576 
Naregamia  Alata. 
/ Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
\       Nov.,  1S87. 
with  a  drop  of  iodine  solution  a  blue  ring  will  appear  in  the  bark, 
showing  the  presence  of  starch  in  the  librous  portion.  On  account  of 
the  hard  wood  the  drug  is  very  difficult  to  powder  in  a  hand  mortar. 
The  activity  of  the  drug  resides  in  the  cortical  portion,  but  as  this 
forms  one-third,  and  the  woody  material  two-thirds  of  the  whole,  it 
differs  from  the  true  ipecacuanha.  The  powder  is  light-brown  ;  it  has 
a  peculiar  aromatic  and  pungent  odor,  and  a  slightly  bitter  and  nau- 
seous taste. 
Chemical  Composition. — Powdered  naregamia  was  treated  both  con- 
secutively and  independently  with  the  following  solvents  : — Ether,  al- 
cohol, water,  diluted  acid  and  diluted  alkali.  The  ether  extract  con- 
tained an  alkaloid,  an  oxidizable  fi.ced  oil  and  a  wax. 
The  alkaloid  was  separated  by  agitating  the  extract  with  diluted 
sulphuric  acid,  and  the  clear  colorless  solution  at  once  afforded  pre- 
cipitates by  the  usual  reagents.  The  alkaloid  was  left  as  an  amorphous, 
slightly  colored  residue  of  a  brittle  consistence,  on  the  gentle  evapora- 
tion of  its  ethereal  solution.  It  formed  crystalline  salts  with  sulphuric, 
nitric  and  hydrochloric  acids,  but  gave  no  satisfactory  color  reactions 
when  mixed  with  the  concentrated  acids.  It  was  precipitated  from  its 
solutions  by  tannin,  potassio-mercurie  iodide,  phosphomolybdate  of 
soda,  and  iodine.  It  differs  from  emetine  in  readily  forming  acicular 
crystals  with  acids,  and  by  not  giving  any  color  with  chlorinated  lime 
and  acetic  acid ;  and  it  differs  from  the  principal  cinchona  alkaloids 
by  its  optical  inactivity.  Having  such  definite  peculiarities  in  its 
properties  and  reactions,  I  propose  to  call  this  alkaloid  after  the  gen- 
eric name  of  the  plant,  naregamine. 
The  fixed  oil  was  soluble  in  strong  spirit,  soluble  also  in  dilute  caus- 
tic soda  with  a  brown  and  red  fluorescent  solution.  The  wax  was  in- 
soluble in  spirit,  it  was  colored  brown  and  afterwards  black  by  sul- 
phuric acid. 
The  alcoholic  extract  consisted  mainly  of  sugar  with  some  little 
resinous  matter.  No  tannic  substances  were  detected,  but  a  body  pre- 
cipitable  by  neutral  plumbic  acetate,  related  to  an  organic  acid. 
The  aqueous  extract  evaporated  to  a  small  bulk,  and  treated  with 
two  volumes  of  alcohol,  gave  a  precipitate  of  gum.  The  filtrate  from 
this,  evaporated  and  treated  with  four  volumes  of  alcohol,  caused  a 
precipitate  which  after  standing  some  hours  separated  out  into  large 
colorless  rhombic  prisms.  A  crystalline  alkaloidal  substance  soluble 
in  water,  insoluble  in  strong  spirit,  having  an  acid  reaction,  containing 
