Am.  Jour.  Pharm. ) 
Nov.,  1885.  / 
Assay  of  Ipecac. 
533 
be  readily  prepared,  although  these  salts  require  careful  manipulation 
to  obtain  them  in  the  crystalline  form.  Glenard  observes  that  ammo- 
nia does  not  precipitate  from  solutions  containing  an  excess  of  (hydro- 
chloric) acid  all  of  the  alkaloid,  a  portion  being  retained  in  the  solu- 
tion, probably  in  the  form  of  a  double  salt  of  emetine  and  ammonia. 
In  1877  MM.  Lefort  and  Wiirtz  published  ("Journal  de  Pharmacie") 
a  process  involving  the  same  general  principles,  but  taking  advantage, 
in  the  first  stage  of  the  operation,  of  the  sparing  solubility  of  the 
nitrate.  "An  alcoholic  extract  of  ipecacuanha  is  dissolved  in  about 
its  own  weight  of  water.  A  cold  saturated  solution  of  potassium 
nitrate  is  added,  until  a  precipitate  ceases  to  fall,  and  the  mixture  is  set 
aside  24  hours.  The  abundant  pitchy,  blackish  brown  deposit  is 
washed  three  or  four  times  with  a  small  quantity  of  water,  dissolved 
in  a  little  hot  alcohol,  and  thrown  into  a  tliick  milk  of  lime,  contain- 
ing about  its  own  weight  of  calcium  hydrate.  The  mixture  is  evapor- 
ated to  dryness  on  a  water-bath,  the  mass  powdered  and  extracted  by 
maceration  with  ether." 
Podwissotzky  in  1880  ("  Pharm.  Zeitschr.  fiir  Russl.")  published 
an  improved  method  for  preparing  pure  emetine,  and  described  anew 
the  properties  of  the  alkaloid.  His  process  depends  on  the  solubility 
of  emetine  in  hot  petroleum  benzin.  He  recommends  to  treat  the 
powdered  drug  with  ether,  then  with  petroleum  benzin,  to  remove 
fatty  and  waxy  matter,  to  exhaust  the  })owder  with  85  percent,  alcohol 
employing  a  moderate  heat,  but  without  addition  of  acid,  to  evaporate 
the  extract  to  the  consistence  of  a  syriip,  and  when  cold  add  ferric 
chloride  (10  to  13  per  cent,  of  the  weight  of  the  drug)  in  concentrated 
aqueous  solution ;  then  having  added  an  excess  of  sodium  carbonate, 
to  boil  the  mixture  with  several  successive  portions  of  petroleum  ben- 
zin as  long  as  alkaloid  is  taken  up.  The  solution  when  cold  deposits 
the  alkaloid  in  white  flakes,  and  the  product  is  very  pure.  An  alter- 
native process  is  given  which  is  much  simpler.  The  powdered  ipecac- 
uanha is  triturated  to  a  thick  paste  with  a  little  hydrochloric  acid, 
ferric  chloride  added  as  before,  then  sodium  carbonate,  and  the  mixture 
is  allowed  to  stand  some  time.  It  is  then  extracted  with  successive 
portions  of  ether,  the  alkaloid  removed  from  the  ethereal  solution  by 
acidulated  water.  Soda  is  then  added  in  excess,  and  the  alkaloid  re- 
moved by  boiling  petroleum  benzin,  as  in  the  first  process.  The 
author  states  that  the  best  kinds  of  ipecacuanha  yield  from  three- 
quarters  to  one  per  cent,  of  emetine;  inferior  kinds  only  one-quarter 
to  one-half  of  one  per  cent. 
