240  Researches  on  Opium  Alkaloids.      { Am rm* 
The  following  results  were  obtained : 
(1)  -5165  grm.  gave  1-207  grm.  C02  and  -260  grm.  H20. 
(2)  -2070  grm.  gave  -4835  grm.  C02  and  -106  grm.  H20. 
(3)  -288  grm.  gave  -673  grm.  C02  and  -1448  grm.  H20. 
(4)  -602  grm.  gave  17  8  cc.  N  ;  B  =  758  mm ;  t  =  8°  C. 
(5)  '573  grm-  Save  I7'4  cc.  N;  B  =  752  mm;  t  =  90  C. 
Calculated  for  Found. 
C22Ho3N07         C^HgeNoOn  i  2  3*4  5 
C,   63-93  62-96       63*73     63-70      63-73       —  — 
H,   5"57  5-56         5'59       5*69       5'57       —  — 
N,  ......  .      3-39  4'32  —         —         —        3*56  3*61 
The  analyses  show  that  gnoscopine  is  isomeric  with  narcotine. 
To  make  this  absolutely  certain,  a  combustion  of  pure  narcotine 
was  made  with  the  following  result : 
•4125  grm.  narcotine  gave  '9645  grm.  C02  and  -2085  grm.  H20 ; 
or,  C  =  63-77  per  cent.;  H  =  5  62  per  cent. 
That  gnoscopine  is  a  distinctly  different  alkaloid  from  narcotine 
is  shown  by  its  melting  point,  which  lies  at  2280  C,  while  narcotine 
melts  at  1780  C.  Further,  by  its  slight  solubility  in  boiling  alcohol 
(the  solubility  being  only  about  one-tenth  of  that  of  narcotine),  by 
the  characteristic  slender  needles  in  which  it  is  almost  entirely 
deposited  from  the  hot  alcoholic  solution  on  cooling,  and  by  its 
hydrochlorate,  which  crystallizes  with  ease  from  slightly  acidified 
watery  solutions  in  colorless  flat  prisms  of  a  glassy  lustre,  whereas  the 
hydrochlorate  of  narcotine  forms  hard  crusts  of  white  needle-shaped 
crystals. 
The  hydrochlorate  of  gnoscopine  readily  loses  water  of  crystalliza- 
tion if  exposed  to  the  air;  when  heated  to  1200  the  crystals  swell 
up,  leaving  the  alkaloid  as  a  white  spongy  mass. 
1-26  grm.  of  air-dry  hydrochlorate,  but  slightly  opaque,  heated 
for  two  hours  to  1200  C,  lost  -225  grm.  or  17-86  per  cent. 
C22H23N07,HC1  +  3H20  contain  17-97  per  cent.  (H20  +  HC1). 
On  the  other  hand,  gnoscopine  and  narcotine  show  identical 
reactions  when  treated  with  sulphuric  and  nitric  acids,  and  yield 
the  same  products  of  oxidation  when  gently  heated  with  a  mixture 
of  sulphuric  acid  and  manganese  peroxide. 
The  experiment  of  converting  narcotine  into  isomeric  gnoscopine 
has  proved  quite  successful.  When  narcotine  is  heated  with  glacial 
acetic  acid  in  a  sealed  tube  to  1300  C.  for  two  or  three  hours,  the 
liquid  contents  of  the  tube  being  then  diluted  and  precipitated  by 
