Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  \ 
August,  1896.  J 
'Jaborandi  and  Its  Alkaloids. 
447 
The  leaves  of  Ceara  jaborandi,  Pilocarpus  trachylophus,  yielded 
0*4  per  cent,  of  alkaloid,  but  only  0  02  per  cent,  of  crystallizable 
nitrate. 
From  the  leaves  of  Pilocarpus  jaborandi  we  obtained  0  72  per 
cent,  of  alkaloid,  yielding  0  67  per  cent,  crystallizable  nitrate,  with  a 
melting  point  of  161 0  C. ;  it  was  separable  on  recrystallization  into 
nearly  equal  portions,  melting  respectively  at  162-67°  and  158-3°  C. 
A  sample  of  reputed  jaborandi  leaves  was  found,  on  examination, 
to  contain  : 
Leaves  of  Pilocarpus  jaborandi   •  12 
Leaves  of  Pilocarpus  trachylophus  38 
Stalks    .....  ?   .  i  .  .  .  .  50 
100 
On  analysis,  it  yielded  0-13  percent,  of  alkaloid,  rather  more  than 
half  of  it  being  convertible  into  crystalline  nitrate  that  was  separated 
by  recrystallization  into  portions  melting  at  157-7°  and  147-7°  C. 
The  following  table  gives  a  concise  statement  of  our  results  : 
Total 
Alkaloid. 
Per  Cent. 
Crystallizable 
Nitrate. 
Per  Cent. 
Recrystallized 
Nitrate. 
Melting 
Point. 
Pil.  spicatus  .... 
Fil.  trachylophus  . 
Pil.  jaborandi 
Pil.  microphyllus 
•16 
•40 
72 
•84 
•02 
•67  (161°  m.p.) 
•45  (1600  m.  p.) 
(•03 
{-.' 
{■11 
\  '22 
151-5° 
130-5° 
162-7° 
158-3° 
162-7° 
147-7° 
From  these  results  it  is  apparent  that,  while  the  several  kinds  of 
jaborandi  leaves  met  with  in  commerce  differ  considerably  in  the 
amount  of  alkaloid  they  contain,  the  product  obtained  is  probably 
always  a  mixture  of  two  or  more  distinct  alkaloids.  The  question 
whether  the  alkaloids  hitherto  described  are  natural  constituents  of 
the  leaves  or  products  of  the  alteration  of  pilocarpine,  cannot  at 
present  be  answered.   According  to  Harnack1  and  Merck,  jaborandi 
1  Chem.  Centralb.,  1885,  62S  ;  Jour.  Chem.  Soc,  1,  85  ;  and  Pharm.  Jour.  (3), 
16,  106. 
