490 
Ulexine  in  Ulex  Europceus. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
Oct.,  1886. 
Twenty  grams  of  the  crushed  seed  was  first  exhausted  with  washed 
ether,  to  remove  fat,  and  on  evaporation  2*1  grams  of  greenish-yellow 
oil  of  bland  taste  was  obtained.  The  seed  was  then  exhausted  with 
84  per  cent,  alcohol,  the  tincture  giving  on  evaporation  1  gram  of 
brittle,  pale  greyish -green  resin.  On  treating  this  residue  with  water 
and  filtering,  the  filtrate  was  found  to  give  precipitates  with  solutions 
of  iodine  in  iodide  of  potassium  and  of  the  double  iodide  of  potassium 
and  mercury.  The  bulk  of  the  liquid,  after  concentration,  was 
shaken  with  ammonia  and  chloroform,  and  the  residue  obtained  on 
evaporating  the  chloroform  proved  to  be  an  organic  base,  for  which  I 
propose  the  name  "  ulexine." 
To  prepare  a  larger  quantity  of  the  base  I  operated  upon  3  kilos  of 
furze  seed  crushed  to  fine  powder,  moistened  with  84  per  cent,  alco- 
hol, closely  packed  in  a  percolator  and  slowly  exhausted  with  a 
further  quantity  of  alcohol.  The  percolate  on  distillation  gave  a 
residue  of  oily-looking  green  extract,  having  the  appearance  of  ex- 
tract of  male  fern,  and  like  it  giving  a  deposit;  the  yield  was  270 
grams.  This  extract  was  repeatedly  shaken  with  hot  water  until  the 
oily  matter  seemed  exhausted  of  alkaloid ;  the  insoluble  portion  was 
set, aside  for  future  examination.  The  watery  solution,  carefully 
evaporated  to  250  cc.  and  allowed  to  cool,  was  then  mixed  with  excess 
of  ammonia,  and  shaken  with  several  portions  of  chloroform ;  the 
chloroform  solutions  left  on  distillation  a  brown  syrupy  residue  con- 
taining the  base.  For  the  purpose  of  purification,  it  was  made  neutral 
with  hydrochloric  acid  ;  the  product  almost  immediately  solidified  to 
a  mass  of  crystals,  which  were  washed  with  absolute  alcohol  to  remove 
coloring  matter.  A  further  treatment  with  ammonia  and  chloroform 
gave  the  pure  base  as  a  compact  crystalline  mass  weighing  4*3  grams, 
being  a  yield  of  *143  per  cent,  calculated  on  the  seed.  Since  the 
above  experiment  was  made,  I  have  found  that  much  alkaloid  was 
left  in  the  residue,  and  its  complete  removal  will  form  the  subject  of 
another  communication. 
Ulexine  forms  colorless,  odorless  crystals,  with  a  bitter  and  some- 
what pungent  taste;  it  is  freely  soluble  in  water,  forming  a  strongly 
alkaline  solution.  Heated,  it  fuses,  darkens  and  decomposes,  giving 
off  vapor  that  burns  with  a  yellow  smoky  flame,  and  leaves  no  resi- 
due. Small  portions  placed  on  watch  glasses  gave,  with  nitric,  hy- 
drochloric, hydrobromic,  sulphuric  and  oxalic  acids,  in  a  few  hours, 
well  crystallized  salts.    The  salts  appear  to  be  freely  soluble  in  water, 
