Salts  of  Berberina. 
Am.  Jour.  PhartiD 
Jan.,  187^. 
may  be  procured  in  minute  quantities  by  distilling  water  in  contact  with 
the  root. 
Resinous  Substances. — Decant  the  aqueous  solution  from  which  the 
oil  was  separated,  and  at  the  bottom  of  the  vessel  will  be  found  a  black: 
tarry  substance,  thickly  interspersed  with  yellow  pai tides.  Usually  a 
yellow  shining  layer  covers  the  top.  This  consists  of  resin,  a  little  oil, 
and  mixtures  of  both  the  white  and  yellow  alkaloids  with  the  resin  and 
yellow  coloring  matter.  Perhaps  a  combination  exists  between  this 
substance  and  the  alkaloids  which  settle  with  it.  It  is  difficult 
to  separate  them  by  simply  washing  in  hot  water,  which  should 
scarcely  be  the  case  if  they  are  dissociated,  inasmuch  as  the  sul- 
phates of  both  alkaloids  are  quite  soluble  in  this  menstruum.  Wash 
the  precipitate  well,  and  dry.  This  black  resinous  substance  is  acrid 
to  the  taste,  slightly  soluble  in  hot  water  and  dilute  acids,  soluble  in 
concentrated  sulphuric  acid,  to  which  it  imparts  a  deep  red  color,  and 
from  which  it  is  separated  by  the  addition  of  water.  It  may  be  a  mix- 
ture of  several  proximate  principles. 
In  some  respects  this  substance  reminds  us  of  the  amorphous  mate- 
rial obtained  from  cinchona  known  as  chinoidin,  and  it  may,  perhaps, 
be  largely  composed  of  a  principle  from  hydrastis,  bearing  a  somewhat 
similar  relation  to  hvdrastia  that  chinoidin  bears  to  the  crystallizable 
alkaloids  of  the  cinchonas. 
Hydrastia. — This  white  or  vellowish-white  alkaloid  exists  as  sulphate 
in  the  liquid  decanted  from  the  last-named  preparation.  It  is  associ- 
ated with  small  amounts  of  all  the  preceding  substances  and  a  soluble 
vegetable  acid.  To  obtain  it  add  an  alkali,  preferably  ammonia  water,, 
in  excess  to  the  cold  liquid,  and  allow  the  brown  or  brownish-yellow 
precipitate  to  settle  ;  then  decant  the  supernatant  liquid  and  wash 
the  precipitate  with  cold  water.  Add  cold  water  enough  to  the 
drained  precipitate  to  bring  to  the  original  volume,  and  then  slight 
excess  of  sulphuric  acid.  Allow  it  to  stand  in  a  cold  place  twenty- 
four  hours  and  filter.  To  the  filtrate  add  an  alkali  in  excess,, 
and  wash  the  precipitate  as  before.  Dry  the  precipitate,  dissolve 
in  boiling  alcohol,  filter  and  crystallize.  These  crystals  are  of  a 
deep  dark  yellow  color.  They  are  not  bitter,  but  impart  a  disagree- 
able acrid  sensation  to  the  throat  and  fauces.  The  yellow  color 
results  from  the  intimate  admixture  of  a  vellow  substance,  very  soluble 
