ON ACHILLEINE AND ACHILLEJC ACID. 
57 
ART. XVII.— ON ACHILLEINE AND ACHILLEIC ACID. 
By B. Zanon. 
M. Zanon obtains the active principle of this plant,* which 
is used in the south of Europe as a substitute for sulphate 
of quinine in intermittent fevers, by boiling 2,000 grammes 
of the dried plant with 16 lbs. of rain water for about two 
hours. The residue is again boiled twice with smaller 
quantities of water, and the filtered solutions are mixed. 
These are then clarified with white of egg, and evaporated 
at a gentle heat until a whitish pellicle is formed on the sur- 
face. After twenty-four hours the cold liquid deposits a 
mass, consisting for the most part of vegetable fibre, green 
coloring substance, with some coagulated albumen, extrac- 
tive matter insoluble in alcohol, lime salts, and traces of si- 
lica. The filtered bitter and acid liquid is treated with an . 
excess of hydrate of lime, which produces a white precipi- 
tate ; upon this the liquid is treated with acetate of lead as 
long as any precipitate is formed. This is collected on a 
filter, and the solution saturated with sulphuretted hydro- 
gen, after which it still possesses a yellowish colour and a 
very bitter taste. On evaporation it yields nearly 150 
grammes of dry extract, which, as well as the previously 
filtered sulphuret of lead, are exhausted with alcohol. The 
two, mixed and evaporated, yield 130 grammes extract, 
which the author calls achilleine. As the author found that 
substance thus obtained still contained some acetate of lime, 
resin, &c, he modified the above process, and treated the 
neutralized decoction with animal charcoal, evaporated to 
dryness, and extracted with boiling absolute alcohol. In 
this way the formation of acetate of lime was avoided and 
time saved. Achilleine can be freed from the slight trace 
of resin by solution in water. The colour of achilleine is in- 
* Achillea millifolium — Yarrow. 
