THE 
AMERICAN JOURNAL 
OP 
PHARMACY. 
OCTOBER, 1S40. 
ART. XXXI. — CHEMICAL EXAMINATION OF THE ROOT OF 
FRASERA WALTER1. By John Wyeth Douglass. 
{Extract from an Inaugural Essay. ) 
There has been no regular analysis of this plant. Dr. Drake 
of Cincinnati made a few experiments on the root; they seem, 
however, to have been instituted more for the purpose of as- 
certaining the means of discrimination between the Fraseraand 
the tonic of Mozambique, than to determine itschemical consti- 
tution. Thus he says, " this root (F. Walteri,) gives out its bit- 
terness more fully to alcoholic than aqueous menstrua ; there- 
verse of which is the case with columbo ; its spirituous tinc- 
ture suffers decomposition upon the addition of water, indicat- 
ing that it contains resin, which the Columbo does not, at least 
in any considerable quantity," &c. The following experi- 
ments were made with the dried root. 
To the filtered decoction alcohol was added, which pro- 
duced a flocculent precipitate indicating the presence of gum 
or mucilage. The solution of acetate of lead also precipitated a 
large quantity of gum. 
The non-existence of starch was ascertained by adding 
tincture of iodine to the cold decoction, which was not affected 
by this delicate test. 
Upon the addition of oxalate of ammonia to the clear in- 
VOL. VI. — NO. II. 23 
