AmNo°^'ii^rm' }  Gleanings  from  the  German  Journals.  557 
tion  in  Europe,  being  highly  recommended  by  Dr.  H.  Dassein  as  a  reli- 
able remedy  for  complaints  of  the  kindeys  and  bladder,  inflammation  of  the 
gall,  bladder  and  various  diseases  of  the  urinary  organs.  The  author 
used  an  extract  made  from  the  stigmas.  The  virtues  of  this  extract 
deserve  to  be  further  investigated.— Pharm.  HandelsbL,  Sept.  10,  1879^ 
p.  37,  from  Gehes  Ber. 
Dragendorff 's  Test  for  Strychnia. — On  adding  iodic  acid  to 
strychnia  the  latter  turns  temporarily  red,  the  color  soon  changing  to  a 
permanent  reddish-brown.  Francesco  Seimi  reinvestigated  this  subject,, 
and  found  that  the  color- reaction  does  not  take  place  between  a  minute 
quantity  of  strychnia  in  cold  aqueous  solution  and  the  reagent,  but 
becomes  visible  immediately  on  the  addition  of  iodic  acid  to  the  evapora- 
tion residue  of  one  drop  of  an  aqueous  strychnia  solution,  which  has 
previously  been  saturated  with  dilute  sulphuric  acid  (4  per  cent.)  Thusr 
I  milligram  strychnia,  transformed  into  the  sulphate,  yields  immediately, 
when  tritutated  with  a  small  crystal  of  iodic  acid,  the  temporary  red 
coloration,  which  first  turns  brown,  then  cherry-red,  then  orange-red 
and  finally  (on  the  following  day)  bright-red  with  a  scarcely  perceptible 
violet  tint,  when  the  color  remains  unaltered  for  a  long  time.  This 
red  color  changes  to  straw-yellow  when  saturated  with  sodium  bicar- 
bonate, the  original  color  being  again  restored  on  the  addition  of  acids. 
— Pharm.  Ztg.,  Sept.  10,  1879,  p.  565,  from  Bull,  delle  Sdenze  Med.  di 
Bologna. 
Note  on  Aspidosspermia. — (See  "Amer.  Journ.  Pharm.,"  April, 
1879,  p.  192).  G.  Fraude  states  that,  according  to  Pedro  N.  Arrata's 
report,  his  (Fraude's)  aspidosspermia  was  obtuined  from  Aspidossperma 
Quebracho  "bianco,"  Schlechtd.,  which  explains  why  it  has  a  different 
composition  and  different  properties  from  the  aspidosspermia  isolated 
from  Quebracho  Colorado  (for  Quebracho  Colorado  see  "Am.  Journ. 
Pharm.,  March,  1877,  P-  lS2)  »  tne  autnor  also  claims  that  his  original 
formula,  C22H30N2O2,  is  correct,  that  the  principle  ought  to  be  prepared 
at  a  moderate  heat,  and  that  1  part  finely  powdered  crystallized  aspi- 
dosspermia is  soluble  at  I4°C.  in  48  parts  99  per  cent,  alcohol,  in  io6> 
parts  ether,  containing  neither  water  nor  alcohol,  and  in  6,000  parts 
water  the  aqueous  solution  still  possessing  a  distinct  bitter  taste.  The 
bark  of  Aspidossperma  Quebracho  bianco  is  not  yet  an  article  of  com- 
merce.— Ber.  d.  Deutsch.  Chem.  Ges.,  1879,  p.  1560. 
