542 
Emetina. 
fAm.  Jour.  Pharm. 
t       Dec.  187J-. 
Triturate  well  the  mixture  until  the  complete  division  of  the  mer- 
cury is  effected,  for  which  about  ten  minutes  is  required.  When  me- 
tallic globules  cannot  be  detected  with  the  naked  eye,  add  in  succession 
170  grams  of  fat.  By  this  method  the  complete  extinction  of  the  mer- 
cury in  the  fat  is  accomplished,  and  the  ointment  is  finished  in  about 
half  an  hour. — Revista  armaceutlca^  Buenos-Aires,  1875,  p.  150. 
EMETINA.^ 
BY  A.  GLENARD. 
In  a  note  recently  presented  to  the  French  Academy  the  author  has 
described  the  first  portion  of  an  investigation  of  the  alkaloid  of  ipe- 
cacuanha.   The  following  is  a  resume  of  the  principal  results  : 
Neiv  process  for  the  Extraction  of  Emetina. — The  author's  process  is 
based  upon  the  combined  use  of  lime  and  ether.  It  consists  in  treat- 
ing with  ether  a  suitably  prepared  powder,  or  an  extract  of  ipecacu- 
anha and  lime,  or  the  precipitate  formed  upon  adding  an  excess  of  lime 
to  a  solution  obtained  by  treating  ipecacuanha  in  the  cold  with  water 
acidulated  by  sulphuric  acid.  Either  of  these  mixtures,  or  the  precipi- 
tate, when  treated  with  ether,  will  yield  all  the  alkaloid  it  contains. 
The  alkaloid  may  be  obtained  from  the  ethereal  solution  by  distill- 
ing it  to  dryness  and  treating  the  residue  with  acidulated  water,  or  by 
at  once  shaking  the  solution  with  acidulated  water.  A  more  or  less 
acid  aqueous  liquid  is  thus  obtained,  which,  upon  the  addition  of  am- 
monia, yields  the  emetina  almost  colorless,  and  much  more  pure  than 
that  produced  by  the  processes  ordinarily  employed. 
Preparation  of  Crystallized  Hydrochlorate  and  Pure  Emetina. — When 
water,  acidulated  with  hydrochloric  acid,  is  employed  to  remove  the 
emetina  from  the  ether,  an  acid  solution  is  obtained,  which,  when  suf- 
ficiently concentrated  by  evaporation,  forms  a  nearly  colorless,  solid, 
crystalline  mass.  This  mass  is  formed  of  extremely  delicate  needles, 
formed  in  bundles  that  radiate  around  a  central  point,  and  form  small 
spheres  with  an  embossed  surface,  resembling  mulberries  in  appearance. 
Upon  pressing  these  crystals  in  a  cloth,  the  more  or  less  colored  mother 
liquor  runs  off,  and  the  crystals  redissolved  in  water  give  a  colorless 
solution,  from  which  a  fresh  crystallization  of  perfectly  pure  hydro- 
chlorate  of  emetina  can  readily  be  obtained. 
The  production  of  this  crystallized  hydrochlorate  of  emetina  is  wor- 
*  From  the  Journal  de  Fharmacie  et  de  Chimie  for  Septemb'^r,  p.  178. 
