248 
ON THE PREPARATION OF SANTONINE. 
salts. When a mixture of santonine, lime, water and alcohol, 
is heated it becomes red; and upon cooling, deposits crystals 
in the form of red silk)^ needles, which spontaneously become 
white, by decrease of temperature losing their color. I avail- 
ed myself of the facility with which I have succeeded in obtain- 
ing this substance, to re-investigate its properties. If my ex- 
periments should afford any result, I shall have the honor of 
submitting them to the Society of Pharmacy. 
The following is the process which has afforded me the 
best results: 2000 grammes of semen-contra of Aleppo were 
reduced to a fine powder and moistened with sufficient cold 
water to form it into a soft paste, and after macerating for 
six hours was subjected to pressure. The cake being pulver- 
ized, was again macerated, and expressed eighteen hours after. 
The mass having been dried and pulverized, was placed in 
contact with alcohol of S9° c. and then, after a maceration of 
twenty-four hours, expressed. This process was repeated un- 
til the mass was exhausted. 
The alcoholic solutions were united and filtered, then distil- 
led on a salt water bath, to about 350 grammes. This tinc- 
ture, set aside in a capsule, soon deposited in crystals all the 
santonine which it contained. Part adheres to the vessel, the 
rest remains mixed with resin, volatile oil, and chlorophylle. 
It is separated from these by decantation, and pressing the 
crystals between folds of muslin. They are then purified by 
boiling alcohol and charcoal. Two crystallizations were suffi- 
cient to obtain it pure, and similiar to the specimen which I 
now have the honor to submit. 
A kilogramme of seed yields me nearly four gros of santo- 
nine. Journ. de Pharm. 
