338 
Pseudomorphine. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
June,  1884. 
ter  base  their  argument.  On  the  latter  supposition,  the  author  should 
have  obtained  dimethyl  propylamine  by  the  decomposition  of  metho- 
codeine  methylhydroxide,  whereas  he  only  obtained  trimethylamine. 
He  believes  the  decomposition  to  take  place  according  to  the  equation : 
C18H20NO3(CH3),CH3OH  =  N(CH3)3  +  C15H10O2  +  CH3OH  + 
CH2  4-  2H20. 
The  ethyl  compound  would  then  give  ethylene  in  the  place  of 
methylene,  and  this  was  observed  by  Gerichten  and  Sch rotter,  but 
ascribed  by  them  to  a  secondary  reaction. 
The  author  is  inclined  to  look  upon  laudanine  as  a  morphine  deriva- 
tive containing  propionyl,  but  in  which  the  relative  character  and 
stability  of  the  two  hydroxyl  groups  is  different  to  what  is  the  case 
in  morphine.  He  is  now  continuing  his  researches  in  that  direction. — 
Jour.  Chem.  Soe.,  May,  1884,  p.  613,  from  Annalen,  vol.  222. 
PSEUDOMORPHINE. 
By  O.  Hesse.  , 
In  his  first  communication  on  this  alkaloid,  which  he  obtained  from 
opium,  the  author  stated  his  belief  that  it  was  identical  with  the  oxy- 
morphine  of  Schutzenberger,  and  that  its  formula  was  C17H19N04. 
Brockmann  and  Polstorff  (1880)  contended  that  this  oxy-morphine 
had  the  constitution  (C17H18N03)2,  and  based  their  assumption  prin- 
cipally on  the  fact  that  nitric  oxide  was  evolved  in  its  production 
from  a  solution  of  morphine  hydrochloride  and  silver  nitrite,  whereas 
the  formula  C17H19N04  would  require  an  evolution  of  nitrous  oxide. 
The  author  now  shows  that  if  an  aqueous  solution  of  morphine  hydro- 
chloride is  mixed  in  molecular  proportions  with  a  solution  of  potassium 
nitrite,  and  the  whole  heated  for  some  time  at  60°,  crystals  of  oxymor- 
phine  are  formed,  and  a  gas  evolved  which  does  not  turn  red  in  contact 
with  the  air,  and  is  consequently  not  nitric  oxide.  The  formation  is 
evidently  due  to  the  decomposition  of  morphine  nitrite,  2C17H19N03, 
HN02  =  2C17H19N04  +  N20  +  H20,  and  the  author  points  out  that 
an  evolution  of  nitric  oxide,  when  silver  nitrite  is  used,  might  also  be 
explained  by  the  equation  4C17H19N03HN03  =  4C17H19N04  +  JST2  + 
N202  +  2H20. 
The  author  now  finds  that  the  body  017H19NO4  is  a  hydrate  of  the 
real  base,  and  that  the  formula  for  oxymorphine  is  therefore 
C)7H17N03. 
