590       Recent  Literature  Relating  to  Pharmacy.  {^dS*^m£* 
RECENT  LITERATURE  RELATING  TO  PHARMACY. 
EMBELIC  ACID. 
Rides  embelia  yields  2-5  per  cent,  of  this  substance,  by  percolation 
with  ether  and  successive  crystallization  from  hot  alcohol  benzol 
and  cold  alcohol.  It  melts  at  1420  C,  and  is  insoluble  in  water, 
but  soluble  in  dilute  acid  and  dilute  alkali.  Excess  of  alkali  pre- 
cipitates the  embelate  formed,  while  excess  of  acid  throws  the 
embelic  acid  out  of  solution.  The  substance  has  acid  reaction, 
precipitates  with  ferric  chloride  and  lead  acetate,  but  does  not  reduce 
Fehling's  solution.  Analysis  of  the  acid,  its  silver  salt  and  its 
amine  derivatives  shows  its  formula  to  be  C18H2304. 
It  forms  a  di-benzoyl  compound  (hence  has  two  hydroxyl  groups)  ; 
under  influence  of  nascent  hydrogen  yields  a  hydro-embelic  acid, 
C18H30O4;  and  oxidizes  with  potassium  permanganate  to  lauric 
acid ;  data  pointing  to  the  graphic  formula 
/  Q1H23 
C7H309— OH 
\OH 
and  the  group  C7H302  appears  to  be  a  methyl  quinone. — (Heffter 
and  Feuerstein,  Arch.  Ph.,  1900,  15.)  H.  V.  Arny. 
TELFAIRIA  OIL 
The  seed  of  Telfairia  pedata,  a  climbing  plant  of  East  Africa, 
yields  43  per  cent,  of  an  oil  of  specific  gravity,  0  9 18  ;  acid  number, 
0  34;  saponification  number,  174-8;  ester  number,  174-46;  and 
iodine  absorption  number,  86-2.  Fractional  precipitation  of  its 
lead  soap  gave  an  ether-insoluble  part  consisting  of  stearic  and 
palmitic  acids,  and  a  thick  liquid  soluble  in  ether,  from  which  was 
fractionated  a  peculiar  unsaturated  acid,  solidifying  at  -f-  6°  C,  boil- 
ing at  220°  to  2250  C,  at  13  millimetres  pressure,  analyzing  to 
C18H3202,  and  yielding  a  crystalline  tetrabrom  compound.  This  acid 
is  called  telfairia  acid.  It  is  oxidized  in  dilute  alkaline  solution  by 
potassium  permanganate  to  sativic  acid,  C18H3302  (0H)4,  and  in  con- 
centrated alkaline  solution  to  azeleinic  acid,  just  as  is  linoleic  acid. 
The  ether-soluble  portion  also  contains  an  unsaturated  oxy-acid,  all 
these  acids  being  present  in  the  oil  as  glycerides. — (H.  Thorns, 
Arch.  Ph.,  1900,  48.)  H.  V.  A. 
