38 
Extract  of  Nux  Vomica. 
(Am.  Jour.  Pharni. 
1      Jan.,  1884. 
amount  of  alkaloid  originally  found ;  (/9)  amount  of  pure  .alkaloid 
obtained  by  ammonia-tannin  process. 
a— 0*164. 
/?— 0-161. 
Twelve  commercial  specimens  of  extract  of  nux  vomica  were  now 
analyzed,  the  total  alkaloid  being  estimated  in  the  manner  above 
described  and  the  strychnine  by  a  method  of  precipitation  as  ferrocya- 
nide,  which  we  have  described  at  length  elsewhere  ("  Pharm.  Journ." 
[3],  xiv,  290) ;  the  brucine  was  estimated  by  difference.  In  addition 
the  quantity  of  "  moisture  n  indicated  by  the  loss  at  100°C.  has  in  all 
cases  been  determined.  The  results  are  recorded  in  the  following 
table  : 
Analyses  of  Extracts  of  Nux  Vomica. 
No. 
Percentage 
of  moisture. 
Percen  tage 
of  total  alkaloid. 
Percentage 
of  strychnine. 
Percentage 
of  brucine. 
1 
16  -7 
15*15 
6-63 
8-52 
2 
19  -7 
15'64 
7-44 
8-20 
3 
15-5 
10-32 
4-19 
6-13 
4  * 
15  -7 
15-16 
7-08 
8-08 
5 
16-0 
12-49 
5-53 
6-96 
6 
13-9 
12-53 
5-17 
7-36 
7 
13'8 
12-25 
4-87 
7-38 
8 
17-8 
17-54 
7-52 
10-02 
9 
13-6 
15-78 
6-41 
9-37 
10 
16-0 
15-94 
6-84 
9-10 
11 
17-3 
16  -24 
5-81 
10-43 
12 
15-9 
17-12 
8-58 
8-54 
It  will  be  seen  that,  just  as  in  the  seeds  and  tincture,  so  in  the  com- 
mercial extracts  of  nux  vomica,  our  analyses  indicate  a  serious  want  of 
uniformity  in  the  alkajoidal  content.  This  variation  in  the  extracts 
might  arise  at  least  from  two  causes :  (1)  the  difference  in  alkaloidal 
content  among  the  seeds  of  commerce ;  (2)  the  practice,  which  might 
appear  from  some  observations  subsequently  recorded  to  be  far  from 
uncommon,  of  removing  the  oil  which  separates  during  the  manufac- 
ture of  the  extract. 
