y6         Recent  Literature  Relating  to  Pharmacy.  {ArebJr°uarrVP?9aoQm' 
vestigation  eight  authentic  samples  of  star  anise  and  ten  of  shikimL 
The  processes  employed  were:  (i)  Tschirch  and  Oesterle's,  which 
is  based  on  the  differing  behavior  of  alcoholic  extracts  of  the  two 
fruits  when  poured  into  water — a  method  criticised  by  von  Vogl ; 
(2)  difference  in  size  and  appearance  of  the  aleuron  grains 
found  in  the  seed ;  (3)  Collin's  method,  based  on  presence  of  nu- 
merous and  large  sclerenchyma  cells  in  the  stipe  of  star  anise  and 
comparative  absence  of  same  in  the  stipe  of  shikimi. 
The  writer  finds  the  last  two  methods  practically  useless,  while 
Tschirch's  is  both  practical  and  accurate.  He  finds  little  ground 
for  von  Vogl's  strictures  and  entirely  eliminates  cause  for  same  in 
the  following  modification  of  the  process  : 
One  carpel  of  the  suspected  fruit  is  boiled  in  a  test-tube  for  two 
minutes  with  5  c.c.  95  per  cent,  alcohol.  The  cold  liquid  (which 
has  lost  about  I  c.c.  in  cooking)  is  filtered  and  the  filtrate  treated 
with  four  or  five  times  its  bulk  of  water.  If  the  fruit  was  star  anise, 
the  liquid  invariably  becomes  cloudy  (due  to  anethol),  while  a  shi- 
kimi extract  remains  clear. 
When  the  clear  diluted  shikimi  extract  is  shaken  with  petroleum 
ether  (boiling  under  6o°  C.)  and  separated,  the  ethereal  layer  leaves 
scarcely  any  residue  on  evaporation,  and  that  trace  has  a  disagree- 
able odor. 
The  cloudy  star  anise  extract,  on  the  other  hand,  when  similarly 
treated,  yields  an  ethereal  layer  which,  on  evaporation,  leaves  a  yel- 
low oily  residue  of  anise  odor.  Efforts  to  obtain  from  this  residue 
microscopic  crystals  of  di-brom-anethol,  or  di-iso-nitroso-anethol- 
peroxide,  were  futile,  but  the  presence  of  anethol  was  readily  proven 
by  the  spectroscope.  H.  V.  A. 
MICROSCOPICAL  IDENTIFICATION  OF  THE .  MYDRIATIC  ALKALOIDS. 
A  study  of  the  alkaloids  of  the  Solanaceae  is  reported  by  S. 
Vreven  (Ann.  de  Pharm.,  Louvain,  1899,  1).  It  is  based  on  the 
microscopic  examination  of  the  precipitates  of  these  alkaloids  with 
the  well-known  reagents:  compound  solution  of  iodine,  potassio- 
bismuthic  iodide,  potassio-mercuric  iodide,  phospho-tungstic  acid, 
phospho-molybdic  acid,  gold  chloride,  platinic  chloride,  potassio- 
cadmic  iodide  and  picric  acid.  Of  these,  the  two  last  enumerated 
are  the  only  ones  giving  crystals  of  sufficient  individuality  to  be  of 
value  in  identification,  and  these  yield  highly  satisfactory  results, 
