306 
Anatolian  Licorice  Root. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
June,  1895. 
of  gallotannic  acid — rather  than  to  catechol  and  protocatechuic 
acid,  which  are  derived  in  like  manner  from  oak  bark  tannin.  The 
partial  vitiation  of  those  reactions  was  undoubtedly  due  to  the  ina- 
bility of  the  process  of  purification  to  separate  every  trace  of  the 
oil  and  resin  which  were  associated  so  tenaciously  with  the  tannin. 
In  order,  therefore,  to  conclusively  decide  to  which  class  the  tannin 
of  cloves  belongs,  two  combustions  were  made  of  a  quantity  of  the 
principle  that  had  been  dried  at  1 20°  C. 
The  centesimal  composition  of  gallotannic  acid  and  of  white  oak 
bark  tannin  are  supplied  for  comparison  with  the  results  of  these 
elementary  analyses: 
Tannin  of  Cloves. 
I.               II.           Average.     Gallotannic  White  Oak 
Acid.  Bark  Tannin. 
Carbon  52*95          51*80          52*37          52*10  59*95 
Hydrogen  3*71           3 '66           3*69           3*52  5*04 
Oxygen   43*34         44'54         43 '94         44"38  35*oi 
100*00         100*00         100*00         100*00  IOO'OO 
The  results  of  these  investigations  may,  therefore,  be  expressed  in 
the  following  recapitulatory  statements: 
(I)  The  amount  of  tannin  present  in  cloves  ranges  from  10  to  13 
per  cent,  of  the  weight  of  the  spice  as  found  in  the  market. 
(II)  The  tannin  of  cloves  has  the  same  percentage  composition  as 
gallotannic  acid,  and  yields  the  same  decomposition  products  as  does 
that  compound  ;  hence,  they  are  identical. 
ANATOLIAN  LICORICE  ROOT.C 
By  Jamks  W.  Nickum,  Ph.G. 
Contribution  from  the  Chemical  Laboratory  of  the  Philadelphia  College  of 
Pharmacy.   No.  141. 
That  a  knowledge  of  the  constituents  of  this  variety  of  licorice 
root  might  be  attained,  50  grammes  of  the  air-dry  drug  in  No.  40 
powder  were  submitted  to  DragendorfT's  scheme  for  proximate 
analysis.  Consequently,  the  solvents  were  applied  in  the  order  in 
which  their  respective  extracts  are  hereafter  treated  of. 
The  application  of  each  solvent  was  repeated  until  no  further 
action  was  exercised.  The  several  portions  so  applied  were  filtered 
off  and  mixed.  In  the  cases  of  the  petroleum  ether,  ether  and  abso- 
lute alcohol  extracts,  the  bulk  of  the  solvent  was  recovered  by  dis- 
