43° 
Varieties. 
{Am.  Jour.  Pharm- 
Sept.,  1876. 
solves  more  readily  in  worts  than  in  a  simple  solution  of  glucose  ;  and  it  was  found 
that  ether  does  not  extract  the  whole  of  the  acid  when  shaken  with  the  former  solu- 
tion until  after  acidification  with  hydrochloric  acid.  Further  experiments  showed 
that  a  molecule  of  disodio-hydric  phosphate  fixes  two  thirds  of  a  molecule  of  sali- 
cylic acid,  whilst  one  molecule  of  the  same  salt  is  capable  of  fixing  only  half  a  mole- 
cule of  .benzoic  acid.  Since  it  is  only  the  free  acid  which  exercises  an  antiseptic 
or  anti-fermentative  influence,  and  beer  worts  contain  phosphates,  the  differences  in 
the  behavior  of  salicylic  and  benzoic  acids  respectively  to  worts  receives  a  ready 
explanation. 
As  might  be  expected  from  the  richness  of  urine  in  phosphates,  a  larger  quantity 
of  both  acids  is  required  to  check  putrefactive  changes  in  urine  than  to  prevent  the 
fermentation  of  saccharine  solutions  and  worts.  In  both  cases  '5  per  1,000  of  free 
acid  was  about  the  quantity  necessary  to  effect  the  object  in  view. 
It  is  obvious  that  when  antiseptic  uses  are  in  view,  salicylic  acid  should  not  be 
employed  dissolved  in  solutions  of  sodium  phosphate,  borax,  or  other  alkaline  me- 
dium.— Jour.  Chem.  Soc.  [Lond.],  June,  1876,  from  J.  Prakt.  Chem.  [2],  xii,  178 
— 2,03. 
An  Alkaloid  occurring  in  the  Brain  and  the  Liver,  and  in  the  Wild 
Poppy.  By  F.  Selmi. — In  examining  the  brain  or  liver  for  poisonous  alkaloids,  if 
after  treatment  with  ether,  it  is  extrcated  with  amylic  alcohol  to  ascertain  if  mor- 
phia is  present,  and  the  solution  is  evaporated,  a  yellowish  residue  is  obtained  par- 
tially soluble  in  dilute  acetic  acid.  On  adding  a  drop  of  iodized  hydriodic  acid  to 
this  solution  after  it  has  been  concentrated  at  a  gentle  heat,  and  immediately  exam- 
ining it  under  the  microscope  (650  diameters),  brown  crystalline  plates  will  be  ob- 
served, sometimes  solitary,  sometimes  united  to  form  a  cross,  and  rapidly  disappear- 
ing, being  transformed  into  brown  oily  drops.  The  same  phenomena  are  observed 
even  when  the  acetic  solution  has  been  evaporated  to  dryness  and  heated  for 
some  time  to  1200,  if  the  residue  is  again  dissolved  in  water  and  tested  with  the 
iodized  hydriodic  acid.  As  these  crystals  closely  resemble  those  produced  with 
morphia  by  the  action  of  the  same  reagent,  it  is  always  necessary  in  toxicologieal 
researches  to  apply  the  iodic  acid  test.  On  agitating  the  amylic  extract  with  water 
several  times,  the  alkaloid  is  dissolved  out,  yielding  an  alkaline  solution,  which  after 
being  acidulated  with  acetic  acid,  gives  the  above-mentioned  reaction  even  more 
definitely.    The  quantity  contained  in  the  brain  and  liver  is,  however,  very  small. 
When  examining  the  green  heads  of  the  wild  poppy  for  morphia,  by  exhausting 
them  with  alcohol,  mixing  the  extract  with  baryta,  and  finally  treating  it  first  with 
ether  and  then  with  amylic  alcohol,  the  author  observed  that  the  amylic  solution 
behaved  in  a. manner,  precisely  similar  to  that  obtained  from  the  brain  and  liver  j, 
the  acidified  aqueous  extract  giving  fugitive  crystals  identical  in  form  and  color 
with  those  previously  mentioned:  no  morphia,  however,  could  be  detected,  neither 
did  the  dried  capsules  contain  any  alkaloid  giving  these  reactions.  On  keeping  the 
alkaline  solution  obtained  by  agitating  the  amylic  extract  with  water,  it  lost  its 
alkaline  reaction  after  a  week  and  no  longer  gave  the  same  kind  of  crystals  with  the 
iodized  hydriodic  acid.  The  solution,  saturated  with  acetic  acid,  may,  on  the  con- 
trary, be  preserved  unaltered  if  mixed  with  an  equal  volume  of  alcohol.  The  au- 
thor gives  a  list  of  the  reactions  of  this  alkaloid  with  13  different  reagents,  which 
reactions  are  identical,  whether  it  has  been  prepared  from  green  poppy  heads  or 
from  the  alcoholic  extract  of  the  brain.  This  should  be  made  with  absolute  alco- 
hol, then  precipitated  by  basic  acetate  of  lead,  filtered,  and  mixed  with  ether;  this 
produces  a  second  precipitate  which  is  to  be  removed,  and  the  clear  solution  evapo- 
rated after.  the:  lead,  has  been  separated  by  means  of  ammonium  sulphide..  .The 
second  lead,  precipitate  produced  by  the  ether,  when  decomposed  in  a  similar  man- 
ner, yields  a  .substance  differing  from  the  new  alkaloid,  in  that  it  does  not  give  any 
precipitate  either  with  the  iodide  of  potassium  and  cadmium,  or  with  Mayer's 
reagent. — Ibid. ,  from  Gazzetta  Chimica  Italiana^v,,z^%—^.02.j  _ 
