Am  jour.  Pharm. \    Advances  in  Materia  Medico  and  Pharmacy.  I2c 
March,  1917      }  A  *  J 
The  Administration  of  Deliquescent  Drugs  in  Capsules. — Dr.  N. 
G.  Davis,  of  Chicago,,  recommends  the  use  of  a  mixture  of  one  part 
of  beeswax  and  three  parts  of  castor  oil  as  an  excipient  for  giving 
salts,  such  as  potassium  iodid,  sodium  or  potassium  bromid,  etc., 
in  capsule.  He  states  that  he  has  given  iodine,  the  element  itself,  by 
mixing  with  every  two  grains,  at  least  live  grains  of  this  wax  mass. 
He  also  recommends  its  use  for  giving  guaiacol.  oil  of  sandalwood, 
and  drugs  of  like  similarity.  YVe  have  found,  however,  that  the 
wax  mass  in  the  proportions  of  one  of  beeswax  and  three  of  castor 
oil  does  not  work  out.  But  by  reversing  the  parts  it  works  admir- 
ably.   {Jour.  A.  M.  A.,  1 160,  1916.) 
Sulpho-Titanic  Reagent  to  Differentiate  Alpha  and  Beta  Naph- 
thol. — Titanic  anhydride  gives  marked  color  reactions  with  phenolic 
bodies,  a  fact  known  for  some  time.  It  has  now  been  discovered 
that  titanic  anhydride  (native  )  heated  with  sulphuric  acid  at  near 
the  boiling  point  for  several  hours,  and  the  clear  solution  decanted, 
as  only  a  small  quantity  of  the  rutile  is  dissolved,  is  very  useful  for 
identifying  alkaloids  containing  a  phenolic  group.  The  reagent  is 
said  to  be  permanent.  Morphine  gives  a  blood-red  color :  apo- 
morphine.  a  reddish- violet :  oxydimorphine,  a  wine-red ;  cuprein,  an 
orange  shade,  something  like  that  of  alkali  dichromate  ;  hordenine, 
deep  orange ;  tyrosine,  a  color  something  like  that  given  by  hordenine ; 
adrenalin,  a  reddish-brown  color.  Alkaloids  without  the  phenolic 
grouping  give  no  reaction.  It  was  also  found  that  this  reagent  is  a 
particularly  sensitive  test  for  the  presence  of  hydrogen  peroxide. 
Furthermore,  it  was  also  found  that  this  reagent  is  an  excellent 
means  for  differentiating  between  a-  and  b-naphthol.  A  very  small 
quantity  shaken  in  a  test  tube  with  two  or  three  mils  of  this  reagent 
gives  forth  an  intense  green  color  in  the  case  of  a-naphthol,  and  a 
most  decided  blood-red  color  with  b-naphthol.  If  the  substance  is 
first  dissolved  in  glacial  acetic  acid,  and  the  sulpho-titanic  reagent 
is  added  to  the  solution,  a  green  ring  surmounted  by  a  reddish- 
violet  zone  distinguishes  a-naphthol :  while  a  blood-red  ring  indicates 
b-naphthol.    (G.  Deniges,  Annates  Chim.;  Analyst,  1916,  21,  213.) 
Mustard  Seed  as  a  Laxative. — Although  not  generally  known, 
whole  mustard  seed  has  been  used  for  many  years  as  a  laxative  in 
some  countries.  In  the  course  of  a  rather  extensive  investigation 
as  to  why  it  has  this  laxative  action  it  was  noticed  that  the  odor  of 
hydrogen  sulphide  had  developed  in  a  bottle  containing  the  water  in 
which  the  seed  had  been  placed  the  day  before.    It  was  reasoned 
