Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  \ 
November,  1900.  j 
Some  Notes  on  Jalap. 
529 
suggestion  of  Prof.  Henry  Kraemer,  for  determining  the  value  of 
this  drug. 
Jalap  conforming  to  the  Pharmacopoeial  requirements  as  regards 
quantity  of  resin  appears,  judging  from  the  reports  of  several  inves- 
tigators, to  have  been,  and  is  to-day,  the  exception  rather  than  the 
rule. 
Various  methods  for  the  valuation  of  the  drug  have  been  set  forth 
from  time  to  time,  all  depending,  more  or  less,  upon  the  difference 
in  the  procedure  for  extracting  the  resin ;  indeed,  in  only  one 
instance  (that  of  Professor  Hager,  mentioned  below)  has  any  other 
point  except  a  pharmaceutical  assay  been  suggested  as  indicating 
the  value  of  jalap. 
The  following,  gleanings  from  the  reports  of  different  investigators 
will  serve  to  demonstrate  the  character  of  the  work  done  on  the 
drug  during  the  last  fifteen  years. 
Mr.  G.  H.  Chas.  Klie  (Proc.  A.  Ph.  A.,  1887,  p.  118)  found  pow- 
dered jalap  to  contain  as  high  as  12-17  per  cent,  of  resin ;  other  sam- 
ples contained  5-52  per  cent.,  10-28  per  cent.,  9  9  per  cent,  and  6-6 
per  cent.,  respectively. 
Dr.  Squibb  (Proc.  A.  Ph.  A.,  1888,  p.  328)  assayed  samples  of 
jalap  and  found  the  range  of  resin  to  be  from  6-19  per  cent,  to  18-5 
per  cent.;  average,  8-8  per  cent. 
The  analysis  of  samples,  between  the  years  1 879-1 883,  of  jalap 
for  making  the  extract  and  resin  is  as  follows : 
1879.  .....  125  pounds  powdered  jalap  gave  17    per  cent,  resin. 
1882   220     "  "  "       "    13-4  "     "  " 
1883   107     "  "  "       "     7-6  "     I*  " 
1885   100     "  "  "       "     7-9  " 
1888  ......  250     "  "  "       "    15-6  "  " 
At  that  time  Dr.  Squibb  stated  that  there  was  not  a  bale  of  jalap 
in  the  New  York  market  that  would  yield  12  per  cent,  of  official 
resin. 
Dr.  Squibb  (Ibid.,  1889,  p.  427)  since  his  last  report  (1888) 
watched  the  drug  markets  for  jalap  and  obtained  no  samples  yield- 
ing over  9  per  cent,  of  resin,  and  only  two  samples  which  gave  over 
7*5  per  cent. 
He  sent  a  special  messenger  to  Jalapa,  Mexico,  and  obtained 
less  than  200  pounds  "  produced  in  the  old  way  in  the  old  location" 
which  assayed  16  9  per  cent,  resin. 
