A.m.  Jour  Pharm. 
Nov.,  1885. 
Adonis  Vernalis. 
579 
ance  of  too  high  a  temperature  in  operating  upon  the  alcoholic  solu- 
tion of  adonidin,  which  would  give  rise  to  a  deeper  brown  color. 
Chemical  and  Physical  Characters  of  Adonidin. — Adonidin  generally 
occurs  in  the  amorphous  state,  but  after  a  long  desiccation  the  author 
has  obtained  a  substance  presenting  a  diffuse  and  radiating  crystalliza- 
tion. Ammonia  vapor  is  sufficient  to  put  a  stop  to  this  crystallization. 
The  adonidin,  spread  in  a  thin  layer  on  a  plate,  requires  to  be  kept 
under  an  exhausted  bell  glass  in  the  presence  of  sulphuric  acid  for  at 
least  a  month  in  order  to  obtain  a  product  relatively  dry  and  it  then 
forms  a  rather  hygroscopic  canary-yellow  powder. 
The  taste  of  this  glucoside  is  very  freely  bitter,  and  it  is  difficult  to 
remove  from  the  mouth  the  decided  bitterness  it  provokes. 
Adonidin  is  rather  soluble  in  water,  though  it  requires  a  short  time 
to  undergo  a  complete  solution.  Alcohol  and  amylic  alcohol  also  dis- 
solve it  in  the  cold.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  insoluble  in  anhydrous 
ether,  chloroform,  oil  of  turpentine,  and  benzin.  It  retains  sufficient 
water  to  render  it  necessary,  before  using  it  for  an  elementary  analysis, 
to  dry  it  at  a  temperature  below  100°C. 
The  quantity  of  adonidin  contained  in  the  Adonis  vernalis  \^  small, 
ten  kilograms  scarcely  yielding  two  grams  of  dry  substance.  The 
glucoside  exists  even  in  the  rhizomes  and  rootlets  of  the  plant,  but 
insufficiency  of  material  has  prevented  the  author  from  determining 
in  what  proportion. 
Adonidin,  when  heated  in  a  current  of  dry  air  in  an  oil-bath  at  a 
temperature  between  80°  and  85°C.  until  the  weight  was  constant, 
lost  3*14  per  cent,  of  its  weight  of  water,  but  underwent  no  perceptible 
change  in  its  pliysical  properties.  Between  85°  and  90°  it  became 
browner  in  color,  and  at  100°,  nearly  black.  Upon  ignition  it  gave  off 
a  vapor  with  a  very  penetrating  and  persistent  odor,  comparable  to 
that  of  cut  hay. 
Adonidin  is  a  neutral  body,  solutions  having  no  other  action  upon 
litmus  paper  than  imparting  to  it  a  yellowish  tint.  Under  the  influ- 
ence of  ammonia  the  glucoside  browns  somewhat  intensely.  A  solu- 
tion heated  with  potash  is  sensibly  decolorized,  and  in  the  mass  of  the 
liquid  may  be  observed  the  formation  of  yellow  resinous  corpuscles, 
insoluble  in  water.  Baryta  gives  with  adonidin  no  appreciable  preci- 
pitate, and  it  is  impossible  to  recognize  the  evolution  of  any  ammoni- 
acal  odor.  Subacetate  of  lead  produces  a  certain  cloudiness  in  solu- 
tions of  the  glucoside.    Tannin  produces  in  dilute  solutions  an  abun- 
