342  Analysis  of  Eupatorium  Perfoliatum.   { Am,/u<5y"'I87^m,> 
ANALYSIS  OF  EUPATORIUM  PERFOLIATUM,  Lin. 
Reported  by  Peter  Collier,  Chemist,  to  Hon.  Wm.  G.  LeDuc,  Commissioner,, 
Department  of  Agriculture,  Washington,  D.  C,  June  5th,  1879. 
I  have  the  honor  to  report  the  following  result  of  the  examination  of 
"  Boneset,"  Eupatorium  perfoliatum.  This  plant  has  long  had  the  repu- 
tation in  domestic  medicine  of  being  a  good  tonic,  especially  valuable 
in  the  spring.  Physicians  also  have  attributed  to  it  virtues  as  a  diaphor- 
etic, expectorant,  emetic  and  anti- intermittent.  Whether  all  claimed 
for  it  is  true  must  be  settled  by  the  physician,  but  the  present  chemical 
examination  has  been  undertaken  with  the  hope  of  throwing  some  light 
upon  the  proximate  principles  to  which  are  due  the  medicinal  effects  of 
the  herb.  Partial  analyses  have  been  made  by  W.  Peterson  ("Amer. 
Jour.  Pharm.,"  185 1,  xxiii,  p.  206)  and  by  M.  H.  Bickley  ("Amer.. 
Jour.  Pharm.,"  1854,  xxvi,  p.  459s 
Probably  the  bitter  principle  is  the  only  one  of  medicinal  importance. 
It  is  a  brown  uncrystallizable  substance,  soluble  in  water  and  alcohol,, 
insoluble  in  ether.    It  was  impossible  to  purify  this  substance  well. 
Upon  evaporation  of  an  alcoholic  extract  of  the  drug  a  few  white 
prismatic  crystals  were  deposited.  These  crystals  were  difficultly  solu- 
ble in  hot  alcohol,  and  insoluble  in  ether,  water,  dilute -acids  and 
dilute  alkalies.  They  seem,  therefore,  to  be  neither  acid  nor  alkaloid, 
but  rather  of  an  indifferent  character. 
The  drug  appears  to  contain  very  little  volatile  oil,  although  its  odor 
may  be  accounted  for  by  this  small  amount  present. 
Starch  is  not  abundant.  The  tannic  acid  found  gave  the  usual  reac- 
tions, except  that  it  failed  to  precipitate  tartar  emetic  from  its  aqueous, 
solution.  The  albuminoids  were  calculated  from  total  nitrogen,  mul- 
tiplied by  6*25. 
It  is  impossible  to  say  whether  sugar  was  present  in  the  substance,, 
since  the  bitter  principle  would  probably  give  similar  reactions. 
The  following  analysis  is  regarded  as  an  approximation  only,  but 
care  has  been  taken  to  eliminate  all  preventable  errors.  The  analysis, 
was  made  by  Mr.  Parsons,  who  also  submits  the.  above  reports 
