Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  \ 
January,  1911.  J 
Rhisome  of  Iris  Versicolor. 
7 
ammonium  carbonate,  which,  however,  removed  only  traces  of 
gummy  matter.  An  attempt  subsequently  to  extract  the  ethereal 
liquid  with  aqueous  sodium  hydroxide  resulted  in  the  formation  of 
an  emulsion,  which  did  not  separate  after  several  days.  The  ether 
was  therefore  completely  removed  from  the  mixture,  and  the  residue 
hydrolyzed  by  heating  for  an  hour  with  an  excess  of  alcoholic  potas- 
sium hydroxide.  After  removing  the  greater  portion  of  the  alcohol, 
water  was  added,  and  the  alkaline  mixture  shaken  repeatedly  with 
ether.  These  ethereal  extracts  were  united,  washed,  dried,  and  the 
solvent  removed,  when  a  yellowish-brown,  semi-solid  mass  was  ob- 
tained. This  amounted  to  35  grammes,  and  represented  the  un- 
saponifiable  portion  of  the  petroleum  extract  of  the  resin. 
Isolation  of  a  Phytosterol,  C27H4gO,  Myricyl  Alcohol,  CgiHg^O,  and 
Heptacosane,  Cot^^^. 
The  above-described,  brown,  semi-solid  mass  was  dissolved  in 
a  mixture  of  alcohol  and  ethyl  acetate,  and  subjected  to  a  process 
of  fractional  crystallization.  The  more  soluble  fraction  ultimately 
yielded  a  crystalline  substance,  which  separated  from  alcohol  in 
colorless  needles.  This  substance,  when  air-dried,  melted  at  ISS"", 
but,  when  dried  at  100°,  it  lost  water  of  crystalHzation,  and  then 
melted  at  148°. 
0.1714,  when  heated  at  110°,  lost  0.0076  HoO.    HgO  =  4.4 
0.1052,  dried  at  110°,  gave  0.3236  COo  and  0.1144  H2O. 
C  =  83.9;  H  =  12.1 
CojH^gOjHsO  requires  H2O  =  4.5  per  cent. 
C27H4gO  requires  C  =  83.9  ;  H  =  11.9  per  cent. 
The  above-described  substance  has  thus  been  shown  to  agree  in 
composition  with  a  phytosterol  of  the  formula  Cs^H^gO,  and  it 
yielded  the  color  reactions  of  that  class  of  compounds.  Its  optical 
rotatory  power  was  determined  with  the  following  result : 
0.1638  of  anhydrous  substance,  made  up  to  25  c.c.  with  chloro- 
form, gave      —  0°  28'  in  a  2  dcm.  tube,  whence  [a]^ — 35-6°. 
The  more  sparingly  soluble  crystalline  deposits  obtained  by  the 
above-mentioned  fractionation  melted  indefinitely  over  a  consider- 
able range  of  temperature,  namely  from  63  to  77°,  and  apparently 
consisted  of  a  mixture  of  a  hydrocarbon  and  a  fatty  alcohol.  They 
were  therefore  heated  for  an  hour  at  130°  with  an  equal  weight  of 
phthalic  anhydride  in  the  presence  of  xylene.  The  product  of  the 
reaction  was  then  dissolved  in  a  mixture  of  ether  and  chloroform, 
