266  The  Permanganate  Test  for  Cocaine.  {'^"j.'Ine^yii*™'' 
sponding  salts  of  the  majority  of  alkaloids  and  suggested  it  as  a 
means  of  identifying  cocaine. 
Allen  states  -  that  Beckurts  and  List,  working  with  cold  satu- 
rated aqueous  solutions  of  the  hydrochlorides  of  the  alkaloids  to 
which  was  added  decinormal  solution  of  permanganate,  drop  by 
drop,  observed  immediate  reduction,  with  separation  of  brown 
manganese  oxide,  in  the  cases  of  quinine,  cinchonidine,  cinchonine, 
cinchonamine,  brucine,  veratrine,  colchicine,  coniine,  nicotine, 
aconitine,  physostigmine,  codeine  and  thebaine.  Gradual  reduction 
was  caused  by  atropine,  hyoscyamine,  pilocarpine,  berberine,  pipe- 
rine  and  strychnine.  Morphine  yielded  a  white  precipitate  of 
oxydimorphine  while  apomorphine  immediately  reduced  the  reagent 
with  green  color  formation.  Narceine,  papaverine  and  narcotine 
yielded  precipitates  which  decomposed  upon  addition  of  more 
than  a  few  drops  of  permanganate. 
Recently,  Saporetti  found  "  that  B-eucaine  would  not  decolorize 
permanganate  solution  while  the  other  cocaine  substitutes,  A-eucaine, 
nirvanine,  stovaine  and  alipine  gradually  decolorized  the  reagent. 
In  a  previous  paper  in  this  Journal,  it  was  reported  that  five 
drops  of  I  per  cent,  potassium  permanganate  were  immediately 
reduced  by  1/2  c.c.  of  a  2  per  cent,  solution  of  holocaine,  acoine 
and  euphthalmine  while  gradual  reduction  occurred  in  the  cases  of 
stovaine,  A-eucaine  and  B-eucaine. 
The  permanganate  test,  as  described  by  Giesel,  was  as  follows : 
one  centigram  of  the  hydrochloride  of  cocaine  was  dissolved  in 
one  or  two  drops  of  water  and  i  c.c.  of  3  per  cent,  potassium 
permanganate  solution  was  added.  The  precipitate  of  cocaine  per- 
manganate formed  instantly.  Lyons  recommended  *  the  use  of 
strong  cocaine  solution  and  decinormal  permanganate.  It  was 
found  that  2  per  cent,  solutions  of  cocaine  yielded  a  precipitate 
after  a  short  time,  but  with  i  per  cent,  solutions,  the  crystals  only 
formed  when  the  solution  was  allowed  to  evaporate. 
Inasmuch  as  the  success  of  the  test  requires  a  considerable 
amount  of  cocaine,  it  is  not  surprising  that  Sonnie-Moret  ^  found 
the  reaction  of  no  value  in  toxicological  examinations.  The  test 
has,  therefore,  been  abandoned,  where  small  quantities  of  the  alka- 
'  Allen,  Comm.  Org.  Anal.  2nd  Ed.  Vol.  Ill  pt.  II,  p.  144- 
^Saporetti.  Boll.  Chim.  Farm.,  48,  479;  also  Chcm.  Abstr.  5,  762. 
*A.  B.  Lyons — Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  1886,  240. 
^  Sonnie-Moret,  Chem.  Centralbl.,  1893.    i  P-  859.  '  i 
