Am.  Jour.  Pharm. ) 
August,  1884.  J 
Glucoside  of  Nux  Vomica. 
431 
A  NEW  GLUCOSIDE  FROM  STRYCHNOS  NUX- 
YOMICA. 
By  Wyndham  R.  Dunstan, 
Assistant  Lecturer  in  Chemistry  and  Physics  to  the  Pharmaceutical  Society 
and  Demonstrator  of  Practical  Chemistry  in  the  School  of  Pharmacy  ; 
and  F.  W.  Short. 
Assistant  Demonstrator  of  Practical  Chemistry  in  the  School  of  Pharmacy. 
FIRST  NOTICE. 
In  the  course  of  a  complete  chemical  and  botanical  investigation  of 
Strychnos  Nux-vomica,  with  which  we  have  been  occupied  for  some 
time  past  (the  results  of  which  will  shortly  be  published),  a  hitherto 
unnoticed  constituent  of  the  fruit  has  been  discovered,  and  on  further 
examination  proved  to  be  a  new  glucoside. 
The  body  was  first  isolated  from  the  pulp  in  which  the  seeds  lie 
embedded  within  the  fruit.  This  pulp  has  never  received  a  full 
chemical  examination.  It  was  tested  for  strychnine  by  Hanbury 
("  Pharmacographia"),  and  the  presence  of  this  alkaloid  definitely 
shown.  In  order  to  fully  examine  the  constituents  of  nux-vomic 
pulp,  it  was  dried  and  exhausted  with  that  mixture  of  chloroform  and 
alcohol  (100 :  25)  which  we  have  previously  shown  to  be  the  best  and  most 
suitable  solvent  for  extracting  the  alkaloidal  constituents  from  nux- 
vomica  seeds.  The  exhaustion  was  effected  in  the  apparatus  for  hot 
repercolation  and  continuous  extraction  devised  by  us  and  described 
in  the  "  Pharmaceutical  Journal,"  [3],  xiii.,  633.  The  chloroform- 
alcohol  percolate  as  it  cooled  deposited  crystals;  these  were  separated 
and  dissolved  in  alcohol  and  the  solution  spontaneously  evaporated. 
In  this  way  a  mass  of  nearly  colorless  prismatic  crystals  was  obtained. 
These  crystals  fused  when  strongly  heated,  then  charred,  and  finally 
oxidized  without  leaving  any  ash ;  they  contained  no  nitrogen,  as  was 
shown  by  their  yielding  no  sodium  cyanide  when  heated  with  metallic 
sodium.  A  larger  quantity  of  pulp  was  next  exhausted  with  chloro- 
form and  alcohol.  The  crystals  deposited  from  the  solution  were 
thrice  recrystallized  from  ordinary  alcohol,  and  finally  again  from 
absolute  alcohol.  The  perfectly  colorless  prismatic  crystals  thus 
obtained  were  analysed  by  combustion  with  lead  chromate,  when 
the  following  results  were  obtained : 
