AmbJe°cUri8P79arm  }     Supposed  Alkaloid  of  Podophyllum.  5  8 1 
of  berberina  and  saponin,  together  with  some  resinous  matter.  The 
precipitate  left  after  washing  with  water,  the  so-called  resinoid  podo- 
phyllin,  is  a  mixture  of  a  resin  and  the  volatile  principle,  which  are 
•soluble  in  ether,  and  a  portion  soluble  in  alcohol,  which  is  the  other 
alkaloid  in  combination  with  saponin  and  brown  resinous  matter." 
This  being  the  first  published  assertion  of  the  presence  of  an  alka- 
loid in  podophyllum,  soon  after  I  embraced  the  opportunity  of  ascer- 
taining the  correctness  of  the  statement  as  far  as  the  presence  of  ber- 
berina was  concerned,  by  working  up  the  mother-liquor  from  the  pre- 
paration of  the  resin  from  several  hundred  pounds  of  podophyllum.  It 
Was  evaporated  to  a  small  bulk,  strongly  acidulated  by  hydrochloric  acid, 
and  the  resulting  crystalline  precipitate  again  dissolved  in  boiling  water 
and  treated  with  hydrochloric  acid.  On  cooling  and  standing,  deep 
yellow  crystals  were  obtained,  resembling  those  of  commercial  hydro- 
chlorate  of  berberina,  but  evidently  tinged  with  a  notable  quantity  of 
brown  coloring  matter.  The  crystals,  which  weighed  between  one 
and  two  drachms,  were  laid  aside  for  future  examination  and  purifica- 
tion, but  no  opportunity  presenting  itself  for  some  years,  the  substance 
was  eventually  lost.  However,  its  appearance  was  so  convincing  that 
it  seemed  to  furnish  a  valid  reason  for  the  addition  of  hydrochloric  acid 
in  preparing  the  officinal  resin  of  podophyllum  ("Amer.  Jour.  Pharm.," 
1863,  p.  303). 
When  about  the  year  1868  or  1869  I  undertook  the  separation  of 
berberina  from  the  officinal  resin  prepared  by  myself,  I  was  surprised 
at  not  finding  the  alkaloid  sought ;  but  noticed  in  its  stead  the  solubility 
in  hot  water  of  that  portion  of  the  resin  which  is  soluble  in  ether  (see 
"Amer.  Jour.  Pharm.,"  1874,  p.  231).  It  is  the  same  substance  which 
was  obtained  by  Wm.  Hodgson  in  183 1  (see  "Jour.  Phil.  Coll.  Phar.," 
Ill,  p.  273),  by  boiling  the  rhizome  in  water,  and  the  laxative  proper- 
ties of  which  were  ascertained  by  him.  The  various  investigators  who 
'have  since  experimented  with  podophyllum  could  either  not  discover 
any  alkaloid  at  all,  or  observed  only  slight  indications  of  its  presence 
through  the  reaction  with  one  of  the  general  reagents  for  alkaloids, 
notably  with  Mayer's  test  liquid.  Since,  however,  the  proximate  com- 
position of  the  resin  as  obtained  from  the  rhizome  collected  in  the 
spring  and  autumn  varies  to  some  extent,  it  seemed  also  possible  that 
the  alkaloid,  if  present,  might  be  found  in  larger  proportion  at  one 
period  than  at  another.    The  valuable  paper  contributed  by  Mr.  Biddle 
