Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  ) 
Sept,  1,  1874.  / 
Oil  from  Nux  Vomica. 
405 
OIL  FROM  NUX  VOMICA. 
By  Charles  Bullock. 
In  the  preparation  of  extract  of  nux  vomica,  with  the  intention  of 
having  the  extract  sufficiently  hard  to  permit  of  pulverization,  the 
hardening  process  was  conducted  in  a  porcelain  vessel  heated  by  a 
steam  jacket.  As  the  extract  solidified  each  night  on  cooling,  the 
oily  matter  rose  to  the  surface,  and  was  removed  before  reheating. 
From  150  pounds  of  nux  vomica  five  pints  of  oil  were  obtained. 
To  ascertain  whether  this  oil  contained  any  notable  portion  of  the 
alkaloids  of  nux  vomica,  four  fluidounces  of  the  oil  was  agitated  with 
water  acidulated  with  sulphuric  acid,  the  water  allowed  to  separate 
by  long  standing,  and  then  was  removed.  The  process  of  washing 
was  repeated  as  long  as  the  washings  were  disturbed  by  a  solution  of 
caustic  soda. 
On  the  addition  of  the  soda  solution  to  a  slight  excess  immediate 
precipitation  occurred,  the  precipitate  on  stirring  aggregated  into  a 
wax-like  mass,  at  the  end  of  twenty-four  hours  the  solution  was  filled 
with  a  copious  gelatinous  deposit.  Both  precipitates  were  collected 
on  a  filter,  washed  to  remove  the  excess  of  alkali  and  treated  with 
water  acidulated  with  sulphuric  acid  until  exhausted.  The  acid  solu- 
tion was  neutralized  with  soda;  the  alkaloids  collected  on  a  filter,  dried 
and  dissolved  in  hot  dilute  alcohol.  The  alcoholic  solution  yielded 
10'6  grains  of  alkaloids. 
The  presence  of  strychnia  was  shown  by  the  characteristic  violet 
color,  when  treated  with  sulphuric  acid  and  chromate  of  potassium, 
but  as  the  alkaloids  dissolved  almost  completely  in  warm  absolute 
alcohol,  strychnia  could  only  be  present  in  small  quantity,  the  major 
part  being  brucia. 
The  gelatinous  matter  when  dry  weighed  14  grains.  Heated  on 
platinum  foil  it  remained  unchanged,  and  was  sparingly  soluble  in 
hydrochloric  acid.  When  boiled  with  a  solution  of  pure  carbonate  of 
potassium,  and  the  filtered  solution  neutralized  with  nitric  acid,  the 
addition  of  nitrate  of  barium  produced  no  change  (absence  of 
sulphuric  and  phosphoric  acids).  The  insoluble  portion  remained  in- 
soluble in  dilute  hydrochloric  acid,  the  precipitate  was,  therefore,  not 
a  salt  of  the  alkaline  earths. 
A  second  portion  was  fused  with  pure  caustic  soda,  the  fused  mass 
dissolved  completely  in  water.  To  a  part  solution  of  chloride  of 
ammonium  was  added,  producing  a  copious  flocculent  precipitate,  show- 
