THE  AMERICAN 
JOURNAL  OF  PHARMACY 
 B  '^-^  ^  ^ 
JANUARY,  /p/^^,  ^' 
  %  %  v,^ 
THE  CONSTITUENTS  OF  THE  RHIZQME  OF  IRIS 
VERSICOLOR. 
By  Frederick  B.  Power  and  Arthur  H.  Salway, 
A  Contribution  from  the  Wellcome  Chemical  Research  Laboratories,  London. 
The  rhizome  and  roots  of  Iris  versicolor,  Linne  (Nat.  ord.  Iri- 
dacece) , commonly  known  as  the  ''Larger  Blue  Flag,"  were  recognized 
for  several  decades  by  the  Pharmacopoeia  of  the  United  States  (Re- 
visions of  1870,  1880  and  1890)  under  the  official  title  of  Iris, 
together  with  liquid  and  solid  extracts  prepared  therefrom.  In  the 
eighth  revision  (1900),  however,  of  the  above-mentioned  work  the 
drug  was  deleted,  probably  on  account  of  its  limited  use  or  the  varia- 
bility and  uncertainty  of  its  action.  Under  the  names  of  "  Irisin  " 
or  Iridin  "  preparations  have  been  introduced,  and  are  still  some- 
what employed  medicinally,  which  consist  either  of  the  resin  or  of 
an  ethereal  or  alcoholic  extract  of  the  drug. 
Although  in  the  literature  ^  it  has  been  recorded  that  the  rhizome 
of  Iris  versicolor  contains  starch,  gum,  tannin,  sugar,  an  acid  resin, 
and  fatty  oil,  together  with  some  volatile  matter  and  possibly  an 
alkaloid,  its  constituents  have  never  been  thoroughly  investigated. 
As  the  rhizome,  at  least  in  the  fresh  state,  evidently  possesses  con- 
siderable potency,  acting  as  a  cathartic  and  emetic,  although  its 
medicinal  activity  is  stated  to  become  impaired  by  age,  it  was 
deemed  desirable  to  subject  it  to  a  complete  chemical  examination. 
EXPERIMENTAL. 
The  material  employed  for  the  present  investigation  consisted  of 
commercial  "  Blue  Flag  Root,"  the  identity  of  which  was  estal3lished, 
and  it  appeared  to  be  of  good  quality. 
As  a  preliminary  experiment,  a  small  portion  of  the  ground 
^This  Journal,  1876,  48,  p.  406;  1881,  53,  p.  601;  1884,  56,  p.  616, 
(I) 
