56 
Current  Literature. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
January,  1920. 
brown  and  almost  opaque.  The  magenta  liquid  apparently  con- 
sisted of  two  colored  substances,  a  red  compound  soluble  in  water, 
and  a  blue  compound  readily  soluble  in  ether,  but  both  were  exceed- 
ingly unstable  and  were  rapidly  decomposed  by  water,  acids  or  alka- 
lies. Apparently  the  color  reaction  is  due  to  condensation  of  the 
carboxyl  groups  of  the  acid,  with  possibly  elimination  of  water  or 
addition  of  acetic  anhydride.  Applied  as  a  test  the  reaction  is  ca- 
pable of  detecting  o.oi  Mgm.  of  aconitic  acid.  None  of  the  other 
acids  in  sugar-cane  juice  give  the  reaction,  but  citric  acid  may  be 
detected  by  melting  it  in  a  test-tube,  when  traces  of  aconitic  acid  are 
produced,  which  then  react  with  the  acetic  anhydride.  (From  The 
Analyst,  Sept.,  1919.) 
Estimation  of  Lactic  Acid  by  Oxidation. — O.  Schuppli 
(Trav.  Chim.  Aliment.  Suisse de Hyg. Pub.,  i9i9,p.  4.4.]  Ann.  Chim.anal. 
AppL,  1:  222,  1919). — Szeberenyi  has  devised  a  method  of  esti- 
mating lactic  acid  by  oxidizing  it  by  chromic  acid  into  acetic  acid, 
carbon  dioxide  and  water,  distilling  the  acetic  acid  in  a  current  of 
steam,  and  titrating  the  distillate  with  standard  alkali  solution. 
Other  organic  acids,  including  malic,  tartaric  and  oxalic  acids,  are 
completely  oxidized  to  carbon  dioxide  and  water.  In  test  experi- 
ments it  was  found  that  97  per  cent,  of  lactic  acid  was  oxidized  into 
acetic  acid,  carbon  dioxide  and  water,  and  3  per  cent,  completely 
oxidized  to  carbon  dioxide  and  water.  The  author  finds  that  this 
method  gives  satisfactory  results  with  solutions  of  pure  organic 
acids,  but  that  when  applied  to  wines  it  gives  higher  results  than 
those  obtained  with  Moslinger's  method,  owing  to  some  of  the  other 
constituents  undergoing  incomplete  oxidation,  and  yielding  volatile 
acids.  This  was  confirmed  by  experiments  with  cane  sugar.  (From 
The  Analyst,  Sept.,  1919.) 
L0ROG1.0SSIN,  A  New  Glucoside  in  Loroglossum  Hircinum. 
• — The  biochemical  method  has  given  the  authors  indication  of  the 
presence  of  one  or  more  glucosides  in  the  aerial  organs  of  all  the 
native  French  orchids  investigated.  These  included  members  of  the 
genera  Aceras,  Cephalanthera,  Epipactis,  Limodorum,  Neottia,  Pla- 
tanthera,  Ophrys,  Orchis  and  Loroglossum.  A  considerable  quantity 
of  Loroglossum  hircinum  was  cultivated  before  the  war,  but  the 
investigation  of  the  material  has  been  possible  only  recently.  It 
has  yielded  a  new  5-glucoside,  loroglossin,  crystallizing  in  colorless, 
