^ptembef.^SS1, }     Taraxacum  Root  and  Taraxacin.  467 
dered  most  of  the  coloring  matter  insoluble  in  chloroform.  There 
was,  however,  a  small  amount  in  solution,  which  became  visible 
upon  concentration,  and  on  complete  evaporation  a  yellow  mass,  of 
pasty  consistency,  remained,  having  an  acrid  and  very  bitter  taste. 
The  residue  was  dissolved  in  water,  and  one-third  of  the  yellow 
solution  placed  in  a  vacuum  desiccator  and  allowed  to  evaporate. 
This  gave  no  crystals,  but  the  residue  was  highly  colored,  and  had 
an  odor  resembling  caramel.  This  was  again  dissolved  in  water, 
and  shaken  with  absolute  ether.  The  ether  was  then  drawn  off, 
and,  on  evaporation,  left  a  residue  which  was  not  crystalline,  but 
had  an  intensely  sharp,  acrid  taste — not  bitter. 
Taraxacin  — Four  ounces  of  a  fluid  extract,  prepared  by  reperco- 
lation,  were  diluted  with  an  equal  bulk  of  water,  and  a  dilute  solu- 
tion of  subacetate  of  lead  added,  until  no  further  precipitation  was 
produced.  The  precipitate  was  mixed  with  water,  and  hydrogen 
sulphide  passed  through  the  mixture,  until  the  lead  w7as  all  deposited 
in  the  form  of  sulphide.  The  mixture  was  then  filtered,  and  the 
filtrate  evaporated  to  dryness  on  a  water  bath.  The  residue  showed 
no  signs  of  bitterness,  making  it  evident  that  the  bitter  principle 
had  not  been  precipitated  by  the  subacetate  ot  lead. 
The  first  filtrate  from  the  precipitate  formed  by  the  subacetate  of 
lead  was  then  taken  and  freed  from  lead  by  passing  hydrogen  sul- 
phide through  the  solution  and  filtering  out  the  lead  sulphide  formed. 
The  filtrate  was  then  evaporated  to  dryness,  leaving  behind  a  yellow, 
pasty  mass  of  intensely  bitter  and  acrid  taste.  The  mass  was 
mixed  with  sand  and  dried  in  an  oven  at  55°  C.  for  three  days,  but 
the  residue  did  not  dry  sufficiently  to  be  powdered.  It  was  divided 
into  small  particles  and  macerated  in  chloroform.  The  chloroformic 
extract,  on  being  evaporated,  left  a  large  crop  of  crystals  nearly  free 
from  foreign  matter.    The  residue  was  very  bitter. 
This  bitter  residue  gave  glucosidal  reactions,  but  when  the  drug 
was  treated  by  the  lime  process  for  the  separation  of  glucosides — 
viz.:  the  powdered  drug  mixed  with  freshly  prepared  milk  of  lime 
and  evaporated  to  dryness  on  a  water  bath  and  the  residue  extracted 
with  alcohol — no  evidence  of  the  bitter  principle  could  be  found  in 
the  residue  after  evaporating  the  alcohol. 
Of  the  processes  employed  in  separating  the  taraxacin  thus  far, 
the  one  using  the  solution  after  precipitating  with  subacetate  of 
lead  is  by  far  the  most  satisfactory  ;  but  in  any  of  the  processes  it 
