98 
Preparation  of  Quassiin, 
JAm.  Jour.  Pharm. 
X       Feb.,  1884. 
permanganate  of  potassium  was  only  decolorized  after  long  standing. 
It  is  pure  benzoic  acid  and  is  identical  with  the  specimen  of  acid 
extracted  by  lime  from  Palembang  benzoin. 
From  these  experiments  it  will  also  be  seen  that  the  absence  of  urine- 
like odor  in  a  sample  of  benzoic  acid,  and  its  conformity  to  the  United 
States  Pharmacopoeia  tests  cannot  be  taken  as  indicating  that  it  has  not 
been  prepared  from  urine. 
My  thanks  are  due  to  Mr.  Holmes  for  the  assistance  he  has  given 
me  in  the  identification  of  the  resins,  and  to  Mr.  Dunstan  for  his  sug- 
gestions and  help  while  working  in  the  Laboratories  of  the  Pharma- 
ceutical Society. — Phar.  Jour,  and  Trans.,  Dec.  15,  1883.  > 
THE  PREPARATION  OF  QUASSIIN.1 
By  Adrian  and  Moreaux, 
Quassiin,  the  active  principle  of  Quassia  amara  or  Surinam  wood, 
has  long  been  presented  in  a  more  or  less  impure  extractive  form.  The 
authors  have  studied  the  different  published  methods  of  extraction 
and  have  arrived  at  the  conclusion  that  some  of  these  methods  give 
but  a  defective  product,  while  the  others,  though  producing  purer 
quassiin,  remove  but  a  small  portion  of  the  bitter  principle  contained 
in  the  wood. 
After  quoting  the  methods  for  extraction  given  by  Soubeiran, 
Pelouze,  Wurtz,  Wiggers,  and  Christiansen,  the  authors  state  that  by 
the  following  process,  which  is  their  own,  a  purer  and  more  abundant 
product  is  obtained. 
Very  sound  wood  reduced  to  thin  shavings  is  exhausted  by  the  aid 
of  boiling  distilled  water,  either  by  displacement  or  by  decoction,  car- 
bonate of  potash  being  added  to  the  extent  of  5  grams  per  kilogram 
of  quassia.  The  liquor  is  then  concentrated  by  evaporation,  first  by 
the  open  fire,  afterwards  in  a  water-bath,  to  the  consistence  of  a  soft 
extract ;  a  mean  of  60  grams  per  kilogram  of  quassia  being  obtained. 
The  extract  is  afterwards  suspended  in  hot  90°  alcohol,  and  after 
standing  a  few  moments  the  supernatant  alcohol  is  decanted ;  the  pro- 
cess being  repeated  a  second  and  third  time,  so  as  to  thoroughly 
exhaust  the  extract.  The  alcoholic  liquor  is  allowed  to  stand  twenty- 
four  hours,  during  which  it  deposits  extractive  matter  and  salts  dis- 
1  From  the  Rep.  de  Pharm.,  n.  s.,  vol.  xi.,  pp.  246-250,  (Juin,  1883). 
