312 
Glycyrrhiza  Extracts. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharrn. 
June,  1884. 
REMARKS  ON  GLYCYRRHIZA  EXTRACTS. 
By  the  Editor. 
The  results  obtained  by  Mr.  Schroeder,  as  given  in  the  preceding 
paper,  although  absolute  correctness  is  not  claimed  for  them,  neverthe- 
less appear  to  possess  considerable  pharmaceutical  interest.  Since 
uncombined  glycyrrhizin  is  sparingly  soluble,  not  entirely  insoluble, 
in  cold  water  and  dissolves  freely  in  boiling  water,  it  is  evident  that 
the  loss  of  this  compound  has  been  the  greater  the  more  frequently 
purification  was  attempted  by  re-solution  in  ammonia  and  reprecipita- 
tion  by  acid.  Sestini  in  1878  showed  that  fresh  liquorice  root  contain- 
ing 48*7  per  cent,  of  moisture  yielded  3*27  per  cent,  of  glycyrrhizin, 
which  is  equal  to  6*37  per  cent,  for  the  diy  root.  Delondre  in  1856 
obtained  from  liquorice  root  by  successive  treatment  with  cold  water, 
boiling  water  and  steam,  15,  7*5  and  16,  or  a  total  of  38*5  per  cent,  of 
extract,  which,  if  all  the  glycyrrhizin  is  present,  would  contain  about 
16' 5  per  cent,  of  this  compound.  The  largest  amount  obtained  by 
Mr.  Schroeder's  process  wras  8*6  per  cent.  A  portion  of  this  deficiency 
is  due  to  the  water  present  in  the  commercial  extract,  which  Madsen 
("Am.  Jour.  Phar.,"  1882,  p.  7)  found  to  vary  between  10*5  and  16*5 
per  cent. 
That  different  lots  of  the  same  brand  of  liquorice  vary  to  some 
extent  has  been  repeatedly  shown.  Mr.  Madsen  in  examining  six 
samples  of  "  Baracco  M  liquorice  (air  dry)  found  the  matter  insoluble 
in  cold  water  to  vary  between  21*1  and  37*5  per  cent. ;  extract  soluble 
in  water  and  reprecipitated  by  alcohol,  26*65  to  45*60 ;  ash,  6*06  to 
14*23;  sugar,  7*33  to  15*17,  and  arabin,  1*52  to  10*49  per  cent. 
Determinations  of  insoluble  matter  in  liquorice  were  made  by  W.  N. 
Martindell  ("Am.  Jour.  Phar./'  1873,  p.  151);  the  figures  obtained 
by  him  for  500  grains  of  commercial  extracts,  as  compared  with  Mr. 
Schroeder's  results,  are  as  follows : 
Corigliano  218  gr.  M.,  150  gr.  S.  ;         P.  &  S  248  gr.  M.,  125  gr.  S. ; 
Ouzzolini  175  gr.  M.,  132  gr.  S.  ;         M.  &  R  116  gr.  M.,  180  gr.  S. 
The  U.  S.  Pharmacopoeia  requires  that  not  less  than  60  per  cent,  of 
the  extract  should  be  soluble  in  cold  water.  The  water  naturally 
present  in  the  extract  is  obviously  included  in  the  soluble  matter.  The 
German  Pharmacopoeia  states  that  700  parts  of  the  extract,  dried  at 
100°C,  must  leave  a  residue  weighing  at  least  83  parts  (=  not  over 
