510 
ON  PODOPHYLLIN. 
Dr.  Manlius  Smith,  in  vol.  xviii.  2d  series,  page  306,  of  the 
American  Journal  of  Pharmacy,  describes  a  good  method  of  pre- 
paring podophyllin,  which  is  a  favorite  purgative  with  the  so-called 
u  Eclectic  Practitioners."  He  says,  two  grains  will  purge  actively 
persons  of  ordinary  susceptibility,  and  three  grains  generally  suffice 
for  almost  any  one. 
John  W.  Cadbury  has  examined  the  proximate  constituents  of 
this  root  during  the  present  year,  (1858,)  and  presented  a  paper  on 
the  subject  to  the  Philadelphia  College  of  Pharmacy,  in  March 
last.  He  prepared  a  portion  of  the  resin  by  evaporating  the  alco- 
holic solution  in  a  water  bath  to  the  consistence  of  thin  syrup,  and 
precipitating  by  the  addition  of  three  times  its  bulk  of  water;  the 
podophyllin  was  deposited  in  the  form  of  a  yellowish  powder.  This 
had  an  extremely  bitter  taste,  and  in  the  dose  of  one  quarter  of  a 
grain  operates  as  a  brisk  purge.  It  changed  color,  becoming  darker, 
if  exposed  to  a  heat  above  90QF. 
In  conducting  my  examination  of  this  root,  I  did  not  repeat  the 
experiments  of  previous  observers,  but  endeavored  to  ascertain  by 
experiment,  whether  cold  water  would  dissolve  any  of  its  active 
principle,  and  determine  the  chemical  properties  of  it.  Also, 
whether  it  contained  a  vegetable  alkaloid. 
The  powdered  root  was  exhausted  by  cold  water  slightly  acidu- 
lated with  acetic  acid,  and  the  liquor  evaporated  to  the  consistence 
of  a  pilular  extract  by  a  gentle  heat.  Of  this  I  took,  in  divided 
doses,  fifty-six  grains  in  five  hours,  without  any  perceptible  effect, 
hence  the  portion  soluble  in  cold  water  or  very  dilute  acetic  acid  is 
his  experiments  during  the  summer  of  1846,  between  the  two  sessions  of 
our  School  of  Pharmacy.  2d.  His  thesis,  as  published,  was  presented  to 
the  College  in  January,  1847,  and  was  not  published  until  the  ollowing 
August.  3d.  The  claims  of  Mr.  Lewis  are  entirely  scientific,  and  refer  to 
the  discovery  of  the  chemical  nature  of  the  active  principle  of  podophyllin, 
its  activity  being  substantiated  by  experiments  on  himself.  4th.  The  claims 
of  Mr.  Merrill  more  particularly  relate  to  the  first  preparation  of  podophyl- 
lin as  a  therapeutic  agent  in  the  form  now  found  in  commerce.  5th.  In 
regard  to  the  claims  of  Dr.  King  (American  Eclectic  Dispensatory,  page 
749,)  of  having  used  podophyllin  since  1835,  and  of  having  written  about 
it  in  1844  and  1846,  we  must  say,  that  they  are  rather  therapeutical  than 
chemical,  refer  to  an  impure  substance  and  not  to  an  isolated  chemical 
principle,  and  where  wholly  unknown  to  Mr.  Lewis. — Editor  Amer.  Jour. 
Pharm. 
