Am.  Juur.  Phaim  ) 
May,  1885.  j 
Experiments  on  Strychnine. 
255 
(Jhlorostrychnine. — Before  proceeding  to  describe  my  further  expe- 
riments with  bromostrychnine,  I  may  point  out  that,  although  I  have 
not  made  any  experiments  on  chJorostrychnine,  yet  the  above  affords 
an  explanation  of  the  discordant  results  obtained  by  Laurent  and 
Pelletier. 
The  former,  by  a  method  analogous  to  that  by  which  he  obtained 
bromostrychnine,  prepared  a  substance  which  yielded  a  crystalline  sul- 
phate, and  was  shown  by  analysis  to  be  chlorostrychnine,  C21H21CIN2O  ; 
whilst  Pelletier,  by  completely  precipitating  a  solution  of  strychnine 
with  chlorine,  obtained  a  compound  which  contained  24' 57  per  cent, 
of  chlorine.  From  the  mode  of  its  formation,  and  from  the  fact  that 
the  formula  for  dichloride  of  monochlorostrychnine  requires  24*2  |)er 
cent,  of  chlorine,  I  think  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  Pelletier's  com- 
pound stands  in  the  same  relation  to  Laurent's  that  the  above  described 
dibromide  does  to  Laurent's  monobromostrychnine ;  so  that  for  the 
present  I  have  not  thought  it  necessary  to  examine  .them,  although 
possibly  they  may  be  of  value  in  the  future  progress  of  this  work. 
Actio7i  of  Nitric  Acid  on  Bromostrychnine. — When  this  compound 
is  heated  with  excess  of  strong  nitric  acid  for  some  hours,  copious  red 
fumes  are  evolved,  and  the  bromine  appears  to  be  almost  entirely  ex- 
pelled. On  concentrating  and  diluting,  a  resinous  precipitate  forms, 
which  consists  of  the  nitrated  bodies  that  have  been  examined  with 
somewhat  varying  results  by  Nicholson  and  Abel,  Glaus,  Hanriot,  and 
others.  The  amount  of  this  resin  represents  a  very  large  proportion 
of  the  materials  used.  The  liquid  separated  from  this  precipitate  was 
found  to  have  a  bright  yellow  color,  and  dyed  silk.  On  neutralizing 
it  with  potassium  carbonate  and  concentrating,  a  crop  of  crystals  w^as 
obtained  which  resembled  potassium  picrate  in  appearance  and  solu- 
bility;  they  were  explosive.  After  recrystallization,  a  portion  was 
examined  quantitatively. 
0-2386  gram  gave  0-0758  gram  of  K2SO4.  This  is  equivalent  to 
14-2  per  cent,  of  potassium.    The  picrate  requires  14-6  per  cent. 
The  acid  itself  was  isolated  by  extraction  with  ether  from  an  acid 
solution  of  the  salt.  The  residue,  on  evaporation,  melted  at  about 
120°  ;  it  is  therefore  the  1:2:4:6  trinitrophenol. 
On  repeating  the  above  treatment  with  strychnine  itself,  I  got  a 
similar  result.  When  I  used  ordinary  strong  nitric  acid,  I  secured 
6  J  per  cent,  of  picrate ;  so  that  allowing  for  the  inevitable  loss  in  work- 
ing on  a  small  scale,  probable  the  amount  was  not  less  than  10  per 
