Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  ) 
Jan.,  1878.  J 
Varieties. 
33 
difficulty  attending  the  separation  of  the  organic  constituents  of  rhubarb, 
it  may  be  assumed  that  to  a  degree  it  is  an  expression  of  the  differences 
between  the  two  kinds  of  rhubarb.  If  chrysophanic  acid  be  the  active 
principle,  then  the  inferior  activity  of  the  Java  root  depends  probably 
upon  the  smaller  quantity  of  chrysophanic  acid  present  in  it,  and  the 
activity  might  have  been  still  further  reduced  if  it  were  not  for  the 
simultaneous  diminution  in  the  proportion  of  tannic  acid,  which  by  its 
antipurgative  action  might  act  antagonistically  to  the  chrysophanic  acid. 
Professor  Husemann  considers  it  highly  probable  that  the  relative  pro- 
portions of  these  constituents  might  be  altered  by  cultivation  so  as  to 
approximate  the  two  rhubarbs  more  closely. 
At  present  no  information  exists  in  botanical  literature  as  to  the 
plant  from  which  the  Java  rhubarb  is  derived.  Rosenthal's  "Synopsis 
Plantarum  Diaphoricarum"  does  not  refer  to  any  species  of  rhubarb 
growing  in  Java.  Still,  the  Dutch  East  Indian  botanists  ought  not  to 
find  any  difficulty  in  deciding  how  far  the  plant  should  be  treated  as  a 
new  species  or  as  one  of  the  many  continental  East  Indian  species. 
But  certainly  the  investigation  throws  no  light  upon  the  origin  of  the 
true  rhubarb  root. — Phar.  Jour,  and  Trans. ,  Oct.  27,  from  the  Pbar, 
Handelsblatt,  No.  94. 
VARIETIES. 
Tests  and  Effects  of  Sophoria. — Dr.  H.  C.  Wood  describes  this  new  alkaloid , 
obtained  by  him  from  the  seeds  of  Sophora  speciosa,  Benth.,  as  follows  : 
I  obtained  it  of  a  grayish-white  color,  but  did  not  succeed  in  crystallizing  either 
it  or  its  acetate.  Its  reactions,  as  far  as  I  have  examined  them,  are  as  follows  (the 
tests  were  made  by  placing  a  speck  of  the  alkaloid  upon  a  porcelain  plate  and  apply- 
ing the  reagent). 
With  concentrated  sulphuric  acid,  no  color. 
With  chromic  acid  and  concentrated  sulphuric  acid,  a  dirty,  deep  purple,  passing 
rapidly  into  bright  green,  then  into  blueish  and  finally  into  yellowish-brown. 
With  tincture  of  the  chloride  of  iron,  a  deep,  almost  blood-red,  after  a  time 
acquiring  an  orange  tint. 
With  nitric  acid,  no  color. 
With  chromic  and  nitric  acid,  a  very  faint,  evanescent  reddish  color. 
With  nitromuriatic  acid,  a  dirty  reddish-brown. 
From  the  solution  of  its  acetate,  compound  tincture  of  iodine  throws  down  a 
yellowish  precipitate. 
3 
