492  The  Resin  of  Leptandra.  {^^' l^'Z?^-!'^' 
divided  resin  which  refused  to  settle.  From  the  foregoing  it  would  be 
obvious,  that  if  the  object  be  to  obtain  the  greatest  possible  yield  of 
resin  the  best  process  will  be  to  obtain  resin  from  the  glucoside  also. 
Formula. — Extract  the  root  of  leptandra  (properly  powdered)  by 
means  of  alcohol.  Evaporate  the  percolate  to  the  consistence  of  a 
thick  syrupj  and  pour  the  result,  with  stirring,  into  ten  times  its  bulk 
of  cold  water;  decant  the  supernatant  liquid,  add  to  it  5  per  cent,  of 
sulphuric  acid,  boil  until  the  bitter  taste  disappears,  and  then  wash 
separately  the  two  resins  with  water  and  dry  them,  after  which  mix 
and  powder  them.  To  dry  the  precipitated  resin,  place  in  a  vessel  and 
expose,  with  frequent  stirring,  to  a  steam  bath  until  it  is  of  such  a  con- 
sistence as  to  break  when  cold;  then  break  it  into  small  pieces,  and 
finish  the  drying  by  exposing  to  the  air.  The  resinous  substance 
obtained  by  means  of  sulpb^iric  acid  may  be  dried  by  simple  exposure 
to  the  air.  According  to  many  authorities  resin  of  leptandra  is  inert. 
1  am  decidedly  in  favor  of  a  dried  alcoholic  extract,  although  such  must 
contain  a  considerable  amount  of  glucose,  which  exists  in  the  root  in 
large  amount,  and  is  extracted  by  alcohol  to  a  considerable  extent. 
The  trouble  experienced  in  drying  an  alcoholic  extract  (recorded  by 
Dr.  T.  L.  A.  Greve)  without  the  use  of  foreign  substances,  and  with 
full  preservation  of  its  characteristics,  renders  its  preparation  by  ordi- 
nary methods  tedious  and  somewhat  difficult.  I  have  no  trouble  with 
leptandra  when  I  pursue  the  following  process: 
Extractum  Leptandns  Alcoholicum, — Precipitate  the  evaporated  alco- 
holic extract  by  means  of  water  in  the  manner  before  directed,  and 
evaporate  the  liquid  to  the  consistence  of  a  thick  solid  extract.  Dry 
the  resin,  powder  it,  and  stir  this  powder  into  the  solid  extract  and 
•thoroughly  incorporate  them.  The  thick  mass  is  then  to  be  picked 
into  small  pieces,  spread  in  layers  in  a  drying  closet  and  dried  by  a  cur- 
rent of  warm  air,  then  powdered.  From  the  foregoing  preparation  the 
full  effects  of  leptandra  root  may  be  expected. 
It  will  be  noticed  that  I  use  the  dry  resin  as  an  absorbant  instead  of 
carbonate  of  magnesium  or  other  extraneous  substance.  This,  or  a 
similar  preparation,  might  well  be  recognized  by  our  Pharmacopoeia. 
The  preparations  which  are  sold  under  the  name  of  leptandrin  con- 
stitute an  important  article  of  commerce,  second,  among  the  so-called 
resinoids,  only  to  resin  of  podophyllum  (podophyllin).  Dried  alcoholic 
extract  of  leptandra  differs  to  such  an  extent  from  the  precipitated  resin, 
which  was  named  "leptandrin"  by  its  discoverer,  Mr.  W.  S.  Merrell, 
