176 
Quinium  Salts. 
/  Am.  Jour.  Pharm 
(      April,  1883. 
is  a  deep  brown-red  salt,  very  soluble  in  water  and  in  alcohol,  but  not 
possessed  of  any  distinct  crystalline  form.  Quinium  eriodictyonate 
would  be  an  excellent  substitute  for  the  indefinite  quinium  tannolates 
of  the  market.  It  can  be  easily  and  abundantly  produced  by  extract- 
ing the  leaves  with  water  containing  some  alcohol  and  ammonia,  and 
mixing  the  liquor  with  quinium  sulphate,  warming  gently,  washing 
the  precipitate  and  drying  it  by  exposure. 
Syrup  of  yerba  santa  is  best  prepared  by  percolating  one  ounce  of 
the  leaves,  in  coarse  powder,  with  an  aqueous  menstruum  containing  one 
drachm  of  ammonia  water  and  two  fluidounces  of  alcohol  in  the  pint, 
until  one  pint  of  liquor  is  obtained,  and  dissolving  twenty-eight  troy- 
ounces  of  sugar  in  this,  with  a  gentle  heat.  This  syrup  is  clear  and 
bright,  having  a  deep  brown-red  color,  and  slightly  bitter,  but  pleasant 
honey-like  taste. 
Quinium  valerate  is  a  very  difficult  salt  to  prepare  by  the  usual 
method  of  dissolving  the  base  in  valeric  acid.  The  union  is  not 
readily  eifected,  and  an  early  separation  of  the  useless  resinous  modifi- 
cation occurs.  Double  decomposition  is  the  only  practical  procedure. 
The  salt  ajipears  in  two  crystalline  forms,  in  star-grouped  needles  and 
in  plates.  The  first  kind  are  deposited  from  a  hot  saturated  solution 
on  cooling,  the  second  form  when  a  cold  saturated  solution  is  sub- 
mitted to  slow  evaporation  at  a  slightly  elevated  temperature.  The 
first  is  the  most  practical  form,  and  the  most  easily  and  plentifully 
produced. 
A  tolerably  good  method  for  preparing  it  in  the  tabular  form  con- 
sists in  mixing  84  parts  of  hydrosodic  carbonate,  102  parts  of  valeric 
acid  and  2,500  part  of  water,  then  adding,  after  effervescence  ha& 
ceased,  5,000  parts  more  of  water  and  414*5  parts  of  quinium  chloride,^ 
heating  until  most  of  the  pasty  magma  which  results  has  dissolved,, 
decanting  the  clear  section  and  heating  the  residue  with  sufficient 
more  water  to  dissolve  it.  The  solutions  are  then  united  and  set  away 
in  a  warm  place,  so  that  the  valerate  may  slowly  crystallize.  Twb- 
thirds  of  the  valerate  will  thus  be  obtained.  Subsequently  only  quin- 
ium chloride  will  again  crystallize,  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  sodium 
chloride  generated  in  the  weak  solution  permits  the  less  soluble  vale- 
rate to  crystallize  first,  but  on  concentration  the  quinium  chloride 
becomes  the  least  soluble  and  hence  this  is  regenerated  and  cast  out  of 
solution. 
The  employment  of  alcohol  in  conjunction  with  double  decomposi- 
