AVa0rchj8h99rm'}    Analysis  of  Commercial  Veratrine.  131 
were  subsequently  given.  One  of  these  substances,  perhaps  the 
most  abundant,  was  called  veratrine.  Unfortunately,  these  latter 
experiments,  resulting  in  the  isolation  of  these  new  bases,  only  led 
to  confusion,  for  not  until  recently  was  it  possible  to  obtain  samples 
of  the  same  name,  with  the  same  physiological  and  chemical  prop- 
erties. This  confusion  was  largely  due  to  the  fact  that  several  differ- 
ent substances  were  known  under  the  name  of  veratrine.  The  intro- 
duction of  the  so-called  "  Merck  Veratrine"  has  changed  matters  to 
some  extent,  although  samples  of  this  base  have  been  found  to  vary 
considerably,  and  samples  from  the  different  factories  were  found  to 
vary  widely. 
One  of  the  chief  causes  of  this  variation  is  the  extreme  difficulty 
with  which  these  alkaloids  crystallize,  thus  excluding  one  of  the 
most  important  means  of  purification.  Another,  and  the  chief 
cause,  is  due  to  the  fact  that  several  of  these  substances  have  been 
known  by  the  common  name  veratrine. 
Couerbe,2  in  his  work  on  the  separation  of  the  alkaloids  in 
"  veratria,"  isolated  three  distinct  substances,  two  of  which  were 
carefully  studied.  The  most  important  one  he  called  veratrine,  and 
gave  to  it  the  formula, 
Merck,3  in  an  examination  of  the  substances  obtained  by  Couerbe, 
found  that  when  one  of  these  substances  was  dissolved  in  dilute 
alcohol  and  allowed  to  evaporate  slowly,  a  crystalline  substance  was 
obtained,  to  which  he  gave  the  formula, 
C32H52N208. 
This  was  likewise  called  veratrine. 
Wiegelin,4  in  a  study  of  Veratrum  album,  isolated  two  other 
alkaloids  besides  veratrine,  to  which  he  gave  the  formula, 
Q52H36N2015. 
Wright  and  Luff5  examined  the  crude  alkaloid,  and  likewise 
isolated  three  distinct  bases,  giving  to  the  substance  which  they 
called  veratrine,  the  formula, 
2  Ann.  Chim.  et  de  Phys.  (II),  53,367. 
3  Ann.  d.  Chem.  und  Phann.,  95,200. 
4  N.Jahrb.  Pharm.,  37,94. 
5  Jour.  Chem.  Soc.,  London,  33,  338. 
