460 
Notes  on  Senna, 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm 
Sept.,  1888. 
— the  coriaria  myrtifolia  gives  when  infused  precipitates  with  gelatin, 
bichloride  of  mercury,  and  antim.  tart,  which  senna  does  not,  and  also 
a  dark  blue  with  salts  of  iron.  The  only  bad  case  of  adulteration 
which  I  have  met  with  was  with  buchu  leaves.  These  would  have 
attracted  the  attention  of  anyone  on  the  look  out,  by  their  different 
shape  and  peculiar  odor,  but  in  the  case  referred  to  did  not  attract 
the  attention  of  the  purchaser,  who  made  his  senna  tea,  and  suffered 
accordingly.  Had  the  sample  been  in  powder,  the  mistake  would 
have  been  almost  unavoidable.  As  partially  exhausted  leaves  would, 
of  course,  give  less  ash  and  extract  than  the  senna  unexhausted,  I 
made  some  examinations  of  undoubtedly  pure  senna  leaves,  both 
Alexandrian  and  Tinnevelly,  and  though  the  results  show  nothing 
very  striking,  I  think  they  are  of  sufficient  interest  as  a  small  contri- 
bution to  our  knowledge  to  be  worth  laying  before  you. 
No. 
Kind  and  Source. 
Total. 
Sol.  in 
Water 
Sol.  in 
HCl. 
Inso- 
luble. 
Alkal- 
inity 
as  KjO 
Alcoholic 
Extract 
of  Ash 
&  Water- 
free. 
1 
Tinnevelly,  Brown  and 
11-48 
2-4 
8-86 
•2 
1-16 
30- 
2 
11-22 
2-31 
8-77 
•1 
1-14 
29-9 
3 
Tinnevelly,  Apothecaries' 
Hall  
11-34 
2-35 
8-72 
•2 
1-16 
33-19 
4 
11-39 
2-67 
8-31 
-4 
1-06 
31-78 
5 
Powdered  Alexandrian, 
11-69 
2-35 
7-86 
1-49 
•84 
33-3 
6 
Alexandrian  Apotheca- 
11-64 
2-91 
8-36 
•37 
1-06 
29-04 
7 
Ditto    in  powder  
11-35 
2-66 
7-98 
•60 
2-06 
30-13 
8 
Alexandrian,  Allen  and 
12-36 
2-96 
9.02 
•38 
1-54 
35-5 
9 
12-54 
3-18 
9-12 
•24 
1-76 
35-41 
10 
Powder  from  Allen  and 
Hanbury,  believed  to  be 
13-98 
1-22 
11-91 
•85 
1-69 
27-75 
11 
Powder  No.  85,  from 
19-01 
3-01 
12-86 
3-14 
1-22 
29-55 
Ditto  No.  88,  ditto,  ,, 
12-89 
2-48 
9-05 
1-36 
1-25 
30-00 
12 
6-06 
2-73 
3-25 
0^07 
1-47 
17.49 
On  examining  pow^dered  senna  under  the  microscope,  one  is  struck 
by  the  fact  that  the  white  translucent  hairs  from  the  back  of  the  leaf 
are  quite  unchanged  by  the  powdering,  so  that  if  one  is  familiar  with 
the  appearance  of  undoubtedly  genuine  samples  of  powdered  senna 
