Salts  of  Berberina.  i  j 
of  berberina  from  a  fifteen  hundred  pound  batch  of  root.  This  batch- 
yielded  very  nearly  three  hundred  ounces.  •  Although  the  exhaustion 
was  incomplete,  with  economy  I  could  not  carry  the  percolation 
farther. 
Sulphate  of  berberina  is  permanent,  exposure  to  the  atmosphere  does 
not  affect  it.  If  moisture  be  absorbed,  either  the  salt  is  impure  from 
hygroscopic  extractive  matter  or  free  sulphuric  acid. 
Berberina. — Rub  eight  parts  sulphate  of  berberina  in  a  wedgwood 
mortar,  cautiously  adding  ammonia  water  until  in  slight  excess.  Pour 
the  dark  liquid  into  thirty  two  parts  of  boiling  alcohol  and  allow  the 
mixture  to  stand  thirty  minutes,  then  filter.  Stir  into  the  filtrate  thirty  - 
two  parts  cold  sulphuric  ether  and  cover  tightlv.  Surround  the  vessel 
with  ice  and  allow  it  to  stand  from  twelve  to  twenty- four  hours,  then 
separate  the  magma  of  minute  crystals  of  berberina  with  a  muslin 
strainer  or  filtering  paper,  and  dry  by  exposure  to  the  atmosphere. 
Berberina  is  lemon-yellow  when  pure.  It  should  not  be  dark  oi 
orange,  which  shades  denote  impurity.  It  unites  directly  with  acids 
and  is  a  beautiful  organic  base.  It  forms  salts,  some  of  which  are 
very  soluble,  as  for  example  the  pyro-phosphate,  others  almost  insoluble 
I  find  it  impossible  to  make  one  part  of  carbazotate  of  berberina  dis- 
solve in  forty-five  thousand  parts  of  cold  distilled  water.  Berberina 
and  all  its  soluble  salts  are  bitter.  The  carbazotate  will  not  impart  a 
trace  of  bitterness  to  distilled  water,  notwithstanding  its  constituents  are- 
both  intensely  bitter,  therefore  I  believe  it  to  be  almost  if  not  abso- 
lutely insoluble. 
Berberina  is  soluble  in  about  four  and  a  half  parts  of  water,  tem- 
perature 6op  to  8o°F.  It  dissolves  moderately  in  officinal  alcohol,  is 
insoluble  in  ether  and  chloroform.  It  changes  to  orange  color  when 
heated  to  I50°F.,  and  slowly  resumes  its  original  shade  when  cooled. 
Phosphate  of  Berberina.  —  Dissolve  berberina  in  its  weight  of  boiling 
water  and  add  two  parts  of  dilute  phosphoric  acid,  drain  and  dry  the 
precipitate  by  exposure  to  the  atmosphere.  Care  must  be  taken  that 
the  acid  be  made  from  phosphorus  and  perfectly  free  from  nitric  acid. 
The  ortho-phosphate  is,  according  to  Mr.  Lord,  soluble  in  two 
hundred  and  eighty  parts  of  water. 
Hypophosphite  of  Berberina. — This  salt  may  be  prepared  by  substitu- 
ting in  the   above   formula   hypophosphorous   acid  for  phosphoriea 
Am.  Jour.  Fharrr.  \ 
Jan.,  1879.  j 
