Am.  Jour.  Pharm. ) 
July, 1884.  J 
Alkaloids  of  Augustura  Bark. 
375 
With  the  heat  of  a  water-bath  8'04  grs.  of  the  air-dry  salt  lost  0'17 
gr.  =  2-11  per  cent.  C18H?1N03.HBr.2H20  =  2-16  per  cent,  for  J 
H20.  In  the  air-bath  at  115°  C.  5*74  grs.  lost  0*485  gr.  =  8'44  per 
cent,  C18H21N03.HBr.2H20  =  8*65  per  cent,  for  2H20.  It  is,  there- 
fore, evident  that  the  hydrobromide  like  the  hydrochloride  loses  a 
fourth  part  of  its  combined  water  at  the  temperature  of  the  water-bath, 
and  the  remainder  at  some  temperature  above  100°.  But  we  must  not 
deal  in  fractions  of  molecules,  so  we  ought  to  write  the  formula 
(C18H21N03.HBr)24H20,  or  more  accurately  (having  in  view  the 
researches  of  Dr.  Wright),  C36H42N206.2HBr.4H20.  We  may,  of 
course,  use  the  empirical  formula  when  more  convenient,  just  as  we 
sometimes  write  the  erroneous  expression  FeCl3  instead  of  Fe2Cl6. 
— Pharm.  Jour,  and  Trans.,  May,  17,  1884,  p.  917. 
ALKALOIDS  OF  ANGUSTURA  BARK. 
By  Koerner  and  C.  Boheinger. 
In  this  preliminary  notice  the  authors,  after  some  historical  details 
as  to  the  introduction  of  the  bark,  state  that  it  contains  aromatic  sub- 
stances and  several  alkaloids,  the  amount  of  the  latter  varying  in  dif- 
ferent specimens  from  0*8  to  1  per  cent,  The  alkaloids  are  mostly  in 
the  free  state,  and  may  be  extracted  directly  from  the  bark  by  means 
of  ether.  After  the  ethereal  extract  has  been  washed  with  dilute  potash 
solution,  the  addition  of  oxalic  acid  or  dilute  sulphuric  acid  gives 
a  yellow  crystalline  precipitate  of  the  corresponding  salt  of  one  of  the 
alkaloids,  cusparine,  whilst  other  alkaloidal  salts  remain  in  solution. 
The  precipitated  cusparine  salt  is  moderately  soluble  in  boiling  alco- 
hol, and,  on  cooling,  crystallizes  out  in  slender  needles  of  a  magnifi- 
cent greenish  yellow ;  this  color  is  not  removed  by  repeated  crystalli- 
zation, or  by  treatment  with  animal  charcoal,  and  other  salts  of  the 
alkaloid,  obtained  from  the  yellow  precipitate  by  decomposition,  are 
also  intensely  yellow.  If,  however,  the  free  cusparine,  C19H17N03, 
obtained  from  these  colored  salts,  is  crystallized  several  times  from 
light  petroleum,  and  then  reconverted  into  the  salt,  this  is  found  to  be 
colorless.  The  author  has  been  unable  to  ascertain  the  cause  of  this 
yellow  coloration.  The  alkaloid  crystallizes  from  light  petroleum  in 
tufts  of  slender  needles  melting  at  92°  ;  it  is  moderately  soluble  in 
ether,  more  readily  in  alcohol.    The  sulphate,  oxalate  and  hydrochlo- 
