As^ptJemberi899m'}    British  Pharmaceutical  Conference.  449 
The  authors  recommend  a  modification  of  process  No.  4  for  the  assay  of  the 
wine,  as  follows  :  100  c.c.  are  evaporated  on  a  water-bath  to  10  c.c.  and  a  little 
kieselguhr  stirred  in  ;  the  mixture  transferred  to  a  beaker  and  the  solution 
washed  with  the  sulphuric  acid  and  water  mixture,  the  subsequent  steps  being 
much  as  before.  A  table  is  appended  in  the  original,  showing  the  results 
obtained  in  the  examinations  of  the  wine  by  this  process. 
JOHORE  IPECACUANHA. 
By  John  C.  Umney  and  Ralph  S.  Swinton. 
The  authors  have  examined  Johore  ipecacuanha,  the  root  of  Psychotria 
emetica,  and  state  that  it  differs  but  little  in  character  from  the  same  root 
imported  from  Brazil.  The  proportion  of  total  alkaloids  present  was  found  to 
be  17  per  cent.,  and  the  mean  of  three  experiments  showed  the  percentage 
proportions  to  be  emetine,  72-94,  cephaeline,  22*94,  other  alkaloidal  matter,  4*12, 
the  figures  corresponding  closely  with  those  recorded  for  the  Brazilian  root.  It 
is  suggested  that  there  appears  to  be  no  reason  why  the  root  should  not  be  used 
for  making  standard  preparations  of  ipecacuanha. 
THE  ALKALOIDAL  STRENGTH  OF  COMMERCIAL  SAMPLES  OF 
THE  OFFICIAL  PREPARATIONS  OF  JABORANDI. 
By  E).  H.  Farr  and  R.  Wright. 
The  authors,  having  experienced  great  difficulty  in  preparing  standard  prepa- 
rations of  jaborandi  from  commercial  samples  of  the  leaves,  have  conducted 
an  investigation  into  the  strength  of  the  tincture  and  liquid  extract  as  found 
in  pharmacy,  the  process  employed  for  the  determination  of  the  alkaloids  being 
the  one  devised  by  the  authors  in  connection  with  their  former  work  on 
tincture  of  jaborandi.  As  a  result,  they  find  that  the  galenical  preparations  of 
jaborandi  found  in  retail  pharmacies  at  the  present  time  are  very  deficient  in 
strength,  only  containing  about  one-fifth  the  proportion  of  active  constituents 
which,  judging  from  the  official  doses,  they  are  supposed  to  contain.  The 
explanation  suggested  is  that  the  best  jaborandi  leaves  are  being  withdrawn 
from  the  drug  markets,  and  so  prevented  from  coming  into  the  hands  of 
pharmacists. 
THE  ASSAY  OF  PREPARATIONS  CONTAINING  PILOCARPINE  AND 
THE  CHARACTERS  OF  THE  PILOCARPINE  NITRATE  AND 
HYDROCHLORIDE. 
By  H.  A.  D.  Jowett. 
The  author  deals  with  the  assay  of  preparations  containing  pilocarpine  and 
the  characters  of  salts  of  that  base.  Having  extracted  the  mixture  of  amor- 
phous bases  from  jaborandi  or  its  preparations,  he  dissolves  them  in  a  small 
quantity  of  a  saturated  alcoholic  solution  of  pilocarpine  nitrate,  adds  some 
strong  alcoholic^solution  of  nitric  acid,  and  then  sets  the  mixture  aside  to  crys- 
tallize. The  crystals  which  form  are  filtered  off,  drained  by  the  filter  pump, 
washed  with  more  saturated  alcoholic  solution  of  pilocarpine  nitrate,  dried  and 
weighed.  The  percentage  of  bases  in  the  total  alkaloid  yielding  crystalline 
nitrate  can  then  be  calculated.  In  most  cases  the  total  alkaloid  may  be 
assumed  to  be  pilocarpine,  but  if  a  very  accurate  determination  be  required, 
the  melting-point  and  specific  rotation  of  the  nitrates  should  be  determined. 
