256 
Root  of  Euphorbia  Ipecacuanha. 
J  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
1    June  1, 1873. 
The  root  used  in  the  following  experiments  was  gathered  by  me  on 
the  third  of  August,  in  the  vicinity  of  Camden,  N.  J. 
It  was  first  reduced  to  powder,  this  macerated  with  ether  for  six 
days,  then  transferred  to  a  percolator  and  completely  exhausted  with 
ether;  this  percolate  was  set  aside  for  future  experiments.  The  resi- 
due was  transferred  to  a  capsule,  and  set  in  a  warm  place  to  facilitate 
the  evaporation  of  the  remaining  ether. 
This  residue  was  macerated  with  95  per  cent,  alcohol  for  four  days,, 
then  in  a  percolator  exhausted  with  alcohol,  the  percolate  set  aside,, 
the  residue  placed  in  an  evaporating-dish,  and  by  means  of  a  sand- 
bath  the  remaining  alcohol  driven  off. 
The  powdered  root  which  had  been  completely  extracted  by  ether 
and  alcohol  was  digested  in  water,  acidulated  with  hydrochloric  acids, 
at  a  temperature  of  eighty  degrees,  for  eight  days.  It  was  then, 
strained,  filtered,  and  the  filtrate  set  aside  for  future  investigation. 
Experiment  1.  The  clear  ethereal  tincture  was  allowed  to  evaporate 
spontaneously.  A  soft  yellow  mass  was  left  behind,  which  was  dis- 
solved in  benzin,  allowed  to  evaporate  spontaneously,  and  found  to 
consist  of  wax  and  fixed  oil. 
Experiment  2.  The  clear  alcoholic  tincture  was  evaporated  by  a 
water-bath  to  a  small  bulk,  set  aside  for  three  days,  but  no  change 
taking  place  in  its  appearance,  it  was  evaporated  by  a  steam  bath. 
A  dark-brown  soft  resinous  mass  resulted,  the  taste  of  which  is  at 
first  feeble,  but  when  kept  on  the  tongue  for  a  short  time,  or  brought 
in  contact  with  the  palate,  has  a  nauseous  and  very  pungent  taste. 
When  a  half  grain  of  this  resinous  matter  was  swallowed  it  acted  as 
a  cathartic,  producing  watery  stools ;  in  doses  of  1 J  or  2  grains  it 
produced  nausea  and  vomiting. 
It  appears,  according  to  a  statement  of  the  late  Dr.  Hewson,  of 
Philadelphia,  that  this  emetic  was  the  subject  of  an  inaugural  essay 
by  Dr.  Royal,  and  that  experiments  conducted  with  it  among  the  con- 
victs in  the  Walnut  Street  Prison  proved  it  to  be  advantageously 
available  for  all  the  purposes  of  an  emetic. 
Experiment  3.  This  resinous  matter  is  insoluble  in  ether  and  ben- 
zin. When  treated  with  acidulated  water  until  completely  exhausted, 
the  solution  gave  no  precipitate  with  iodohydrargyrate  of  potassium 
or  tannin.  When  redissolved  in  alcohol  it  is  copiously  precipitated 
on  addition  of  a  solution  of  subacetate  of  lead. 
