THE 
AMERICAN  JOURNAL  OF  PHARMACY. 
MARCH,  1874. 
RIOINUS  COMMUNIS. 
Analysis  of  the  leaves  of  the  plant. 
By  E.  S.  Wayne. 
)v  |Having  observed  a  crystalline  deposit  in  the  fluid  extract  of  the 
leaves  of  the  Ricinus  communis,  which  preparation  I  have  made  for 
several  years  past  from  the  leaves  of  the  plants  grown  in  this  vicin- 
ity, and  which  has  been  used  by  several  of  our  physicians  as  a  galac- 
topoietic  agent  with  satisfactory  effect,  and  having  a  desire  to  know 
what  this  substance  was,  induced  me  to  make  the  following  analysis 
of  it,  and  to  extend  my  researches  further. 
This  crystalline  deposit  above  mentioned  had  the  appearance  of  a 
mass  of  colorless  prismatic  crystals,  imbedded,  more  or  less,  in  a 
mass  of  chlorophyll,  which  had  also  separated  from  the  fluid  extract. 
A  portion  of  the  deposit  was  removed  for  examination,  and  was 
treated  with  alcohol ;  the  crystals  were  lefc  undissolved.  Water  was 
then  tried  as  a  solvent,  in  which  they  dissolved,  and  the  solution  upon 
concentrating  deposited  long  prismatic  crystals,  which  were  found, 
upon  examination,  to  be  nitrate  of  potassium. 
This  fall,  in  making  another  quantity  of  the  fluid  extract,  which  re- 
quired filtration  to^separate  a  quantity  of  chlorophyll  deposited,  I  no- 
ticed that  the  greenish  mass  on  the  filter  was  glistening  with  crystals, 
and,  upon  treating  some  with  water,  obtained  from  it  a  large  quan- 
tity of  nitrate  of  potassium. 
The  presence  of  it  in  this  mass  was  evidence  that  the  salt  existed 
as  such  in  the  leaves  of  the  plant,  which  was  also  shown  to  hi  the 
case  during  the  combustion  of  leaves  and  stem?,  they  burning  with 
scintillation  and  decrepitation  almost  like  nitre  paper. 
Becoming  interested  in  the  subject,  I  was  tempted  to  extend  my 
researches,  and  accordingly  submitted  the  leaves  to  a  careful  analysis 
for  the  presence  of  a  proximate  principle,  and  the  analvsH  of  tho  ash 
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