504 
Poison  Sumac. 
(  Am.  Jour.  Pharra. 
\  November,  1907. 
The  alcohol-soluble  portion  was  further  separated  into  two  por- 
tions by  petroleum-benzin,  as  noted  above,  with  the  following 
results : 
Per  Cent. 
Benzin-soluble  78 
Benzin-insoluble  .  22 
By  means  of  methyl  alcohol  and  ether  the  benzin-insoluble  por- 
tion could  be  further  separated  into  three  fractions. 
The  gum  enzyme  contained  nitrogen,  yielded  mucic,  oxalic  and 
tartaric  acids  on  oxidation  with  nitric  acid,  and  produced  a  non- 
crystallizable,  non-fermentable,  dextro-rotatory,  reducing  sugar  on 
hydrolysis  with  dilute  sulphuric  acid.  The  phenylhydrazine18  deriv- 
ative of  this  sugar  melted  at  l62°-i64°,  corresponding  to  phenyl- 
sorbinosazone. 
The  gum-enzyme  was  very  active,  its  aqueous  solution  rapidly 
changing  freshly  prepared  tincture  of  guaiac  to  a  deep  blue  color. 
This  action  was  far  stronger  and  more  rapid  with  lac  gum  than  with 
any  other  of  the  eleven  gums  tried.  Tacamahaca,  asafcetida  and 
acacia  approached  lac  gum  most  nearly  in  this  respect. 
Recently  Acree  and  Syme19  have  worked  upon  poison  ivy.  They 
found  gallic  acid,  fisetin,  rhamnose  and  a  "poisonous  tar ;  gum  or 
wax"  in  the  extract  prepared  by  maceration  of  the  leaves  and 
flowers  of  poison  ivy  with  ether,  and  subsequent  distillation  of  the 
solvent.  The  lead  compound  of  this  poisonous  substance  was  found 
to  be  soluble  in  ether.  The  authors  utilized  this  property  to  tree 
the  poisonous  material  from  admixed  non-poisonous  substances. 
Lead  compounds  were  first  prepared  by  precipitating  an  alcoholic 
solution  (of  the  ether  extract  of  the  drug)  with  lead  acetate.  The 
precipitate  was  washed  with  water,  partially  dried  over  sulphuric 
acid,  placed  in  a  Soxhlet  apparatus  and  extracted  with  ether  until 
the  solvent  came  over  colorless.  A  green  solution  was  obtained, 
which  was  washed  with  water  and  decomposed  with  hydrogen  sul- 
phide. On  evaporating  the  solvent,  a  black,  poisonous  "  tar  or 
gum"  remained.  Upon  hydrolysis20  with  2  per  cent,  sulphuric  acid, 
this  poisonous  substance  gave  fisetin,  rhamnose  and  gallic  acid. 
The  residue  in  the  thimble  was  decomposed  by  hydrogen  sulphide, 
18  "Japanese  Lac."    Dissertation.    A.  B.  Stevens,  17,  1905. 
19  Am.  Chem.  J.,  36,  301-321.  1906. 
20  Acree  and  Syme  :  Am.  Chem.  J.,  36,  316. 
