Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
F«b.,  1892. 
Purshia  Tridental  a. 
69 
chloroform,  then  made  alkaline  and  shaken  successively  with  petro- 
leum ether,  ether  and  chloroform,  but  on  account  of  this  substance 
forming  an  emulsion  with  all  of  the  solvents,  the  nature  of  the 
substances  removed  by  them  could  not  be  determined.  On  exami- 
nation of  the  original  precipitate,  obtained  by  pouring  the  concen- 
trated tincture  into  acidulated  water,  it  was  found  to  be  slightly 
acrid.  A  portion  was  treated  with  ether  and  the  ether  after  filtering 
allowed  to  evaporate.  From  the  residue  the  same  color  tests  were 
received  as  with  the  previous  acid  crystalline  principle,  thus  showing 
that  there  still  remained  some  of  this  principle  in  the  precipitate. 
As  the  drug  contained  a  considerable  quantity  of  this  substance, 
which  in  every  particular  resembled  saponin,  a  special  determination 
was  made  by  the  usual  method  of  estimating  that  principle.  By 
treating  ten  grams  of  the  powdered  drug  with  hot  water  three 
successive  times  and  straining,  a  decoction  was  made.  This  was 
precipitated  with  alcohol,  filtered,  and  the  precipitate  treated  with 
hot  80  per  cent,  alcohol,  and  this  added  to  the  filtrate  ;  the  alcohol 
recovered  and  the  residue  dissolved  in  water,  concentrated,  and 
precipitated  with  baryta-water  ;  the  precipitate  collected,  dried  at 
iio°C.  and  weighed  as  saponin  baryta,  the  amount  being  0  580 
gram.  This  was  ignited  and  weighed  as  barium  carbonate  ;  calcu- 
lated into  the  oxide  which  gave  0-094  gram  and  this  subtracted 
from  0-580  gram  or  the  amount  of  saponin-baryta ;  giving  the 
amount  of  saponin  as  0  486  gram  or  4-86  per  cent. 
From  this  analysis  it  is  believed  that  beside  the  usual  plant  con- 
stituents such  as  starch,  tannin,  fat,  resin  and  gum,  trillium  contains 
a  small  quantity  of  fixed  oil,  saponin  to  the  extent  of  4-86  per  cent, 
and  an  acid  crystalline  principle  which  is  colored  purplish-brown  by 
sulphuric  acid,  and  light  green  with  sulphuric  acid  and  a  crystal  of 
potassium  bichromate.  It  is  suggested  that  this  acid  principle 
results  from  a  decomposition  of  the  saponin. 
PURSHIA  TRIDENTATA,  D.  C. 
By  Henry  Trimble. 
Contribution  from  the  Chemical  Laboratory  of  t,he  Philadelphia  College  of  Pharmacy, 
No.  100. 
Read  at  the  Pharmaceutical  Meeting,  January  19. 
A  description  of  this  plant  may  be  found  in  this  Journal,  1891, 
page  524. 
