44°  Examination  of  Opium  Alkaloids.      f  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
J        r  -j     October,  1915. 
The  specimens  examined  were  codeine  phosphate,  morphine  sul- 
phate, narceine,  narcotine,  narcotine  hydrochloride,  papaverine  hy- 
drochloride, and  thebaine  hydrochloride.  Dr.  Macht  stated  that  all 
of  the  material  was  of  the  Merck  brand  except  one  specimen  of 
morphine  sulphate,  one  specimen  of  narcotine,  and  a  specimen^  of 
papaverine  hydrochloride.4  These  were  products  bearing  the  labels, 
respectively,  of  Eimer  &  Amend,  the  Mallinckrodt  Chemical  Works, 
and  the  Hoffmann-LaRoche  Chemical  Works. 
With  the  exception  of  codeine  phosphate  and  morphine  sulphate, 
which  are  described  in  the  U.  S.  Pharmacopoeia,5  the  tests  for  the 
purity  of  the  opium  bases  or  their  salts  are  not  described  in  the 
literature  with  sufficient  exactness  to  be  of  much  use  in  determin- 
ing the  purity  of  commercial  products.  Therefore  it  became  neces- 
sary to  compile  or  devise  tests  by  which  the  identity  and  purity  of 
the  specimens  sent  could  be  judged.  Accordingly  preliminary  tests 
were  prepared  which  were  based  upon  published  information.  These 
were  amplified  and  modified  as  found  necessary  by  the  results  ob- 
tained in  the  examination  as  the  work  progressed.  As  the  quan- 
tities of  material  sent  by  Dr.  Macht  were  small,  most  of  the  pre- 
liminary tests  were  carried  out  on  specimens  purchased  from  the 
same  wholesale  druggist  from  whom  Dr.  Macht  had  obtained  his 
supplies.  In  so  far  as  it  was  possible  to  obtain  them,  the  pur- 
chased specimens  were  of  the  same  brands  as  were  used  by  Dr. 
Macht.  One  specimen  of  narcotine  which  was  stated  by  Dr.  Macht 
not  to  be  a  market  preparation,  but  to  have  been  prepared  by  the 
manufacturer  for  research  purposes,  was  not  duplicated.  Also  a 
second  specimen  of  thebaine  hydrochloride  could  be  obtained. 
The  tests  to  which  the  specimens  of  narceine,  narcotine,  narcotine 
hydrochloride,  papaverine  hydrochloride,  and  thebaine  hydrochloride 
were  subjected  were  adapted  and  devised,  for  the  most  part,  from 
published  information  concerning  the  properties  of  the  respective 
substances ;  the  properties  of  such  other  substances  as  seemed  likely 
to  be  present  as  impurities  were  also  taken  into  account. 
Chem.  Lab.,  A.  M.  A.,  2,  15  (1909).  The  Composition  of  Commercial  Copper 
Citrate,  Rep.  Chem.  Lab.,  A.  M.  A.,  3,  27  (1910).  The  Composition  of  Strych- 
nine Arsenate,  Rep.  Chem.  Lab.,  A.  M.  A.,  3,  35  (1910).  Aromatic  Digestive 
Tablets,  Rep.  Chem.  Lab.,  A.  M!.  A.,  3,  64  (1910). 
4  An  additional  specimen  of  papaverine  hydrochloride  bearing  the  Merck 
label  was  examined  later  and  the  results  are  included  in  this  report.  This 
brand  of  papaverine  hydrochloride  was  not  used  by  Dr.  Macht. 
5  Pharmacopoeia  of  the  United  States,  8th  rev.,  pp.  109  and  295. 
