Soc,  1887,  p.  371,)  prepared  the 
coloring  matter  by  exhausting  the  crushed  tubers  with  hot  alcohol, 
distilling  the  tincture,  adding  water  and  subliming  the  precipitate. 
The  sublimate,  by  repeated  recrystallization  from  alcohol  or  acetic 
acid,  was  separated  into  brilliant  red  plates,  CnHs05,  and  into  more 
freely  soluble  orange-colored  needles,  CnHsO^,  both  being,  in  all  proba- 
bility, derivatives  of  methylnaphthaquinone. 
