Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
July,  1892. 
Ass a y  of  Nnx  Vomica. 
341 
Average  of  o'l   gm.,  five  experiments,  increase,  8*9  per  cent. 
"      0-05    "  "  "  8-4 
"      o-oi    "  "  "  5-5 
As  bearing  on,  and  supplementary  to,  their  experience,  the  fol- 
lowing results  are  taken  from  my  own  recent  work,  these  being 
similar  to  others  I  have  experienced  formerly  that  it  is  not  necessary 
to  give : 
Tabee  I. — Exposure;  of  Residue. 
i  Amount 
1 
2 
5* 
12 
100 
used. 
Hour. 
Hours. 
Hours. 
Hours. 
Hours. 
gm. 
gm. 
gm. 
gm. 
gm. 
gm. 
One 
A  0-020 
0-023 
0  0225 
O'022 
0022 
B  0-050 
0-056 
0-055 
OO535 
0-054 
►  make  of 
C*  ;  o-ioo 
1-065 
0  105 
0-I05 
1-105 
brucine. 
D  0*020 
0-025 
0-02I5 
0-0215 
0-02I 
Another 
E  0-050 
0-056 
OO54 
0054 
0-0505 
■  make  of 
F    1  o'ioo 
0-115 
o-ri6 
0-105 
0-I005 
brucine. 
*  Intermission  over-night  in  which,  the  dry  room  cooled  ten  hours  before  next  exposure 
during  which  the  residue  often  increased  materially  and  did  not  fully  recover. 
These  statements  show  that  material  increase  in  the  weight  of 
brucine  follows  its  solution  in  chloroform,  and  while  the  writer's 
figures  add  nothing  else  to  Prof.  Norton's  paper,  they  demonstrate 
that  this  phenomenon  has  been  observed  independently  and  is  not 
confined  to  one  make  of  brucine.1 
For  our  present  purpose  it  is  important  to  know  that  by  the 
gravimetric  method,  in  consequence  of  the  increase  of  brucine,  the 
apparent  yield  of  mixed  alkaloids  of  nux  vomica  will  be  higher 
than  the  real,  unless  lengthy  (impractical)  exposure  of  the  residue 
to  high  temperature  be  made,  in  order  to  bring  the  alkaloidal 
residue  to  constant  weight.  The  fact  that  this  increase  in  weight 
is  not  uniform,  and  also  that  the  temperature  employed  during  the 
evaporation,  as  well  as  contact  or  contacts,  of  brucine  and  chloro- 
form and  duration  of  the  exposure  of  the  residue,  influences  this 
result,  is  sufficient  to  convince  most  persons  that  different  operators 
should  not  be  disturbed  if  they  do  not  exactly  agree  in  final  results. 
1  Prof.  Norton  has  determined  to  continue  the  study  of  this  interesting 
and  important  subject,  and  a  thorough  inquiry  will  be  made  in  this  direction, 
and  connected  relationships  chemically  (if  any  exist)  will  be  established. 
