AmMl0rch.?8h92!"m-}  Analyses  of  Some  Indigenous  Drugs.  121 
ANALYSES  OF  SOME  INDIGENOUS  DRUGS. 
Contribution  from  the  Chemical  Laboratory  of  the  Philadelphia  College  of  Pharmacy, 
No.  105. 
Phlox  subulata. — Lee  Steinan  has  examined  the  overground 
portion  of  this  plant  and  found  the  air-dried  drug  to  contain  4-57 
per  cent,  of  moisture  and  16  76  per  cent,  of  ash. 
Petroleum  ether  extracted  0  01  per  cent,  of  volatile  oil,  0*26  per 
cent,  of  fat  melting  at  41 0  C,  010  per  cent,  of  a  crystalline  principle 
soluble  in  hot  absolute  alcohol  and  in  chloroform.  This  is  probably 
identical  with  the  hydrocarbon  found  in  Phlox  Carolina} 
Stronger  ether  extracted  0  92  per  cent,  of  resin  and  chlorophyll 
from  the  drug. 
Absolute  alcohol  extracted  2-20  per  cent,  of  the  drug  and  this 
extract  was  tested  for  alkaloids  and  glucosides  with  negative  results. 
It  appeared  to  be  made  up  of  resin  with  some  decomposed  chloro- 
phyll. 
With  the  aqueous  solvents  the  usual  plant  constituents  were 
found  and  there  remained  3077  per  cent,  of  cellulose. 
Myrica  asplenifolia. — The  overground  portion  of  this  plant  has 
for  a  long  time  been  used  in  domestic  practice  for  "  night  sweats  " 
and  diarrhoea.  Recently  it  has  come  into  use  to  a  certain  extent 
by  regular  physicians  and  is  prescribed  in  the  form  of  fluid  extract 
or  syrup  in  cases  of  chronic  diarrhoea. 
Joseph  H.  Venn  examined  the  drug  which  was  collected  near 
Philadelphia  in  October.  The  aromatic  properties  were  found  to 
reside  in  the  resin,  which,  however  did  not  lose  anything  corre- 
sponding to  volatile  oil  at  no°  C.  nor  was  it  found  to  contain  any 
volatile  aromatic  acid. 
The  astringent  property  of  the  drug  was  found  to  be  due  to  the 
tannin  which  was  found  to  be  present  to  the  extent  of  4-35  per  cent. 
An  additional  quantity  of  the  plant  collected  in  January  yielded 
3-68  per  cent,  of  tannin.  This  tannin  was  found  to  give  a  green 
color  with  salts  of  iron,  and  to  yield  some  gallic  acid  by  decom- 
position. 
Gillenia  trifoliata. — Frank  W.  White  submitted  this  drug  to  a 
proximate  analysis.  His  results  point  to  the  active  principle  being 
a  glucoside  which  was  obtained  by  agitating  an  aqueous  solution  of 
1  Am.  Jour.  Pharm.,  1888,  p.  321. 
