402 
Tannin  of  Cinnamomum  Cassia. 
(  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
I      August,  .895. 
at  once  saturated  with  sodium  chloride,  after  which  it  was  allowed 
to  stand  at  rest  for  the  acetic  ether  to  separate.  But  no  tannin  was 
obtained  when  the  layer  of  this  solvent  was'  removed  and  evapo- 
rated. 
The  failure  of  these  methods  to  effect  a  solution  of  the  tannin  in 
water  indicates  clearly  the  phlobaphene  character  of  that  principle. 
The  fact  that  the  astringent  principle  originally  possessed  this 
property  of  slight  solubility  in  water,  or  acquires  the  same  in  the 
course  of  manipulation,  seems  alone  sufficient  to  mark  a  relation- 
ship of  the  tannin  of  this  species  of  cinnamon  to  that  class  of  these 
compounds  which  are  so  well  typified  by  the  tannin  of  the  oak 
barks  ;  but  that  this  relationship  might  be  further  inquired  into, 
some  of  the  insoluble  substance,  which  was  set  aside,  was  dissolved 
in  alcohol,  and  the  deep  wine-red  solution  which  resulted  was  tested 
with  the  reagents  named  in  the  subjoined  table. 
The  reactions  given  by  the  tannin  of  white  oak  bark  and  by 
gallotannic  acid,  when  in  water  solutions,,  are  supplied  in  the  table, 
that  the  similarity  of  the  tannin  under  consideration  to  the  former 
and  its  dissimilarity  to  the  latter  may  be  the  more  manifest  : 
Reagent. 
Cinnamon  Tannin. 
White  Oak  Tannin. 
Gallotannic  Acid. 
Copper  sulphate  ] 
and               Y  . 
Ammonium  hydrate  J 
Bromine  water  ..... 
Ammonio-ferric  \ 
sulphate                j  " 
Brownish-red  ppt. 
Dirty-green  ppt. 
C  Brownish-vellow 
1  ppt. 
i  Ppt..  blackish-green 
I  color. 
Blackish-green  ppt. 
( Ppt..  turning  brown- 
1  ish. 
Brick-red  ppt. 
Precipitate. 
Brown-green  color. 
Yellow  ppt. 
Green  color  and  ppt. 
Green  color  and  pot. 
Ppt.,  turning  pink. 
Pale  yellow  ppt. 
Xo  ppt. 
Brown  ppt. 
No  ppt. 
Blue  color  and  ppt. 
Blue  color  and  ppt. 
Ppt.,  turning  blue. 
White  ppt. 
To  learn  the  effect  of  the  action  of  fused  alkali  on  the  tannin, 
some  of  the  alcoholic  solution  of  it  was  poured  into  water  and 
the  precipitate  which  was  produced  was  collected  on  a  filter, 
washed  and  allowed  to  drain.  It  was  then  added  to  fusing  potas- 
sium hydrate,  in  which  it  dissolved  with  effervescence  and  the 
exhalation  of  a  peculiar  odor,  one  which  was  suggestive  of  that 
noticed  in  soap-making.  After  being  allowed  to  cool,  the  mass 
was  dissolved  in  distilled  water.  The  solution  was  slightly  acidi- 
fied with  diluted  sulphuric  acid,  and  without  filtration  agitated 
with  ether  U.  S.  P.    The  ether  layer  was  removed  and  the  sol- 
