i36 
ghiinia  Test. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
Mar.,  1879. 
VT7 
10  cc.  hot  water  (50  to  6o°C).  After  setting  aside  for  ten  minutes 
and  shaking  to  prevent  the  sudden  expulsion  of  the  mass,  the  liquid  is 
passed  through  a  small  filter,  about  60  mm.  in  diameter,  into  the 
quininometer  up  to  i?,  then  1  cc.  of  ether  (to  mark  C)  is 
added,  and  afterwards  5  drops  of  ammonia  water.  The 
qnininometer  is  then  corked  and  slowly  shaken;  the  am- 
monia liberates  the  alkaloids,  and  these  are  taken  up  by 
the  ether,  which  rises  to  the  surface.  After  setting  aside 
for  two  hours,  the  layer  of  ether  should  be  devoid  of  crys- 
tals when  examined  with  a  lens.  The  officinal  ether  and 
ammonia  will  answer  for  this  test.  Special  skill  in  its 
application  is  not  required  ;  at  the  same  time  the  result  is 
very  reliable,  and  does  not,  like  some  tests,  depend  in  a 
great  measure  on  the  skill  of  the  operator. 
If  the  etherial  solution  is  devoid  of  crystals  the  sul- 
phate of  quinia  is  sufficiently  pure,  but  it  may  still  contain 
0*25  per  cent,  sulphate  of  cinchonia,  0*5  per  cent,  sul- 
phate of  quinidia  and  about  1  per  cent,  sulphate  of  cin- 
chonidia  and  homo-cinchonidia,  which  cannot  be  recog- 
nized by  this  method.  If,  however,  these  salts  are  present 
in  larger  quantity,  crystals  will  be  separated  in  the  layer 
of  ether,  and  if  of  granular  appearance  will  indicate  the 
presence  of  homo-cinchonidia  or  cinchonidia,  while 
concentrically-arranged  needles  show  the  presence  of 
cinchonia  or  quinidia.  If  the  cinchonidia  or  homo-cin- 
chonidia in  sulphate  of  quinia  amounts  to  or  exceeds  3 
per  cent.,  as  sometimes  occurs,  the  granular  crystals  will 
separate  in  the  layer  of  ether  immediately  or  within  3 
minutes  after  shaking.  If  this  crystallization  occurs 
only  after  about  10  minutes  it  may  be  concluded  that  the 
preparation  contains  about  2  per  cent,  of  admixture.  If 
1  per  cent,  is  present,  the  etherial  solution  is  still  clear 
after  2  hours,  but  in  12  hours  a  few  crystals  of  cincho- 
nidia or  homo-cinchonidia  are  noticed.  If  even  after 
that  time  no  crystals  appear,  it  is  evident  that  less  than 
1  per  cent,  is  present.  In  order  to  ascertain  whether  the 
latter  alkaloids  are  present  at  all,  it  is  only  necessary  to  loosen  the  cork 
of  the  quininometer,  allowing  the  ether  to  evaporate  slowly  ;  0*5  per 
cent,  of  sulphate  of  cinchonidia  or  homo  cinchonidia  will  leave  a  dis- 
A 
Quininometer. 
