55° 
Current  Literature. 
f  Am.  Jour.  Pharn. 
<-    November,  1917. 
roots  which  were  badly  discolored  inside  and  did  not  show  a 
porous,  pale  yellow  wood,  as  required  by  the  United  States  Phar- 
macopoeia, IX,  1 91 6.  The  appearance  suggested  that  the  ma- 
terial had  been  improperly  dried.  This  fact  was  confirmed  by 
microscopic  examination  showing  swollen  brownish-yellow  masses, 
indicating  that  the  inulin  masses  had  been  partially  hydrolyzed  and 
caramelized.  The  department  will  recommend  the  exclusion  from 
the  United  States  of  any  importation  of  dandelion  root  which  upon 
examination  is  found  to  contain  more  than  1 5  per  cent,  of  dead  roots 
and  roots  that  are  more  than  slightly  discolored  as  a  result  of  im- 
proper drying.  (Service  and  Regulatory  Announcements,  U.  S. 
Dept.  of  Agriculture.) 
Horehound  Substitute. — Examination  of  samples  of  impor- 
tations of  so-called  "horehound"  has  disclosed  that  the  material  in 
some  instances  consisted  of  Ballota  hirsuta  Benth,  instead  of  Mar- 
rubium  vulgare  L.  Material  obtained  from  Ballota  hirsuta  should 
not  be  labeled  or  sold  as  and  for  horehound  nor  used  as  a  substitute 
therefore.  (Service  and  Regulatory  Announcements,  U.  S.  Dept.  of 
Agriculture.) 
Mustard  Seed  Standard  and  Assay  Method. — Mustard  seed 
is  the  ripe  seed  of  Sinapis  alba  L.  (white  mustard),  Brassica 
nigra  (L.)  Koch  (black  mustard),  Brassica  juncea  Hook.  f.  et 
Th.  or  the  varieties  or  closely  related  species  of  the  types  of 
Brassica  nigra  and  Brassica  juncea  Hook.  f.  et  Th.,  e.  g.,  Brassica 
cernua  Thunb.,  containing  not  more  than  5  per  cent,  of  other  seeds 
or  other  foreign  matter  and  yields  not  more  than  5  per  cent,  of  total 
ash  nor  more  than  1.5  per  cent,  of  ash  insoluble  in  hydrochloric 
acid.  Mustard  seed,  except  that  obtained  from  Sinapis  alba  L., 
yields  a  volatile  oil  similar  in  character  and  composition  to  the 
volatile  oils  yielded  by  the  above-mentioned  species,  and  when  as- 
sayed by  the  method  outlined  below  the  yield  of  volatile  oil  is  not 
less  than  0.6  per  cent.,  calculated  as  allylisothiocyanate : 
METHOD  FOR  THE  DETERMINATION  OF  VOLATILE  OIL  IN   MUSTARD  SEED. 
Place  5  grams  of  the  ground  seed  (No.  20  powder)  in  a  200-mil  flask,  add 
100  mils  of  water,  stopper  tightly,  and  macerate  for  two  hours  at  about  370  C. 
Then  add  20  mils  of  U.  S.  P.  alcohol  (95  per  cent.),  and  distill  about  60  mils 
into  a  ioo-mil  volumetric  flask  containing  10  mils  of  10  per  cent,  ammonium 
hydroxid  solution,  taking  care  that  the  tip  of  the  condenser  dips  below  the 
