Am.  Jour.  Pharra  ) 
Dec,  1878.  i 
Laboratory  Notes. 
563 
For  an  assay  of  several  specimens  of  Dover's  Powders,  by  a  differ- 
ent process,  see  kiAm.  Journ.  Pharm.,"  Aug.,  1876,  p.  359. 
II.  An    Analysis   of   Wahoo   Bark   and    an   Examination  of 
Euonymin. 
In  1862  Mr.  Wm.  E.  Wenzell  reported  that  the  root-bark  of 
Euonymus  atropurpureus  contains  a  glucoside  (which  he  named  euony- 
min)  asparagin,  several  resins  and  a  fixed  oil,  besides  well-known  non- 
medicinal  substances.  The  so-called  euonymin  of  the  eclectic  u  con- 
centrated remedies"  is  said  to  be  made,  like  most  of  its  class,  by  pre- 
cipitating a  strong  tincture  of  the  drug  with  water,  and  contains  there- 
fore all  constituents  of  the  bark  which  are  soluble  in  alcohol  and  insol- 
uble in  water. 
At  my  suggestion  Mr.  J.  J.  Miller  undertook  a  proximate  analysis 
of  wahoo  root  bark.  Mr.  Miller  readily  obtained  euonymtn  by  Wen- 
zell's  proces  ("  Am.  Jour.  Pharm.,"  1862,  p.  387),  and  obtained  addi- 
tional reactions  for  it.  It  was  found  to  be  a  white,  intensely  bitter, 
odorless,  uncrystallizable  solid,  slightly  soluble  in  water  (Wenzell  says 
it  is  insoluble),  soluble  in  alcohol,  in  petroleum,  slightly  soluble  in 
•ether  (hence  wasted  by  the  ether  washing  of  Wenzell's  process),  insol- 
uble in  benzole  (of  coal  tar)  and  in  carbon  disulphide.  In  dilute  sul- 
phuric acid  it  dissolves  colorless  ;  in  the  concentrated  acid  it  turns  first 
yellow  then  red-brown,  these  colors  being  intensified  by  adding  a  frag- 
ment of  potassium  dichromate.  Both  nitric  and  hydrochloric  acids  dis- 
solve it  with  yellow  color.  From  its  alcoholic  solution  iodine  solution 
with  potassium  iodide  gives  a  brownish-red  precipitate;  potassium  mer- 
curic iodide,  a  white  precipitate  ;  sodium  phosphomolybdate,  a  green- 
yellow  precipitate;  tannic  acid,  a  slight  white  precipitate  ;  picric  acid, 
a  precipitate  only  on  long  standing.  The  solution  of  euonymin  in 
dilute  sulphuric  acid  was  precipitated  green-yellow  by  sodium  phos- 
phomolybdate, the  addition  of  ammonia  changing  the  precipitate  to  a 
blue  solution  which  faded  on  boiling. 
The  bark  of  the  root  was  also  subjected  to  a  full  proximate  analysis, 
following  Rochleder's  plan  in  the  main.  By  redistilling  several  times 
from  sodium  chloride  solution,  then  extracting  the  distillate  with  ben- 
zole and  evaporating  this  solution  carefully,  a  small  quantity  of  a  vola- 
tile oil  having  the  odor  of  the  drug  was  obtained.  This  volatile  oil  was 
clear,  brownish  in  color, of  balsamic  taste,  neutral  in  reaction  and  evapo- 
