324 
Bitter  Principle  of  Cranberry. 
( Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
I       July,  1886. 
drogen  gas  and  after  filtration  evaporated  to  the  consistency  of  a  thin 
syrup,  in  which,  however,  no  crystals  were  formed  even  after  two 
weeks'  standing. 
Experiment  4. — Several  pounds  of  the  not  quite  ripe  berries  were 
crushed  and  macerated  with  water  until  the  whole  presented  itself  as  a 
reddish  mass ;  it  was  then  pressed,  the  liquid  precipitated  with  lead  sub- 
acetate  and  this  mixture  evaporated  on  the  water  bath  to  the  consist- 
ency of  a  thin  extract,  which  was  repeatedly  treated  with  hot  alcohol. 
The  alcoholic  liquid  was  distilled  and  the  residue  left  in  the  flask,  as  it 
gave  yet  a  precipitate  with  lead  subacetate,  was  treated  with  this  reagent. 
After  having  removed  the  lead  from  the  filtrate,  the  latter  was  evapo- 
rated to  a  thin  syrup,  which,  however,  did  not  furnish  any  crystals. 
The  syrup-like  liquids,  obtained  in  3  and  4,  were  then  for  further  puri- 
fication mixed,  repeatedly  extracted  with  a  mixture  of  1  part  of  alco- 
hol of  0'820  spec,  gravity  and  of  3  parts  of  officinal  chloroform,  the 
solution  subjected  to  distillation  and  the  residue  dissolved  in  water. 
This  solution  possessed  a  sweetish  bitter  taste  and  reduced  an  alkaline 
copper  solution,  evidently  proving  that  some  of  the  glucose,  contained 
in  the  berries,  had  entered  the  same ;  for  further  purification  it  was 
now  treated  with  a  mixture  of  1  part  of  alcohol  of  0*820  spec.  grav. 
and  of  3  parts  of  ether  of  0'735  spec.  grav. ;  but  without  the  desired 
result,  as  the  liquid  remaining  after  the  separation  of  the  alcohol  and 
ether  did  yet  reduce  an  alkaline  copper  solution.  As  always  before  no 
crystallization  took  place  in  the  properly  condensed  liquid.  The  bit- 
ter principle  thus  obtained  from  the  berries,  conducted  itself  equal  to 
that  prepared  from  the  leaves  with  the  exception,  that  it,  as  stated,  reduced 
an  alkaline  copper  solution,  as  also  a  silver  nitrate  solution,  which 
latter  too  was  due  to  the  presence  in  it  of  glucose ;  the  reduction  of  the 
copper  solution  was  effected  long  before  the  boiling  point  was  reached ; 
the  silver  solution  also  was  easily  reduced  as  soon  as  the  liquid  began 
to  boil,  in  which  last  case  a  slight  mirror  of  silver  was  deposited  on 
the  glass,  while  a  brownish  black  powder  was  suspended  in  the  liquid. 
According  to  the  above,  the  bitter  principle  of  the  cranberry  can  be 
prepared  and  obtained  in  a  purer  state  more  easily  from  the  leaves 
etc.,  than  from  the  berries. 
The  result  of  the  above  experiments  and  of  a  few  other  trials  is,  as 
may  be  said  here  in  a  few  words,  the  following : 
The  American  cranberry  ( Vaccinium  macrocarpon,  Lin.)  contains  in 
all  parts  a  very  bitter  uncrystallizable  principle,  for  which  I  would 
