454  Examination  of  Lippia  Scaberrima.     { A' October  *wn.m' 
This  substance  was  thus  identified  as  the  hydrocarbon  hentriacon- 
tane. 
The  first  mother  liquors  from  this  hydrocarbon  were  of  a  dark 
brown  color,  and,  after  standing  for  some  days,  deposited  a  quantity 
of  a  substance  in  the  form  of  crystalline  plates.  This  was  separated 
by  filtration,  and  recrystallized  from  ethyl  acetate  containing  a  little 
dilute  alcohol,  when  it  was  obtained  in  handsome  plates,  which 
melted  at  1340  C,  and  gave  with  acetic  anhydride  and  sulphuric 
acid  the  color  reaction  characteristic  of  the  phytosterols. 
0  0970,  heated  at  105 0  C,  lost  0-0048  H20.    H20  ==  4-9. 
0  0922  of  anhydrous  substance  gave  o  2813  C02  and  0-0978  H20. 
C  =  832;  H  =  U.S. 
C27H460,  H20  requires  H20  =  4-5  per  cent. 
C27H460  requires  C  —  83-9;  H  ==  11-9  per  cent. 
This  substance  was  apparently  identical  with  the  phytosterol 
obtained  from  the  fatty  oil  of  the  seeds  of  Gynocardia  odorata, 
R.  Br.  (Jour.  Chem.  Soc,  1905,  87,  p.  898),  as  a  mixture  of  the  two 
substances  melted  at  the  same  temperature  (1340  C.)  at  which  each 
separately  fused. 
Maurenbrecher  and  Tollens  (Ber.  d.  deutsch.  chem.  Ges.,  1906,  39, 
p.  3581)  have  noted  a  color  reaction,  first  observed  by  Rauchwenger 
and  Neuberg,  which  is  stated  to  differentiate  between  cholesterol 
and  the  phytosterols,  and  is  conducted  as  follows: — A  small  portion 
of  the  substance  to  be  tested,  together  with  a  trace  of  rhamnose, 
is  dissolved  in  15  c.c.  of  absolute  alcohol,  and  concentrated  sulphuric 
acid  then  cautiously  added,  when,  if  the  substance  be  cholesterol, 
a  raspberry-red  color  is  produced  at  the  junction  of  the  two  liquids, 
and  afterwards  extends  throughout  the  whole.  According  to  Rauch- 
wenger and  Neuberg,  this  reaction  is  not  afforded  by  phytosterol. 
It  was  observed,  however,  by  Maurenbrecher  and  Tollens  (loc.  cit.) 
that  the  substance  isolated  by  them  from  cacao  butter,  although 
having  the  melting  point  (1370  C.)  and  other  characters  of  a  phyto- 
sterol, gave  the  above-mentioned  reaction,  and  they  were  therefore 
unable  to  decide  whether  this  was  not  due  to  some  adhering  choles- 
terol. In  order  to  ascertain  the  value  of  this  test,  we  have  applied 
it  to  pure  cholesterol  (m.  p.  144- 1470  C,  from  Schuchardt),  to  the 
phytosterol  from  the  species  of  Lippia  under  examination,  to  that 
from  Gynocardia  oil,  and  also  to  "  rhamnol,"  C20H34O  (m.  p.  1 35— 
1360  C), — the  phytosterol  occurring  in  K6-sam  seeds  (Pharm.  Jour  , 
