184 EXPERIMENTS ON SENNA AND ARGOL LEAVES. 
but when any Indian corn is present, some orange-yellow 
particles subside, which are easily detected. In this way 
an admixture of from 4 to 5 per cent, of Indian corn with 
wheaten flour may be detected. — Journ. de Chem. MM. 
ART. XLIII. — EXPERIMENTS ON SENNA AND ARGOL 
LEAVES. 
By Heberlein. 
According to Heberlein, spirit of wine extracts from 
senna leaves only chlorophylle and extractive matter, the 
cathartine of Lassaigne and Feneulle, which does not, 
however, possess in the slightest degree the purgative effect 
ascribed to it by these gentlemen ; for after repeated expe- 
riments with smaller quantities, the alcoholic extract of one 
and a half ounces of folia senna? were taken without any 
effect. The uselessness of treating senna-leaves with spirit 
of wine, and the inefficacy of tinctura sennas are therefore 
obvious. The aqueous extract of four drachms of senna- 
leaves, which had first been exhausted by spirit of wine, 
effected evacuations with griping; so that the griping prin- 
ciple had not been removed by the spirit. The leaves 
used for these experiments were those of Tripoli senna, 
which are quite free from the leaves of Cynanchum Arghel. 
The latter, which are found among the Alexandrian senna, 
are in bad favour among physicians, but without just 
grounds, for experiments made with the picked leaves of 
Cynanchum Arghel showed them to be harmless. An 
infusion of two and a half drachms produced no effect or 
inconvenience. — Pharm. Jour., from Pharmaceutisches 
Central- Blatt. 
