108 
Gleanings  in  Materia  Medica. 
Am  Jour.  Pharm. 
Feb.,  1885. 
Soja  hispida. — E.  Meissl  and  F.  Bocker  give  the  composition  of 
the  soja  bean,  in  ronnd  numbers,  as  follows :  water  10,  soluble  casein 
30,  albumin  0*5,  insoluble  casein  7,  fat  18,  cholesterin,  etc.  2, 
dextrin  10,  starch  5,  cellulose  5,  ash  5  per  cent.,  traces  of  sugar  and 
amido  compound. — Jour.  Chem.  Soc,  1884,  p.  918;  Bied.  Centr.,  1884, 
p.  52. 
Bassia  longifolia. — E.  Valenta  ascertained  the  seeds  to  contain  fat 
51*14,  alcohol  extract  7*83,  tannin  2*12,  bitter  principle,  soluble  in 
water  0*60,  starch  0*07,  mucilage  1*65,  soluble  albumin  3*60,  extract- 
ive 15'59,  insoluble  proteids  4*40,  total  ash  2*71  (in  the  soluble 
portion  0-95),  fibre  (and  loss)  10*29  per  cent.  The  fat  is  yellow,  is 
bleached  on  exposure,  and  soon  becomes  rancid.  It  has  the  specific 
gravity  0*9175  at  15°  C,  melts  at  25*3°,  solidifies  at  17*5  to  18*5,  and 
contains  considerable  quantities  of  free  fatty  acids,  but  only  a  small 
amount  of  glycerol.  It  is  partly  soluble  in  alcohol,  entirely  soluble 
in  ether,  carbon  bisulphide,  benzene,  etc.,  and  contains  palmitin  and 
oleiu.  The  mixed  fat  acids  obtained  from  the  soap  melt  at  39*5°  and 
solidify  at  38°  C. — Dinyi  Polyt.  Jour  ,  vol.  251,  page  461. 
Oil  of  Rose  has  been  prepared  by  Schimmel  &  Co.,  Leipzig,  from 
ro.ses  grown  in  Germany ;  the  oil  is  of  a  finer  aroma  than  the  Turkish 
oil,  and  solidifies  at  32 °C.  The  congealing  point  of  Turkish  oil  of 
rose  i.s  given  by  Baur  at  between  11°  and  16°C.  The  fusing  point  of 
the  .solidified  oil  is  not  given ;  according  to  Hanbury's  observations 
(1859),  this  seems  to  be  higher  for  oil  distilled  in  northern  localities; 
for  oil  of  rose  distilled  in  London  melted  between  30*5°  and  32*2°C. 
(87°  and  91°F.) ;  Zeller  (Studien,  1850)  observed  37-5°C.  for  German 
oil. 
Belladonine. — On  boiling  commercial  belladonine  with  baryta  solu- 
tion the  atropine  contained  therein  is  decomposed,  and  belladonine 
remains  behind  as  a  brown  resin,  which,  according  to  G.  Merling, 
cannot  be  crystallized.  Its  composition  is  CiT-HgiNOg.  Dissolved  in 
diluted  alcohol,  and  boiled  with  baryta,  it  yields  tropine  and  several 
acids,  probably  tropic,  atropic  and  isatropic  acids. 
The  liquid  obtained  above,  after  removing  the  baryta  with  carbonic 
acid,  yields  to  ether  several  bases,  among  them  the  one  named  oxytro- 
pine  by  Ladenburg  (see  "Am.  Jour.  Phar.,''  1884,  p.  597),  which  the 
author  believes  exists  ready  formed  in  commercial  belladonine. — 
Berichte,  1884,  p.  381-385. 
