RESEARCHES ON GENTIANINE, 
45 
ART. XII.— RESEARCHES ON GENTIANINE. 
By Dr. Baumert . 
Gentianine was first considered to be the bitter and 
medicinal principle of the gentian root; and subsequently, 
after it had been prepared by Tronisdorff pure and free 
from the bitter principle of the root, it was looked upon as 
a colouring substance, and called by Lecomte genticine. 
The following investigation makes us acquainted with the 
composition and chemical nature of this body. To prepare 
it, the gentian root was first freed from a portion of the 
bitter extract by exhaustion with cold water, then dried 
again and extracted with alcohol. On removing this by 
distillation, a brown resinous mass, of an excessively bitter 
taste and acid reaction, remains. On pouring water over 
it, light brown flakes separate, while the bitter principle, 
the acid, sugar, &c., dissolve in the water. The precipitate 
thrown down by water from the syrupy residue is purified 
as much as possible from the bitter substance by washing ; 
it then contains gentianine, a caoutchouc-like substance, fat, 
and still some of the bitter principle. The fat is removed 
by treatment with sether, and the residue again dissolved 
in strong alcohol, which upon evaporation leaves a crystal- 
line mass still possessing a bitter taste and containing an 
admixture of resin. The gentianine is at last obtained pure 
by frequent recrystallization in light yellow acicular crys- 
tals; but this mode of preparation is connected with conside- 
rable loss, as the gentianine is somewhat soluble in water, 
and still more so in sether. Only 1 drm. of gentianine was 
obtained from 20 lbs. of the root; but even this amount 
was greater than that obtained according to the process 
advised by Lecomte, which is based upon the fact that the 
