Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  1 
August,  ls96.  J 
Rumex  Nepalensis. 
443 
solved  readily  in  hot  alcohol,  acetone  or  glacial  acetic  acid,  readily 
also  in  chloroform,  but  scarcely  at  all  in  petroleum  ether.  The 
melting  point  was  from  1860  to  1880. 
To  potassium  hydrate  solution  it  imparted  a  purple-red  color, 
which,  on  exposure  to  the  air,  gradually  faded.  To  an  aqueous  solu- 
tion of  potassium  carbonate  it  gave  a  very  light  rose  color.  Heated 
with  alcoholic  potash  solution,  magnificent  purple-colored  prisms  were 
deposited,  which,  on  exposure,  quickly  became  yellow.  On  heating 
with  hydriodic  acid,  no  alkyl  iodide  was  developed,  but  on  the  other 
hand  a  body  perfectly  identical  with  chrysophanhydanthron  pro- 
duced from  chrysophanic  acid  under  the  same  condition. 
The  only  essential  difference,  therefore,  between  rumicin  and 
chrysophanic  acid  was  that  of  their  melting  points.  The  hypothesis 
of  their  being  physical  isomers  was  not  confirmed  after  numerous 
experiments  to  convert  these  bodies  one  into  the  other. 
Nepalin. — The  crude  nepalin,  obtained  as  previously  described, 
dissolved  by  gently  boiling  with  benzene.  To  this  solution  three  or 
four  times  its  volume  of  petroleum  ether  was  added  and  the  liquid 
boiled  a  short  time.  A  dark  brown  flocculent  body  separated,  which 
was  easily  removed  by  filtration.  From  the  filtrate  was  obtained  a 
copious  crystallization  of  nepalin,  which  was  further  purified  by  re- 
crystallization  from  boiling  glacial  acetic  acid. 
This  substance  formed  orange-colored  microscopic  needles,  which 
melted  at  136°  to  a  red  liquid.  It  was  not  volatile,  but  at  a  high 
temperature  was  completely  decomposed.  It  contained  no  water  of 
crystallization,  and  at  100°  showed  no  loss.  Its  composition  corres- 
ponded to  the  formula  C]7H1404. 
It  dissolved  readily  in  hot  glacial  acetic  acid,  readily  also  in  ben- 
zene and  chloroform,  well  in  alcohol,  acetone  and  ether,  colored 
petroleum  ether  yellow,  but  was  only  very  slightly  affected  by  this 
solvent ;  with  potassium  hydrate  it  gave  a  purple-colored  solution, 
which,  on  exposure  to  the  air,  was  nearly  completely  decolorized 
by  absorption  of  C02,  whereby  nepalin  separated  as  a  yellow  crystal- 
line precipitate.  In  an  aqueous  solution  of  potassium  or  sodium 
carbonate  it  was  nearly  insoluble,  very  slightly  soluble  in  ammonia, 
to  which  it  gave  a  red  color,  and  on  the  addition  of  barium  chloride 
Calculated. 
Found. 
Carbon  .  , 
Hydrogen 
72-34 
4-96 
72-11 
5-01 
