October  i9i4rm' j     Analyses  of  Two  Echinacea  Roots.  451 
This  root  has  been  stated  1  to  contain  minute  quantities  of  an 
inactive  alkaloid.  Its  supposed  medicinal  activity  is  ascribed  to  the 
presence  of  a  resin.  Lastly,  in  describing  the  pharmacognosy  of 
Echinacea,2  Henry  Kraemer  and  Maud  Sollenberger  have  found 
inulin, 
Despite  the  unfavorable  report  of  the  American  Medical  Associa- 
tion, Council  on  Pharmacy  and  Chemistry,3  this  plant  is  used  to  some 
extent,  and  a  review  of  the  meagre  chemical  literature  indicates  that 
more  experimental  evidence  is  required  before  forming  a  conclusion 
concerning  its  value  pharmaceutically. 
In  this  brief  paper  we  report  the  results  of  the  proximate  analyses 
of  two  species,  and  further  work  is  in  progress  upon  the  more  im- 
portant Brauneria  angustifolia.  The  sample  of  Brauneria  purpurea 
was  obtained  upon  the  market  as  a  sample  of  Echinacea. 
Experimental. 
The  material  for  this  investigation  consisted  of  the  roots  of  two 
species  of  the  genus  Brauneria  {Echinacea)  of  the  family  Com- 
posite, (a)  Brauneria  angustifolia  (D.  C.)  Heller,  the  narrow-leaved 
purple  cone  flower,  and  (b)  Brauneria  purpurea  (D.  C.)  Britton, 
the  purple  cone  flower. 
The  Echinacea  of  the  U  S.  Dispensatory,4  in  so  far  as  it  applies 
to  "  Brauneria  pallida  (Nutt.)  Britton/'  is  a  confusion  of  two  species. 
The  "  Echinacea  angustifolia  D.  C."  there  considered  a  synonym  of 
the  above  (B.  pallida)  is  now  known  to  be  a  separate  and  distinct 
species,  Brauneria  angustifolia  (D.  C.)  Heller,  and  has  from  our  ob- 
servations furnished  most  of  the  Echinacea  of  the  market.  It  is  this 
species  which  furnishes  the  principal  material  under  investigation. 
The  recognition  of  this  confusion  leaves  Brauneria  pallida  (Nutt.) 
Britton  as  a  species  of  good  standing.5 
The  roots  of  Brauneria  angustifolia  were  collected  for  us  in  the 
rough  gravelly  prairie  land  of  north  central  Kansas.  The  Brauneria 
purpurea  was  said  to  have  been  collected  in  Missouri. 
The  roots  of  Brauneria  angustifolia  were  received  at  the  labora- 
1C.  G.  Lloyd,  Eclec  Med.  Journal  (1897). 
2  American  Journal  Pharmacy,  83,  315  (1911). 
3  Journal  A.  M.  A.,  vol.  53,  1836  (1909). 
4  U.  S.  Dispensatory,  p.  1476  (19th  Ed.). 
5  Robinson,  B.  L.,  and  Fernald,  M.  L. :  "  Gray's  New  Manual  of  Botany," 
1908,  p.  832/ 
Britton,  N.  L.,  and  Brown,  A. :  "  Illustrated  Flora,"  1913,  p.  476. 
