Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
Dec,  1891. 
j    Fluid  Extract  of  Triticum  Re  pens. 
577 
The  results  in  tabular  form  are  as  follows : 
No. 
Made. 
Sp.  gr. 
Relative  Value 
in  Extractive. 
2, 
3, 
4, 
5, 
6, 
Fall,  '84 
April,  '90 
Aug.,  '90 
Oct.,  '90 
Sept.,  '91 
June,  '91 
I-I54 
1-093 
1-085 
1-069 
1-148 
I-II2 
947 
94' 
96-4 
92-6 
99*4 
The  chemical  character  of  commercial  fluid  extracts  of  couch 
grass  is  of  interest  for  the  reason  that  it  is  now  being  employed 
quite  frequently  in  certain  renal  and  bladder  troubles,  with  asserted 
success.  What  constituent  its  medical  properties  are  due  to  is  uncer- 
tain. Fliickiger  and  Hanbury1  state  that  the  constituents  of  couch 
grass  include  no  substance  to  which,  medicinal  powers  can  be 
ascribed,  and  that  Muller  has  found  the  juice  of  the  rhizome  to 
contain  3  per  cent,  of  sugar  and  7  to  8  per  cent,  of  triticin,  an 
inulin-like  body,  amorphous,  odorless,  tasteless  and  very  hygroscopic 
and  readily  transformed  into  sugar,  if  its  concentrated  solution  be 
kept  for  a  short  time  at  no°  C.  Triticin,  it  should  be  noted,  is 
readily  changed  by  heat,  especially  in  the  presence  of  dilute  acids, 
and  since  the  drug  is  rich  in  acid  malates,  it  is  probable  that  this 
change  often  ensues  in  fluid  extracts  where  heat  is  employed 
in  concentration  and  there  is  thus  an  increase  in  the  percentage  of 
the  sugar  normally  present  in  the  drug.  Ludwig  and  Muller2  claim 
that  there  are  three  sugars  present  in  couch  grass,  fruit  sugar,  levu- 
lose  and  a  dextrose  not  identical  with  cane  sugar.  Later,  Plauchud3 
found  3  per  cent,  of  crystallizable  sugar,  4  per  cent,  of  uncrystalliz- 
able  sugar  and  14  per  cent,  of  starch.  Mannite  is  not  con  stant  in 
its  presence,  save  only  probably  as  a  result  of  fermentation  in  the 
extract.    Pectin  and  resinoids  are  absent. 
The  presence  of  caramel  in  one  of  the  samples  examined,  prob- 
ably arose  from  overheating  in  drying,  a  very  moist  drug  contain- 
ing a  large  amount  of  natural  sugars,  since  the  preparation,  as  well 
as  the  others,  was  obtained  from  reliable  houses.    The  variations 
1  Pharmacographia,  p.  730. 
2  Nat.  Disp.,  1884,  p.  1553. 
*  Zeitschr.  Oest.  Ap.  Ver.,  1877,  p.  457  ;  vide  Proc.  A.  P.  A.,  1878,  p.  181. 
