426         ON  THE  USE  OF  QUINOVIC  ACID  IN  MEDICINE. 
Brandes  in  the  bark  of  Croton  eleutria  or  Croton  cascarilla, 
both  plants  belonging  to  the  Natural  Order  Euphorbiaceae. — 
London  Pharm.  Journ.,  from  The  Veterinarian. 
ON  THE  USE  OF  QUINOVIC  ACID  (CINCHONA  BITTER)  IN 
MEDICINE. 
By.  Dr.  J.  E.  De  Try. 
When  I  found,  in  1859,  that  all  parts  of  the  different  species 
of  Cinchona  growing  in  Java  contained  quinovic  acid,  of  which 
I  detected  in  the  wood  of  the  roots  of  C.  Calisaya  so  much  as 
2-57  per  cent.,  it  appeared  to  me  very  probable  that  the  tonic 
properties  of  some  preparations  of  bark,  particularly  of  an 
aqueous  infusion,  such  as  the  Infusum  Corticis  Peruviani 
cum  Magnesia  frigide  paratum,  which  formerly  was  frequently 
prescribed  by  many  Dutch  physicians,  might  be  at  least  par- 
tially ascribed  to  quinovic  acid.  I  therefore  employed  the  wood 
of  several  dead  cinchona  plants  at  my  disposal  for  the  prepara- 
tion of  this  acid,  which,  by  order  of  the  Governor-General,  was, 
at  my  request,  experimentally  tried  by  the  medical  staff  of  the 
Army.  The  official  report  on  these  experiments  was  so  favor- 
able, that  the  chief  of  the  medical  staff,  Dr.  Wassink,  requested 
a  further  supply,  in  order  to  continue  the  experiments  on  a 
larger  scale.  As  I  had  no  more  material  at  disposal  with  which 
to  prepare  quinovic  acid,  I  wrote  to  my  friend  Mr.  A.  Delondre, 
at  Havre  de  Grace,  who  was  kind  enough  to  send  me  not  less 
than  five  kilogrammes  of  the  crude  acid  from  his  manufactory 
of  quinine.  Although  my  laboratory  in  Java  was  perfectly 
adapted  for  all  kinds  of  chemical  researches,  the  purification  of 
such  a  quantity  of  a  substance  famous  for  its  bulky  volume  gave 
me  not  a  little  trouble,  but  at  length  I  succeeded  in  preparing 
two  kilogrammes  of  quinovic  acid  sufficiently  pure  for  medical 
use.  This  quantity  was  used  by  the  medical  staff  of  the  Army 
for  experiments  on  a  larger  scale  in  the  hospitals  of  Java  and 
Sumatra.  The  general  report  on  these  experiments,  the  result 
of  which  was  very  favorable,  has  been  sent  by  the  chief  of  the 
medical  staff,  Major-General  Dr.  G.  Wassink,  to  the  Governor- 
General  of  Dutch  India,  under  date  5th  March,  1863.  It 
