AmMa°rch>T819orm-}  Some  Plant  Constituents .  121 
SOME  PLANT  CONSTITUENTS. 
Abstracts  from  Theses. 
Contribution  from  the  Chemical  Laboratory  of  the  Philadelphia  College  of 
Pharmacy — No.  68. 
Wm.  J.  Enders  has  analyzed  the  fruit  of  Apinm  gravcolens  and 
found  that  petroleum  ether  extracted  18-67  per  cent.,  of  which  16-48 
per  cent,  dissolved  in  absolute  alcohol,  1-72  per  cent,  remained 
undissolved  and  0-54  per  cent,  volatilized  at  1  io°  C.  and  represented 
the  volatile  oil.  The  portion  soluble  in  absolute  alcohol  was  a 
dark  reddish  brown  oily  liquid  of  a  penetrating  odor  and  a  strong 
taste,  though  not  resembling  the  odor  or  taste  of  the  drug.  This 
according  to  some  writers  consists  largely  of  oil. 
Stronger  ether  extracted  from  the  residual  drug  1-73  per  cent, 
of  a  dark  brown  resinous  substance  with  a  strong  aromatic  odor. 
A  crystalline  glucoside  was  separated  from  the  remainder  of  the 
drug  by  exhausting  with  absolute  alcohol,  recovering  the  alcohol, 
dissolving  the  residue  in  water  and  agitating  with  chloroform.  This 
substance  gave  the  reactions  of  a  glucoside  and  gave  off  a  strong 
odor  when  boiled  with  dilute  acid.  It  was  not  further  examined, 
since  the  amount  from  50  grams  of  the  drug  was  small. 
Harry  Vin  Arny  examined  Parthetiium  Hystcrophorus  which  is 
found  in  waste  places  in  the  West  Indies,  Northern  Patagonia  and 
Southern  United  States,  especially  in  Florida  and  Louisiana.  It  is 
characterized  by  its  extreme  bitterness  due,  as  shown  by  the  inves- 
tigator, to  a  glucoside  which  was  extracted  from  the  drug  by 
alcohol,  the  alcohol  recovered  and  the  residue  dissolved  in  water. 
This  aqueous  solution  yielded  the  glucoside  to  chloroform  by  agita- 
tion with  that  liquid,  from  which  it  separated  as  a  brown  amorphous 
mass. 
The  author  concludes  that  this  glucoside  is  so-called  parthenine 
(see  Proc.  Am.  Pharm.  Association  for  1885  and  1886)  which  was 
originally  supposed  to  be  an  alkaloid.  The  drug  is  much  esteemed 
in  the  West  Indies  where  it  is  used  in  place  of  quinine. 
Harry  C.  Haak  found  a  crystalline  principle  in  the  petroleum 
ether  extract  of  Azalea  viscosa.  The  residual  extract  after  recover- 
ing the  petroleum  ether  was  dissolved  in  absolute  alcohol  boiling 
hot,  and  this  solvent  deposited  crystals  on  cooling.  The  crystals 
were  purified  by  re-solution  in  absolute  alcohol  and  treatment  with 
animal  charcoal. 
