Am.  Jour.  Pharm. ) 
December,  1920.  ) 
Current  Literature. 
933 
CURRENT  LITERATURE. 
SCIENTIFIC  AND  TECHNICAL  ABSTRACTS. 
Tkst  for  Formaldehyde:  in  MiIvK. — Fuchsine  furnishes  a  test 
for  the  presence  of  formaldehyde,  the  red  color  being  turned  to  violet 
with  a  very  small  quantity.  A.  Gallego  {Revists  Espanola  de  Med. 
y  Cir.y  Jan.  1920,  p.  10)  recommends  the  employment  of  fuchsine 
as  a  test  for  the  presence  of  formaldehyde  in  milk;  the  addition  of 
a  few  drops  of  solution  of  fuchsine  to  a  few  Cc.  of  milk  produces  a 
pink  tint,  which  deepens  to  violet  when  formaldehyde  is  present 
even  in  the  dilution  of  i :  100,000.  (From  The  Prescriber,  October, 
1920.) 
CandkIvILLA  Wax. — Two  Mexican  Euphorbiacae,  Pedilanthus  pa~ 
vonis  and  Pedilanthus  aphyllius,  yield  a  wax  known  as  candelilla  wax, 
which  is  obtained  by  immercing  the  stems  in  boiling  water  and  col- 
lecting the  wax,  which  floats  on  the  surface.  The  yield  is  about 
3  per  cent.,  and  in  view  of  the  fact  that  this  wax  has  recently  been 
found  in  commerce  and  mistaken  for  a  sophisticated  sample  of 
carnauba  wax,  Farcy  {Ann.  fals.  et  fraudes,  p.  97,  1920)  undertook 
an  examination  of  candelilla  wax,  which  yielded  the  following  results : 
Specific  gravity   i  .001  to  i  .002 
Melting  point   64°  to  65° 
Free  acids   18°  to  19° 
(From  The  Chemist  and  Druggist,  October  2,  1920.) 
PrKparation  of  Emetink  Hydrochloride. — Dr.  Juan  L.  Ague 
{Boletin  Farmaceutico,  Lima)  asserts  that  the  emetine  hydro- 
chloride of  commerce  is  sometimes  not  a  pure  product,  but  contains 
a  certain  amojint  of  cephaeline  and  psychotrine,  to  which  the  local 
irritant  action  on  injection  is  attributable,  and  in  addition  has  a  less 
powerful  amoebicide  action  than  the  pure  alkaloid.  He  indicates 
the  following  method  for  preparing  the  pure  salt:  200  Gms.  of 
powdered  ipecacuanha-root  is  exhausted  with  a  mixture  of  800  Cc. 
of  ether  and  400  Cc.  of  chloroform;  after  a  few  hours  the  mixture 
is  shaken  and  160  Cc.  of  20  per  cent,  solution  of  ammonia  added, 
and  the  whole  allowed  to  stand  for  three  hours.  After  adding  160 
Cc.  of  distilled  water  and  allowing  to  stand  the  liquid  is  decanted, 
treated  with  4  per  cent,  hydrochloric  acid,  rendered  alkaline  by  the 
addition  of  20  per  cent,  solution  of  ammonia,  whereupon  it  is  ex- 
Total  acids . .  . 
Iodine  index.  . 
Hydrocarbons 
66°  to  67° 
20°  to  21  ° 
35  per  cent. 
