5[i'!;y;^885!™"}        Active  Principle  of  Senna  Leaves.  257 
The  watery  decoction  of  the  leaves  was  treated  with  acetate  of  lead, 
filtered,  the  excess  of  lead  in  the  filtrate  removed  by  sulphuretted 
hydrogen,  and  the  sulphide  of  lead  got  rid  of  by  again  filtering. 
This  second  filtrate  was  then  evaporated  to  dryness,  and  treated  with 
spirit  of  wine,  the  alcoholic  solution  being  subsequently  eva|3orated  to 
the  consistence  of  an  extract,  again  treated  with  spirit  of  wine  con- 
taining sulphuric  acid  (to  precipitate  the  sulphate  of  ])otash  which  is 
insoluble  in  alcohol),  and  filtered.  The  excess  of  sulphuric  acid  was 
neutralized  with  acetate  of  lead,  and  the  excess  of  the  latter  removed 
in  its  turn  with  sulphuretted  hydrogen.  On  evaporating  the  liquid, 
cathartin  was  obtained.  They  describe  it  as  being  yellow  in  color, 
actively  purgative,  and  give  an  account  of  its  solubility  in  various 
menstrua.  They  also  isolated  a  body  which  they  thought  to  be  the 
coloring  matter  of  the  leaves.  Heerlein,^  however,  found  that  cath- 
artin prepared  as  above  was  quite  inert  as  a  purgative,  and  that  the 
same  holds  good  for  the  tincture  made  from  the  leaves  with  strong 
alcohol. 
There  appeared  about  the  same  time  several  other  papers  on  senna, 
none  of  which  are  of  much  importance  with  the  exception  of  one  by 
Bley  and  Diesel.^  These  chemists  obtained  a  brown  extractive  body 
which  they  considered  identical  with  cathartin,  and  a  yellow  resin 
which  they  named  chrysoretin,  on  account  of  its  resemblance  to  chrys- 
ophanic  acid.  They  took  the  chrysoretin  in  doses  up  to  30  grains,  the 
brown  resin  to  60  grains,  and  the  cathartin  to  90  grains  without  caus- 
diarrhoea.  They  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  taste,  odor  and  pur- 
gative qualities  of  the  drug  depend  on  the  combined  action  of  the 
brown  extractive  matter  and  the  chrysoretin,  and  that  the  inorganic 
salts  and  other  constituents  of  the  drug  are  quite  inert. 
Following  this  came  a  series  of  papers  from  Buchheim's  laboratory. 
The  first  of  these  is  by  Tundermann,^  who  stated  that  the  active  prin- 
ciple is  very  sparingly  extracted  by  alcohol  of  85  per  cent,  strength, 
and  therefore  tried  to  obtain  it  by  precipitating  the  watery  infusion 
with  strong  alcohol.  The  resulting  precipitate  when  dried  formed  a 
brown  powder,  which  was  strongly  purgative.  He  states  positively 
that  it  is  not  the  cathartin  of  Lassaigne  and  Feneulle,  but  thinks  that 
'  FharmaceutisGhes  Centralblatt,  1847. 
Archiv  der  Fharmacie,  Bd.  105. 
Meletemata  de  Senn?e  Foliis,"  Dorpat,  1856. 
17 
