Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  \ 
March,  1885.  J 
Examination  of  Bwdoch  Fruit. 
127 
ago,  I  find  their  converting  power  not  changed^  and  my  test  results 
the  same  reported  in  January,  1884. 
From  the  investigation  now  made,  I  am  convinced  that,  as  now 
furnished  in  Michigan,  Trommer's  Extract  of  Malt  holds  a  nearly 
uniform  power  of  converting  16  to  17  parts  of  starch,  and  that 
^'Maltine^'  has  a  more  variable  power  of  converting  a  mean  of  10  to 
11  parts  of  starch.     And  I  am  convinced  that  the  samples  of 
Maltine I  obtained  in  Ann  Arbor,  a  year  ago,  were  exceptional 
samples,  as  they  had  three  times  the  starch-converting  power  possessed 
by  the  average  "  Maltine  "  of  the  Maltine  Manufacturing  Company 
supplied  in  Michigan  for  the  past  three  months. 
Ann  Arbor,  Michigan,  January  6,  1885. 
AN  EXAMINATION  OF  BURDOCK  FRUIT. 
a  contribution  from  the  chemical  laboratory  of  the  philadel- 
phia college  of  pharmacy. 
By  Henry  Trimble  and  F.  D.  Macfarland. 
Read  at  the  Pharmaceutical  Meeting^  Fehruary  17,  1885. 
The  following  analysis  of  the  fruit  of  Lappa  officinalis,  while  incom- 
plete, gives,  we  believe,  the  important  constituents  of  this  drug.  The 
moisture  determined  in  the  usual  way  was  found  to  be  7*30  per  cent., 
and  the  ash  5*34  per  cent. 
Ten  grams  reduced  to  No.  60  powder  were  thoroughly  exhausted  with 
petroleum  spirit.  This  solution,  on  evaporation  and  heating  to  110°C., 
was  found  to  consist  of  a  bland  light  yellow  fixed  oil,  representing 
15*4  per  cent,  of  the  fruit. 
The  following  are  some  of  the  important  characteristic  reactions. 
With  fuming  nitric  acid  a  brown  color  and  aromatic  odor,  but  not 
becoming  solid.  With  strong  sulphuric  acid  a  brown  color,  becoming 
thick  and  syrupy.  Exjwsed  to  the  air  in  thin  layers  the  oil  solidifies. 
Alcohol  and  absolute  alcohol  do  not  dissolve  it,  but  hot  absolute  alco- 
hol, ether,  chloroform  and  benzol  are  good  solvents.  The  specific 
gravity  is  '930,  determined  with  a  larger  amount  of  the  oil  prepared 
from  75  grams  of  the  drug.  That  portion  of  the  original  ten  grams 
remaining  after  treatment  with  petroleum  spirit  was  exhausted  with 
ether  which  dissolved  1*15  per  cent,  of  a  resin  soluble  in  alcohol. 
Absolute  alcohol  extracted  from  the  remainder  of  the  drug  12*6  per 
