196 
On  the  Veratrum  Alkaloids. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
April,  1891. 
ommends  that  2  gm.  of  pulverized  gum  tragacanth  be  added  for 
each  gram  of  the  water  employed  in  dissolving  the  salt  of 
extract.  After  trituration,  the  fatty  body  is  added.  A  homoge- 
neous ointment  of  good  consistence  and  adhering  to  the  sides  of 
the  mortar,  may  thus  be  easily  made.  The  gum  may  even  be  added 
after  the  mixture  of  the  fatty  substance  with  the  extracts.  Con- 
cerning the  above,  the  editor  of  the  paper  cited  says  that  the 
incorporation  of  the  gum  might  be  an  obstacle  to  the  absorption  of 
the  medicaments  by  the  skin,  on  account  of  the  amount  of  bas- 
sorin  present  in  tragacanth. — Report .  de  Phar.,  March  10. 
ON  THE  VERATRUM  ALKALOIDS.1 
By  Dr.  S.  C.  Pehkschen. 
In  an  essay  presented  to  the  medical  faculty  of  the  University  of 
Dorpat,  the  author  reports  the  results  obtained  from  his  researches 
on  the  alkaloids  of  cultivated  and  uncultivated  Veratrum  album 
and  also  of  commercial  specimens  of  V.  album  and  V.  viride.  The 
yield  of  crude  alkaloid  varied  very  much  ;  from  the  uncultivated 
rhizome  of  V.  album  (obtained  from  Thuringia)  0-57  per  cent,  was 
obtained,  from  commercial  V.  album  0-66  per  cent.,  and  from  the 
cultivated  rhizome  (from  Bamberg,  Bavaria)  0-29  per  cent,  or  only 
about  one-half  the  amount  present  in  the  uncultivated  rhizome. 
Of  the  alkaloids  present,  it  may  be  said  that  the  cultivated 
rhizomes  contain  relatively  more  veratroidine  and  the  rhombic 
crystals  (pseudojervine  ?),  while  the  uncultivated  contain  a  larger 
proportion  of  jervine.  Veratrum  viride  yielded  only  about  0-08 
per  cent,  crude  alkaloid,  which  by  qualitative  tests  was  found  to  be 
composed  principally  of  jervine  with  very  little  veratroidine,  while 
the  rhombic  crystals  (pseudojervine  ?)  were  absent. 
The  method  finally  adopted  for  extracting  the  alkaloids  was  as 
follows :  4  kilos  of  the  powdered  rhizome  were  macerated  for  six 
days  with  16  kilos  of  85  per  cent,  (volume)  alcohol,  expressed  and 
filtered  (the  filtrate  had  an  acid  reaction  due  probably  to  jervic 
acid) ;  the  residue  was  treated  a  second  time  as  above  with  alcohol, 
and  to  insure  thorough  extraction  a  third  time,  but  now  with  the 
addition  of   100  cc.  99  per  cent,  acetic  acid  to  the  alcohol.  From 
1  Translated  and  abridged  by  F.  X.  Moerk,  from  Pharm.  Zeitsch.  f.  Puss- 
land,  1890,  pp.  339,  353,  369,  385,  401,  417  and  433. 
