iiti.  .lour.  Pharm. 
March,  1901. 
}  Chemistry  of  Ipecacuanha.  1 1 1 
of  cephaeline  in  alcohol,  ether  or  petroleum  spirit,  the  base  is  left  in 
the  form  of  a  faintly  yellowish  transparent  varnish.  From  ether 
cephaeline  separates  in  the  form  of  bunches  of  delicate  silky  needles 
which  form  more  readily  in  the  presence  of  water.  It  is  readily  ob- 
tained in  a  crystalline  form  by  agitating  a  salt  of  cephaeline  with 
ether  and  ammonia,  when  cephaeline  crystallizes  out  almost  im- 
mediately. Cephaeline  precipitated  by  ammonia  melts  at  about  102° 
C.  The  crystals  from  ether  melt  in  a  capillary  tube  at  g6°-g^>°  C. 
On  exposure  of, the  crystals  to  a  temperature  of  ioo°  C.  there  is  a 
loss  of  weight  amounting  to  478  per  cent.;  at  1200  C.  there  is  no 
further  loss  in  weight,  but  the  base  acquires  a  brown  color  without 
melting  and  evidently  undergoes  some  alteration  which  has  not  yet 
been  studied. 
Cephaeline  is  soluble  in  dilute  caustic  alkali  and  is  thus  readily 
separated  from  emetine. 
Analysis  of  the  anhydrous  base  gave  the  following  results,  which 
correspond  with  the  formula  C14H20NO2  =  234  or  C28H40N2O4  = 
46S: 
Calculated. 
Carbon  71*28  7179 
Hydrogen   8*69  8*54 
Nitrogen  6*24  5*94 
Oxygen  1379  1373 
100 '  100 * 
On  titrating  the  base  it  was  found  to  require  for  neutralization 
15-66  and  I  5-67  per  cent.  HCl,  the  calculated  quantity  for  the  above 
formula  as  monovalent  C14H20NO2  or  as  bivalent  C,8H40N2O4  being 
15-59.  The  mean  of  these  results  would  give  13-54  per  cent,  of 
HCl  in  the  salt  as  against  13-49  per  cent,  calculated. 
The  platinochloride  is  yellow  and  decidedly  darker  in  color  than 
the  corresponding  salt  of  emetine.  On  analysis  it  gave  22-38  per 
cent,  of  platinum,  the  calculated  quantity  for  the  formula  (C14H20- 
N02)2.PtCl4.2HCl,  molecular  weight  878,  being  22-21  per  cent, 
platinum. 
Cephaeline  Hydrochloride. — Cephaeline,  like  emetine,  forms  the 
crystalline  hydrochloride  with  greater  facility  in  the  presence  of  ex- 
cess of  acid.  It  crystallizes  in  fine  transparent  rhombic  crystals 
and  has  the  composition  represented  by  the  formula 
C14H20NO2.HCl3H2O  or  C28H40N2O42HCl,6H2O 
