THE  AMERICAN 
JOURNAL  OF  PHARMACY. 
SEPTEMBER,  1886. 
EXAMINATIONS  OF  AMERICAN  DRUGS. 
(Abstracts  from  Theses.) 
Xanthoxylum  fraxineum,  Willdenow. — Edward  T.  Moffit,  Ph.G., 
examined  this  bark  and  found  the  air-dry  powder  to  retain  8  per  cent, 
of  moisture  and  to  yield  11*08  per  cent,  of  ash,  one-fifth  of  which 
was  soluble  in  water,  and  three-fourths  soluble  in  hydrochloric  acid, 
a  little  silica  being  left  undissolved.  Treatment  with  benzin  yielded 
3*2  per  cent,  of  greenish  fixed  oil  mixed  with  a  crystalline  resin,  the 
latter  being  doubtless  identical  with  that  previously  observed  by  Lloyd 
(Amee.  Jour.  Phar.,  1876,  p.  226),  and  by  Colton  (Ibid.,  1880,  p. 
192).  Ether  now  extracted  from  the  powder  4'34  per  cent,  green 
acrid  resin,  and  absolute  alcohol  gave  2*70  per  cent,  of  extract,  con- 
sisting of  resin,  a  little  sugar,  tannin,  coloring  matter,  precipitated  by 
basic  lead  acetate,  and  an  alkaloid  which  was  isolated  by  adding  am- 
monia, agitating  with  chloroform  and  evaporating  the  latter  wThen 
yellowish  crystals  were  left.  These  were  soluble  in  alcohol  and 
chloroform,  insoluble  in  benzin,  ether  and  benzol,  had  a  slighly  bitter 
taste,  produced  with  nitric  acid  a  yellow  solution,  with  sulphuric  acid 
a  brown  color  changing  to  dark  red,  and  precipitates  with  the  follow- 
ing reagents  :  Potassio- mercuric  iodide  white  floccu  lent;  auric  chloride 
reddish-brown  and  red;  platinic  chloride  brownish-yellow  ;  picric  acid 
yellowish ;  tannic  acid  grayish-yellow.  The  alkaloid  is  doubtless 
identical  with  that  obtained  by  Colton  (Log.  cit,  p.  193)  from  Xan. 
carolinianum,  but  this  is  stated  to  be  insoluble  in  chloroform. 
Further  treatment  of  the  powder  showed  the  presence  of  sugar, 
gum,  bitter  extractive  and  albuminoids,  and  the  absence  of  starch. 
Kalmia  angustifolia,  Lin. — This  small  shrub  is  known  as  dwarf- 
laurel  or  lambkill,  and  is  reputed  to  be  poisonous  to  sheep.  Thos.  I. 
Deibert,  Ph.G.,  collected  several  pounds  of  the  leaves  which  on  dry- 
ing by  exposure  to  the  air  lost  64  per  cent,  in  weight;  the  loss  of  air 
dried  leaves  at  an  elevated  temperature  was  10  per  cent.    They  were 
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