Am.  Jour.  Pliann. 
June,  1891. 
Commercial  Oil  of  Citronella. 
293 
The  former  of  these,  protoveratrine,  is  extremely  poisonous,  as  is 
shown  by  the  statement  that  0-5  mg.  injected  subcutaneously  was 
sufficient  to  kill  a  full  grown  rabbit.  When  introduced  into  the 
nostrils  in  the  most  minute  quantity  it  occasions  violent  sneez- 
ing. It  can  be  removed  from  the  powdered  drug  with  cold  water, 
but  the  solution  will  not  yield  it  in  the  crystalline  form.  In  the 
pure  state  it  appears  to  be  insoluble  in  water,  and  only  soluble 
with  difficulty  in  alcohol  and  ether.  The  formula  ascribed  to  it  is 
C32H51NOu,  and  the  author  points  out  the  similarity  between  this 
and  the  formula  for  veratrine,  C32H49N09.  He  says,  however,  that 
they  cannot  be  identical  bodies,  as  not  only  do  they  differ  in 
composition,  but  they  differ  in  their  behavior  with  reagents. 
Two  processes  for  the  extraction  of  the  alkaloids  were  used. 
By  one  of  these  jervine,  rubijervine,  pseudojervine  and  protovera- 
tridine  were  obtained  ;  while  by  the  other  protoveratrine,  pseudo- 
jervine, a  little  jervine  and  rubijervine,  but  no  protoveratridine.  From 
this  circumstance  Salzberger  is  inclined  to  consider  protoveratri- 
dine, as  a  decomposition  product  of  protoveratrine,  and  this  appears 
to  be  very  probable  from  the  fact  that  this  latter  body  is  very 
unstable. 
For  protoveratridine  the  formula  QgH^NOg  is  proposed. 
In  addition  to  the  examination  of  these  two  bodies  an  exami- 
nation of  Wright  and  Luff's  alkaloids  was  undertaken,  and  it  is 
satisfactory  to  find  that  their  formulas  are  confirmed.  Full  details 
of  the  reactions,  solubilities,  ultimate  analyses,  etc.,  are  given,  and 
plates  exhibiting  the  crystalline  forms  of  protoveratrine,  protovera- 
tridine, jervine  and  rubijervine  are  appended  to  the  paper. 
NOTE  ON  COMMERCIAL  OIL  OF  CITRONELLA.1 
By  John  C.  Umney,  Pharmaceutical  Chemist. 
The  more  common  Indian  grass  oils,  known  in  trade  as  verbena, 
ginger-grass  and  citronella,  the  products,  respectively,  of  Andro- 
pogon  citraius,  A.  Schcenanthus  and  A.  Nardus  differ  consider- 
ably in  appearance.  The  first  two  are  usually  of  a  yellowish-brown 
color  ;  the  third  varies,  being  sometimes  yellow,  at  others  emerald- 
green,  the  yellow  oil  generally  becoming  green  on  exposure  to  light. 
1  Read  before  the  Pharmaceutical  Society  of  Great  Britain,  at  an  evening 
meeting  in  London,  April  8  ;  reprinted  from  Phar.  Jour,  and  Trans.,  April  11, 
p.  922. 
