246 
Contributions  to  Pharmacy. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharru. 
May,  1894. 
neutralized  with  ammonia,  concentrated  on  a  water-bath,  and  the 
active  constituent  precipitated  from  neutral  or  faintly  acid  solution 
by  an  aqueous  solution  of  tannin.  The  precipitate  was  allowed  to 
subside,  the  supernatant  liquid  carefully  decanted,  and  the  precipi- 
tate collected  on  a  filter  ;  owing  to  the  solubility  of  the  precipitate, 
the  excess  of  mother-liquor  had  to  be  removed  by  pressing  between 
bibulous  paper  ;  to  liberate  the  bitter  principle  the  dried  precipitate 
was  treated  with  absolute  alcohol,  filtered,  the  filtrate  mixed  with 
zinc  oxide  and  a  little  water,  evaporated  to  dryness  on  a  water-bath, 
the  residue  extracted  again  with  absolute  alcohol  and  this  solution 
evaporated  to  dryness.  The  more  or  less  red  colored,  intensely  bitter 
residue  formed  a  tough,  sticky  mass  which,  immersed  in  water, 
became  hard  and  pulverizable ;  to  remove  coloring  matter  the 
powder  was  mixed  with  animal  charcoal,  washed  repeatedly  with 
water,  and  after  drying  the  charcoal  at  a  moderate  temperature, 
extracting  the  bitter  principle  with  absolute  alcohol. 
Schmiedeberg  refers  to  this  investigation  and  places  scillain  in  the 
pharmocological  group  containing  digitalin.  In  addition  to  this 
bitter  principle  there  is  present  among  other  constituents  a  mucilage 
which  Schmiedeberg  named  sinistrin;  it  is  prepared  by  making  an 
aqueous  infusion,  adding  lead  subacetate  until  precipitation  ceases, 
filtering,  removing  excess  of  lead,  precipitating  sinistrin  with  milk 
of  lime,  washing  the  precipitate,  decomposing  it  with  carbon  dioxide 
and  precipitating  the  sinistrin  by  the  addition  of  alcohol ;  chemical 
properties  and  percentage  composition  place  sinistrin  in  the  group 
with  dextrin,  differing  from  this,  however,  by  being  laevorotatory 
and  in  yielding  by  hydrolysis  chiefly  laevulose  presumably  with 
another  optically  inactive  sugar. 
A.  Weyher  von  Reidemeister  prepares  sinistrin  by  macerating 
pov\  dered  squill  with  water,  keeping  the  mixture  neutral  by  addition 
of  baryta ;  after  several  hours  an  excess  of  lead  subacetate  is  added, 
the  mixture  allowed  to  stand  until  the  supernatant  liquid  becomes 
clear,  then  filtered  and  the  excess  of  lead  removed  by  the  use  of 
hydrogen  sulphide,  filtered,  the  filtrate  neutralized  with  sodium 
hydrate  and  decolorized  by  the  aid  of  animal  charcoal ;  the  filtrate  is 
evaporated  at  a  temperature  below  40 0  C,  the  syrupy  residue  mixed 
with  alcohol,  which  precipitates  both  sinistrin  and  fruit  sugar,  and  set 
aside  for  two  days.  The  precipitate  is  dissolved  in  twice  its  weight 
of  water,  the  solution  mixed  with  an  excess  of  baryta,  which 
