304 
My  r  tea  Asp  leu  ifo  I ia . 
•'Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
\       June,  1892. 
form  of  a  red-brown  porous  astringent  substance.  Seventy-five 
per  cent,  of  this  was  soluble  in  water,  forming  an  acid  solution 
which  contained  -6g  per  cent,  of  the  rhizome  in  tannin  and  -36 
per  cent,  in  glucose.  That  part  of  the  extract  insoluble  in  water 
was  soluble  in  alcohol  and  also  in  dilute  ammonium  hydrate. 
Water  extracted  6*65  per  cent,  of  organic  solids  composed  of 
•57  per  cent,  of  tannin;  -6  per  cent,  of  mucilage;  3-98  per  cent,  of 
glucose  and  rio  per  cent,  of  saccharose. 
Dilute  alkaline  (NaOH)  water  dissolved  11-52  per  cent,  of 
vegetable  solids  consisting  of  4-12  per  cent,  of  mucilage  and 
albuminoids.    Phlobaphenes  were  also  present. 
Weak  acidulated  (HQ)  water  removed  8-62  per  cent,  of  total 
solids  composed  of  4-62  per  cent,  of  ash  and  4-02  per  cent,  of 
organic  matter.    Calcium  oxalate  was  present  in  small  amount. 
Starch  determined  in  a  separate  portion  was  found  to  amount  to 
9-05  per  cent. 
Tannin  in  the  Fresh  Rhizome, — Two  lots  of  the  rhizome  were 
collected,  one  in  January  and  the  other  in  June,  1 891 .  Both  were 
estimated  in  the  moist  condition.  Twenty  grams  were  used  in  each 
case  to  make  a  litre  of  decoction.  Both  of  these  decoctions  were 
yellow  in  color,  when  viewed  in  bulk,  turbid,  and  had  but  slight 
odor,  and  reaction,  and  a  weakly  astringent  taste.  Both  gave  blue 
precipitates  with  ferric  salts.  The  decoction  made  from  the  lot  col- 
lected in  January,  after  standing  for  two  days,  gave  a  green  precipi- 
tate with  ferric  chloride  with  which,  when  fresh,  it  had  given  a  blue 
one. 
The  tannin  was  estimated  gravimetrically,  using  gelatin  and  alum 
solution  to  precipitate  it.  The  precipitates  in  both  cases  were 
flesh  colored.  The  filtrate  from  the  precipitate  of  the  January  lot  was 
clear  and  colorless,  and  from  the  June  supply  clear  and  light  yellow. 
The  following  summary  of  the  estimations  gives  the  amount  of 
tannin  in  the  "  moist"  state  and,  after  allowing  for  the  moisture 
present,  which  is  also  stated  in  the  table,  the  amount  present  in  the 
"absolutely  dry"  rhizome.  The  percentages  of  tannin  stated  under 
the  head  of  "  moist "  are  the  averages  of  two  or  three  closely 
agreeing  results. 
1891. 
January, 
June,  •  • 
Tannin  in 
Moist 
Rhizome. 
Moisture. 
Tannin  in 
Absolutely 
diy  Rhizome. 
2-43 
343 
35*50 
49*55 
377 
679 
