3§4 
Story  of  the  Pa  paw. 
( Am.  Jour.  Pharin. 
1      August,  1901. 
It  is  decomposed  by  the  glycoside  splitting  ferment,  myrosin 
(obtained  from  mustard),  giving  a  volatile,  odorous,  pungent  flavor 
suggestive  of  the  Cruciferae,  but  not  so  marked. 
The  seeds  of  papaw  also. contain  the  glucoside  splitting  ferment, 
myrosin.  The  glucoside  resides  within  the  hard  inner  coating  of 
the  seed,  while  the  myrosin  ferment  is  secreted  in  the  gelatinous 
outer  envelope.  Myrosin  may  be  extracted  from  this  mucilaginous 
substance  with  water  and  precipitated  from  the  watery  solution  by 
alcohol. 
By  pursuing  the  methods  here  briefly  outlined,  we  may  separate 
the  glucoside  from  the  inner  section  of  the  seed  and  the  ferment 
from  the  outer  coating ;  and  by  bringing  the  two  substances 
together  in  the  presence  of  water,  the  glucoside  will  be  decomposed 
with  the  production  of  a  volatile  essence  and  glucose.18 
The  myrosin  ferment  extracted  from  the  mucilaginous  coating  of 
the  papaw  seed  will  decompose  sinigrin.  The  action  of  this  ferment 
and  decomposition  of  the  glucoside  is  apparent  to  the  sense  of  taste 
when  the  seeds  are  chewed.  The  taste  and  odor  indicate  that  the 
glucoside  and  ferment  are  present  in  the  bark  of  the  root. 
ALKALOID. 
An  alkaloid — carpaine — has  been  separated  from  the  Carica 
Papaya.    The  source  so  far  noted  has  been  the  leaves. 
The  usual  method  of  extraction  is  to  digest  the  leaves  in  alcohol 
acidulated  with  hydrochloric  acid  (5-100)  ;  evaporate  the  extract, 
wash  with  water  acidulated  with  hydrochloric  acid  (2-ico).  This 
solution  is  then  washed  with  ether;  made  alkaline  with  sodium  hy- 
drate and  the  alkaloid  washed  out  in  chloroform  or  ether.  Jn  my 
experiments  the  yield  was  small.  I  have  noted  indications  of  alka- 
loidal  reaction  with  Mayer's  reagent  in  the  alkaline  ether  washings, 
from  the  latex,  but  it  cannot  be  stated  that  the  alkaloid  is  present 
in  this  product. 
The  alkaloid,  carpaine,  is  soluble  in  absolute  alcohol,  amylic  alco- 
hol, chloroform,  benzine  and  in  water  acidulated  with  hydrochloric 
acid. 
18  It  has  been  demonstrated  that  in  many  instances  the  ferment  and  the 
glucoside  upon  which  the  ferment  acts  are  enclosed  in  different  cells  in  plant 
tissue. 
