24 
Crystals  of  Sodium  Chloride. 
{Am,  Jour.  Pharm. 
I    January,  1899. 
Prof.  J.  U.  Lloyd1  called  attention  to  this  plant  twenty  years  ago. 
The  saltiness  and  the  undesirable  name,  Yerba  Reuma,  were  com- 
mented on.  Dr.  J.  Moeller2  made  an  histological  examination  of 
this  plant  four  years  later,  but  a  chemical  analysis  is  wanting. 
Medicinally,  the  leaves  and  the  stems  of  Yerba  Reuma  are  used 
as  an  astringent  stimulant  application  for  catarrhal  affections. 
The  above  information  led  me  to  make  a  proximate  analysis  of 
the  plant.  DragendorrT's  scheme  was  followed,  in  the  main.  The 
article  of  commerce  was  worked  with  in  this  investigation. 
A  microscopical  examination  of  the  powdered  material  revealed 
the  presence  of  occasional  cubical  crystals. 
Moisture  at  1 1 5  °  C.  amounted  to  9-92  per  cent.  All  of  the  sub- 
sequent  results  are  based  on  material  dried  at  1 1 5  0  C. 
The  amount  of  chlorides  was  estimated  by  macerating  a  given 
amount  of  the  dry  material  in  a  definite  volume  of  water,  decolor- 
izing an  aliquot  part  with  nitric  acid  and  boiling,  and  the  chlorides 
precipitated  by  means  of  a  silver  nitrate  solution,  the  precipitate, 
washed,  dried,  etc.,  in  the  usual  way.  This  gave  me  17  75  per  cent, 
of  chloride,  calculated  as  sodium  chloride.  I  was  not  prepared  to 
accept  this  result,  so  a  given  weight  of  the  drug  was  exhausted 
with  warm  water  and  the  chlorides  estimated  as  above.  This  gave 
17-10  per  cent,  chloride  calculated  as  above,  or  averaging  the  two 
we  have  17-42  per  cent.    A  remarkably  high  per  cent,  of  salt. 
By  carefully  incinerating  a  given  weight,  ash  to  the  amount  of 
26-84  Per  cent,  was  obtained.  Being  aware  of  the  presence  of  a 
large  amount  of  sodium  chloride  in  Yerba  Reuma,  and  its  volatile 
nature  at  high  temperatures,  I  determined  the  amount  of  this  salt 
yet  present  in  the  ash.  This  amounted  to  9-82  per  cent.,  calculated 
as  sodium  chloride.  Leaving  ash,  without  chlorides,  amounting  to 
17  02  per  cent.  On  adding  to  this  the  total  amount  of  sodium 
chloride,  we  have  an  ash  amounting  to  34-12  per  cent.  One  of  the 
highest,  if  not  the  highest  ash  of  plant  life  on  record. 
The  ash  consisted  of  sand,  sodium  chloride,  potassium  sulphate, 
magnesium  phosphate,  calcium  sulphate,  calcium  oxide,  iron  oxide, 
etc.    The  above  combinations  are  given  as  probable. 
Some  selected  material  yielded:  Sodium  chloride,  1254  per 
cent.;  ash,  with  chlorides,  23-04  per  cent.    Moisture,   1093  per 
1  1878,  Am.  Jour.  Phar.,  50,  601  ;  Proc.  Am.  Phar.  Assoc.,  20,  707. 
2 1882,  Pharm.  Centralhalle,  23,  97  ;  Am.  Jour.  Phar.,  54,  514. 
