Am.  Jour.  Pharm. ) 
Mar.,  1879.  J 
Varieties. 
153 
anacardiaceous  plant  would  be  a  novelty,  these  bodies  having  hitherto  been  found 
only  in  the  leguminous,  rubiaceous  and  cedrulaceous  orders. — Jour.  Chem.  Soc, 
Dec  ,  1878,  from  Anales  de  la  Sociedad  Cientijica  Argentina,] uly,  1878. 
Substances  Obtained  from  Strawberry  Roots.  By  T.  L\  Phipson  — Strawberry 
Toot  contains  a  kind  of  tannin  called  fragarianin,  having  a  pale-yellow  color,  solu- 
ble in  water,  alcohol  and  slightly  acidulated  water,  and  giving  a  green  color  with 
salts.  It  forms  an  insoluble  compound  with  hydrochloric  acid,  and  is  precipitated 
in  purple  flakes  by  alkalies.  Fragarianin  may  be  obtained  pure  by  evaporating  an 
aqueous  solution  in  an  atmosphere  of  carbon  dioxide  ;  when  boiled  with  dilute  acids 
it  yields  fragarin,  which  may  be  obtained  from  the  root  by  digesting  5  grams  with 
a  5  per  cent,  hydrochloric  acid  solution  for  48  hours,  when  the  solution  is  filtered, 
strongly  acidified  and  boiled. 
As  the  temperature  rises,  the  color  changes  from  yellow  to  orange,  and,  after 
boiling  for  some  time,  fragarin  separates  out  as  a  reddish-brown  amorphous  powder, 
soluble  in  water,  alcohol  and  ether,  and  dissolving  in  potash  with  a  reddish-purple 
color.  It  forms  a  compound  with  sulphuric  acid,  and  a  yellow  nitro-compound 
when  treated  with  nitric  acid.  When  heated  with  hydrochloric  acid  and  potassium 
chlorate,  it  yields  a  yellow  chlorine  compound  insoluble  in  water  and  decomposed 
by  ammonia.  It  chars  when  heated,  probably  yielding  protocatechuic  acid,  which 
is  also  formed  when  fragarin  is  fused  with  potash.  Cinchona-red  and  fragarin  may 
be  distinguished  by  their  action  with  caustic  potash,  the  former  giving  a  dirty-green 
color  and  the  latter  a  reddish-browu  solution. 
Strawberry  root  also  contains  a  body  similar  to  quinovin,  which  yields  a  substance 
resembling,  but  not  identical  with,  quinovic  acid.  It  also  contains  a  small  quantity 
of  gallotannic  acid. — Jour.  Chem.  Soc,  Dec,  1878,  from  Chem.  News,  xxxviii,  185. 
Magnesia  as  an  Antidote  to  Arsenic — On  adding  magnesia  to  water  contain- 
ing arsenious  sulphide  in  suspension,  the  liquid  is  rapidly  decolorized,  according  to 
Ph.  de  Clermont  and  J.  Frommel,  with  the  formation  of  soluble  sulpharsenite  of 
magnesium  and  insoluble  arsenite  of  magnesium  The  reaction  takes  place  accord- 
ing to  the  equation,  aAs2S3+5Mg04-H20=Mg3(AsS3)24-2MgHAs03.  If  the 
filtered  liquid  is  heated  to  ebullition  the  sulpharsenite  is  decomposed,  insoluble  arse- 
nite being  formed  and  sulphuretted  hydrogen  evolved,  according  to  the  equation, 
Mg8(AsS3)2+7H20==2MgH  As03+6H2S+Mg0.  It  follows  from  this,  that  while 
magnesia  may  be  regarded  as  a  good  antidote  for  arsenic  as  long  as  it  is  present  as 
arsenious  acid,  the  reverse  is  the  case  if  a  portion  of  the  poison  has  been  converted 
into  sulphide ;  this  would  probably  escape  absorption  on  account  of  its  insolubility, 
but  is  rendered  soluble  by  magnesia.  The  transformation  of  arsenious  acid  into 
sulphide  has  been  noticed,  among  others,  by  L.  A.  Buchner  ("  Neues  Repert.,"  1868, 
p.  386),  who  found  in  the  intestinal  membranes  of  a  person  poisoned  by  arsenious 
acid  a  quantity  of  sulphide  of  arsenic  in  the  form  of  a  yellow  powder. — Rep.  de 
Phar.,  Sept.,  p.  402. 
