Am.  Jour.  Pharm.\ 
Oct.,  1893.  / 
Datura  Stramonium. 
481 
Henbane  Leaves. 
Stramonium  Leaves. 
Gravimetric  method 
without  titration. 
Dragendorff 's 
volumetric 
method. 
Gravimetric 
method  without 
titration. 
Dragendorff  s 
volumetric 
method. 
Per  cent. 
o'i66* 
0-177 
o-i6o 
Per  cent. 
0-25* 
0*20 
0*22 
Per  cent. 
0*42 
0-36* 
Per  cent. 
0*64 
0-59* 
It  appears  questionable  whether  the  figures  of  Guenther,  Lefort, 
etc.,  are  absolutely  reliable  in  face  of  the  fact  that  they  did  not 
titrate  their  results,  especially  since  titration  with  volumetric  acid 
solution  has  been  admitted  here*  and  in  Europe  to  be  the  most 
reliable  means  of  correctly  assaying  alkaloidal  drugs.  The  follow- 
ing figures  were  obtained  from  a  series  of  assays  of  the  various 
parts  of  the  plant  Datura  Stramonium,  viz  :  leaves,  stems,  seeds  and 
roots.  The  plants  were  gathered  in  the  vicinity  of  Baltimore,  where 
they  grow  wild  during  the  months  of  July  and  August.  The  parts 
of  the  plants  were  separated  while  still  green,  some  being  cut  up 
and  assayed  at  once  undried,  the  rest,  however,  were  carefully  dried, 
powdered  and  assayed  about  a  week  after  they  were  gathered.  The 
stems,  roots  and  leaves  marked  "  a"  and  "  b  "  were  all  taken  from 
the  same  plants,  which  too  were  gathered  in  July,  but  the  seed  were 
older  and  were  taken  from  a  lot  whose  origin  was  not  known.  The 
parts  marked  "  c  "  were  gathered  in  August,  part  being  assayed  in 
the  fresh  green  state,  part  being  used  to  determine  the  amount  of 
moisture1  in  order  to  be  able  to  compare  the  percentages  in  the  dry 
and  moist  conditions  directly,  part  finally  being  used  for  drying  and 
being  then  assayed  in  the  form  of  a  dry  fine  powder.  Those  parts 
that  were  assayed  in  the  green  or  fresh  condition  are  marked 
"green  "  in  the  table  below.  The  methods  of  assay  used  were  the 
method  of  Lyons2  for  the  determinations  marked  "  a,"  and  that  of 
Dragendorff3  for  those  marked  "  b  "  and  "  c."  Dragendorff's  method 
1  The  percentage  of  moisture  varies  from  seventy -five  to  eighty-five  per  cent. 
2  Lyons — Manual  of  Pharmaceutical  Assaying  (Lyons),  §  29,  p.  20. 
3  Dragendorff— Manual  of  Pharmaceutical  Assaying  (Lyons),  \  91,  p.  48. 
