THE  AMERICAN 
JOURNAL  OF  PHARMACY. 
NOVEMBER,  1885, 
ANALYSIS  OF  THE  KOOT  OF  STILLINGIA  SYL- 
VATICA,  Lin. 
By  William  Bichy,  Ph.G. 
Absti^act  from  a  Thesis. 
Moisture. — Two  grams  of  powdered  stillingia  root  were  placed  in  a 
weighed  porcelain  crucible,  and  dried  in  a  current  of  air  at  110°C. 
until  it  ceased  to  lose  weight.    Loss,  0*31  Gm.,  or  15*5  per  cent. 
Ash. — 5  Gm.  of  the  drug  were  ignited  at  a  low  red  heat,  in  a  suit- 
able vessel,  until  all  carbon  was  consumed,  yielding  0*25  Gra.  of  ash, 
equivalent  to  5  per  cent.,  of  which  0*051  was  soluble  in  water,  O'lOl 
in  hydrochloric  acid,  0*027  in  sodium  hydrate,  and  0*07 1  was 
insoluble. 
Benzol  Extract. — 20  Gm.  of  the  drug,  in  No.  80  powder,  were 
moistened,  placed  in  a  percolator,  and  completely  exhausted  with  ben- 
zol. The  combined  percolate  measured  150  cc,  and  yielded  TO  Gm. 
of  extract,  equivalent  to  5  per  cent.  The  extract  was  soft,  of  a  red- 
dish yellow  color,  and  consisted  of  resin,  fixed  oil,  volatile  oil,  and 
coloring  matter.  Water  dissolved  0*15  Gm.  of  the  extract,  alcohol 
0*55  Gm.  (also  soluble  in  ether  and  carbon  disulphide),  and  0*3  Gm. 
was  insoluble  in  water  and  alcohol.  The  solution  of  the  extract  in 
water,  tested  for  alkaloids  by  phosphomolybdic  acid,  platinic  chloride 
and  other  reagents  gave  negative  results ;  and  when  boiled  with  HCl, 
neutralized  with  KHO,  gave  negative  results  with  Fehling's  solution 
as  a  test  for  glucosides. 
Alcohol  Extract. — The  stillingia  treated  with  benzol  was  dried  at  a 
moderate  heat  and  exhausted  with  80  per  cent,  alcohol ;  the  combined 
percolate  measured  350  cc,  and  yielded  4*396  Gm.  of  extract,  equiva- 
lent to  21*98  per  cent.  The  extract  was  treated  with  water,  and  the 
tannin  estimated  with  a  freshly  prepared  solution  of  gelatin  and  alum. 
The  precipitate  weighed  5*16  Gm. ;  estimating  45  per  cent,  of  this  as 
tannin,  a  net  result  of  11*61  per  cent,  is  shown.    This  tannin  pro- 
34 
