Am.  Jour.  Pharru. 
May,  1S86. 
Nance  Bark. 
2S9 
NANCE  BAEK. 
By  Ferdinand  Holberg,  Ph.G. 
(Abstract  from  a  Thesis.) 
Being  unable  to  ascertain  the  botanical  origin  of  this  bark/  I  can 
only  state  that  the  tree  yielding  it  is  indigenous  to  Mexico,  and  that 
the  bark  is  largely  used  in  that  country  for  tanning  purposes.  The 
following  investigations  were  made  in  the  chemical  laboratory  of  the 
Philadelphia  College  of  Pharmacy: 
The  bark  is  seen  in  pieces  which  are  from  8  to  16  inches  long  and 
J  to  J  inch  thick ;  externally  it  is  grayish  brown,  warty,  transversely 
wrinkled  and  deeply  fissured,  and  has  a  thick,  corky  layer;  internally 
it  is  brownish  red,  wrinkled  and  striate  from  prominent  bast  fibres ; 
the  transverse  fracture  is  splintery,  and  the  longitudinal  fracture 
smooth. 
The  powdered  bark  lost  on  drying  12*4  per  cent,  of  moisture,  and 
yielded  6"8  per  cent,  of  ash,  of  which  28*17  per  cent,  was  soluble  in 
water,  6 7 '25  soluble  in  hydrochloric  acid,  leaving  an  insoluble  residue 
of  4*58  per  cent. 
The  result  of  the  proximate  analysis  was  as  follows : 
Extracted  by  petroleum  spirit :  crystalline  principle   1  85 
Extracted  by  ether:  resin  and  crystalline  principle   4-87 
Extracted  by  alcohol:  tannin,  glucose,  etc   28'26 
Extracted  by  water :  glucose,  coloring  matter,  etc   3'15 
Extracted  by  soda :  albuminoids,  etc   2*58 
Extracted  by  hydrochloric  acid:  calcium  oxalate     273 
Cellulose  (after  treatment  with  chlorine)   34'48 
The  crystals  obtained  from  petroleum  spirit  were  feathery,  white, 
soluble  in  absolute  alcohol  and  strong  ether,  dissolved  in  sulphuric 
acid  with  a  yellow  color,  melted  at  176°  C,  and  did  not  react  with 
alkaloidal  reagents.  The  ether  extract  was  mostly  soluble  in  water, 
the  insoluble  portion  dissolving  in  alkalies  with  a  dark  red-brown 
color.  Alkaloids  could  not  be  detected,  but  the  aqueous  solution 
rendered  alkaline  yielded  to  petroleum  spirit  a  crystalline  principle 
which  was  readily  soluble  in  water,  was  not  affected  by  alkaloidal 
reagents,  and  did  not  reduce  Fehling's  solution. 
1  In  a  list  of  plants  published  in  Donde's  Botanica,  Nancenes  is  stated  to  be 
a  Malpighia,  probably  M.  glabra,  Lin.  The  malpighiaceae  are  confined  to 
tropical  regions  and  are  mostly  strongly  astringent,  their  barks,  and  in  some 
cases  also  the  wood,  being  frequently  adapted  for  tanning. — Editor. 
