Aui.  Jour.  Pharm. 
July,  1891. 
Sabbatia  A ngularis. 
337 
obtained,  which  resembled  in  color,  odor,  taste  and  behavior  with 
ferric  chloride,  the  extract  obtained  from  Gentiana  lutea.  This  was 
washed  with  water,  which  took  out  the  bitter  principle,  leaving  a 
soft  oily  resin.  The  aqueous  portion  of  the  alcoholic  extract  con- 
taining the  bitter  principle  was  characterized  by  its  property  of 
foaming,  which  was  probably  due  to  the  presence  of  a  small  quan- 
tity of  saponin.  The  solution  behaved  similarly  to  gentian  towards 
ferric  chloride.  This  coloration  was  not  due  to  tannin,  as  no  pre- 
cipitate could  be  obtained  with  solution  of  gelatin  and  alum,  and 
the  coloration  was  also  produced  by  the  portion  soluble  in  chloro- 
form. It  was  agitated  successively  with  chloroform,  ether,  benzol 
and  amyl  alcohol  without  anything  being  extracted  by  them  that 
possessed  a  bitter  taste.  The  solution  was  then  rendered  alkaline 
and  again  agitated  with  the  above  solvents  with  similar  negative 
result. 
Tannic  acid  failed  to  precipitate  anything  from  a  small  portion. 
The  above  treatment  left  the  bitter  solution  of  a  transparent  ruby- 
red  color.  It  was  divided  into  two  equal  portions.  One  portion 
treated  with  animal  charcoal,  the  latter  removed  and  boiled  with  95 
per  cent,  alcohol,  the  alcohol  filtered  off  and  allowed  to  evaporate 
spontaneously,  left  a  bitter  amorphous,  transparent  extract  of  a 
reddish-yellow  color,  quite  hygroscopic  and  very  soluble  in  water, 
soluble  in  95  percent,  alcohol  and  partly  soluble  in  absolute  alcohol. 
Several  attempts  were  made  to  get  it  in  a  crystalline  condition,  but 
without  success.  The  other  portion  of  the  bitter  solution  was  evapo- 
rated on  a  water-bath  to  a  soft  extract,  then  dissolved  in  alcohol, 
filtered  and  the  alcohol  allowed  to  evaporate,  leaving  an  extract 
similar  to  that  obtained  by  the  use  of  animal  charcoal.  All  attempts 
to  obtain  this  bitter  substance  in  a  crystalline  condition  failed. 
When  heated  with  Fehling's  solution  it  exerted  a  slight  reducing 
action,  but  after  heating  with  one  per  cent,  hydrochloric  acid  for  an 
hour,  making  alkaline  and  then  heating  with  Fehling's  solution,  it 
reduced  the  latter  abundantly.  This,  along  with  the  peculiar  odor 
produced  by  heating  it  with  dilute  acid,  demonstrated  it  to  be  a 
glucoside,  which,  on  account  of  the  ease  with  which  it  decomposed, 
could  not  be  obtained  in  a  crystalline  state.  As  obtained,  how- 
ever, from  absolute  alcohol,  it  was,  no  doubt,  nearly  pure,  con- 
taminated only  with  the  products  of  its  own  decomposition.  In  addi- 
tion to  the  properties  mentioned  in  the  description  of  its  preparation, 
