102 
Phytochemical  Research. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
March,  19 17 
tion  had  not  yet  been  successful.  On  the  other  hand,  it  has  been 
possible  to  obtain  from  the  seeds  of  Gynocardia  odorata  a  beauti- 
fully crystalline,  cyanogenetic  glucoside,  which  possesses  the  em- 
pirical formula  C13H1909N,  and  has  been  designated  gynocardin.6 
It  is  accompanied  in  the  seed  by  an  enzyme,  termed  gynocardase, 
which  readily  hydrolyzes  /?-glucosides. 
In  connection  with  the  subject  under  consideration  it  would  ap- 
pear of  interest  to  refer  to  an  incident  in  which  the  results  of  the 
investigation  of  chaulmoogra  oil  and  related  products  proved  to  be 
of  very  considerable  practical  value.  During  the  latter  part  of  the 
year  1910  a  number  of  cases  of  poisoning  occurred  in  Germany 
through  the  use  of  a  margarine  which  had  been  brought  into  com- 
merce under  the  name  of  "  Backa,"  and  which  was  stated  to  have 
been  prepared  from  a  so-called  "  maratti  fat,"  imported  from  India.7 
Legal  proceedings  were  subsequently  instituted  against  the  manu- 
facturer of  the  margarine,  and  the  subject  naturally  attracted  the 
attention  of  the  health  authorities  as  well  as  the  general  public.  The 
investigations  which  ensued,  in  which  chemists,  botanists,  and 
medical  men  participated,  soon  revealed  the  fact  that  the  fat  em- 
ployed in  the  particular  instance  for  the  manufacture  of  margarine 
had  been  obtained  from  chaulmoogra  seed  or  from  the  seed  of  one 
of  the  closely  related  species  of  Hydnocarpus.  The  identification  of 
the  fat  was  effected,  not  only  by  a  comparison  of  its  physical  proper- 
ties with  those  of  the  products  which  so  short  a  time  previously  had 
been  made  the  subject  of  extended  research,  but  also  by  the  isolation 
therefrom  of  the  crystalline,  optically  active  chaulmoogric  acid. 
Another  native  product  of  the  East  Indies,  which  is  much  more 
familiar  through  its  use  as  a  condiment  than  as  a  drug,  is  the  nutmeg. 
It  is  probably  not  generally  known,  however,  even  among  chemists, 
that  the  nutmeg  when  taken  in  considerable  quantity  possesses  de- 
cided narcotic  properties.  Nevertheless,  there  have  been  in  past 
years  somewhat  frequently  recorded  cases  of  so-called  nutmeg 
poisoning,  the  symptoms  of  which  are  stupor  and  delirium,  and 
alarming,  if  not  fatal,  consequences  are  said  to  have  followed  the 
free  use  of  the  drug  in  both  Europe  and  America,  as  well  as  in 
India.  On  the  other  hand,  in  the  quantities  ordinarily  used  as  a 
condiment  or  flavoring  agent,  the  nutmeg  may  be  regarded  as  per- 
fectly harmless. 
6  Power  and  Lees,  Jour.  Chem.  Soc,  1905,  87,  pp.  349-357- 
7  Zeitschr.  f.  Untersuchung  der  Nahrungs-  und  Genussmittel,  July,  1911, 
p.  226,  and  Deutsche  Med.  Wochenschr.,  191 1,  p.  53. 
