AmAp°rnr;i8warm'}       Analysts  of  Sanguinaria  Seed.  189 
'  AN  ANALYSIS  OF  SANGUINARIA  SEED. 
By  John  Culley. 
Contribution  from  the  Chemical  Laboratory  of  the  Philadelphia  College  of  Pharmacy. 
No.  133. 
The  rhizome  of  Sanguinaria  Canadensis  has  long  been  used  as  a 
medicinal  agent  and  as  a  source  of  the  alkaloid  sanguinarine,  but 
very  little,  if  any  attention,  has  been  given  to  the  seed  for  such 
purposes. 
Sanguinaria  seed  is  quite  plentiful  during  certain  seasons  of  the 
year,  and  a  quantity  was  collected  and  subjected  to  an  analysis  with 
a  view  of  ascertaining  if  the  same  active  principles  existing  in  the 
rhizome  also  exist  in  the  seed.  And,  if  so,  do  they  exist  in  such 
quantities  that  the  seed  could  in  any  way  replace  the  rhizome,  both 
in  medicine  and  as  a  source  of  sanguinarine. 
Fifty  grams  of  the  seed  were  crushed  and  thoroughly  exhausted 
with  petroleum  ether ;  the  ether  recovered  and  the  residue  yielded 
14-097  gms.  of  a  pale  yellow,  oily  fluid,  consisting  chiefly  of  fixed 
oil.  This  oil  was  partly  soluble  in  95  per  cent,  alcohol;  absolute 
alcohol  dissolved  a  portion  of  the  residue  and  the  remainder  was 
totally  soluble  in  ether. 
A  small  portion  of  the  oil  was  shaken  with  acidulated  water,  the 
aqueous  liquid  separated,  and  gave  affirmative  results  with  reagents 
for  alkaloids. 
The  remainder  of  the  oil  was  then  thoroughly  shaken  with  several 
portions  of  water,  acidulated  with  hydrochloric  acid,  the  aqueous 
solution  assuming  a  bright  scarlet  red  color. 
The  oil  was  now  of  the  same  color,  and  repeated  treatment  with 
acidulated  water  failed  to  entirely  remove  the  coloring  principle, 
showing  that  some  of  the  alkaloid  combined  with  hydrochloric 
acid,  was  still  in  solution  in  the  oil. 
The  acid  solution  obtained  was  rendered  alkaline  with  sodium 
hydrate,  the  liquid  then  becoming  colorless,  and  the  alkaloids 
removed  by  shaking  with  several  portions  of  ether  and  finally  with 
chloroform. 
These  extracts,  evaporated  spontaneously,  yielded  in  each  case  a 
varnish-like  substance,  which  was  taken  up  with  water  containing 
a  few  drops  of  sulphuric  acid,  when  the  solution  again  resumed  the 
red  color. 
