342 
Assay  of  Nux  Vomica. 
Am.  Jour.  Pliarm. 
July,  1892. 
Indeed,  exact  concordance  of  returns  may  be  viewed,  at  present, 
with  suspicion. 
Brucine  separates  (mostly)  amorphous  from  chloroform,  and,  if  it 
be  mixed  with  equal  amounts  of  strychnine,  overcomes  the  crystal- 
line nature  of  that  alkaloid.  Hence,  the  crude  alkaloidal  residue 
from  fluid  extract  of  nux  vomica  is  amorphous. 
2.  Is  Brucine  completely  extracted  from  the  Iron  Magma  ? — 
Each  of  the  residues,  A,  B  and  C,  of  the  previous  experiment 
(Table  I)  were  dissolved  separately  in  5  cc.  of  a  mixture  of  alcohol 
8,  water  1  (officinal  menstruum  for  making  Fluid  Extract  of  Nux 
Vomica),  and  abstracted  by  the  foregoing  method  for  assaying 
Fluid  Extract  of  Nux  Vomica.  The  chloroform  was  evaporated 
without  boiling,  in  the  drying  room,  and  the  residue  exposed  to 
the  temperature  of  1400  F.  for  two  hours. 
A, 
B, 
C, 
Table  II.— Results. 
Amount  Used. 
  o'020  gm. 
.........     0*050  " 
  0*100  " 
Amount  Obtained. 
C021  gm. 
0-055  " 
0'120  " 
Neither  the  dried  residual  iron  magma  nor  its  solution  in  diluted 
sulphuric  acid  gave  any  taste  of  bitterness,  nor  alkaloidal  reaction. 
There  seems  no  reason  to  doubt  that  the  brucine  to  the  limit  of  per- 
ception is  abstracted,  leaving  the  iron  residue  clean  alkaloidally. 
(3)  Strychnine  from  Chloroform. — Strychnine  crystallizes  when 
left  by  evaporation  from  chloroformic  solution,  and  as  the  final 
chloroform  disappears,  unless  precautions  are  taken  to  avoid  the 
disturbance,  more  or  less  of  the  strychnine  may  be  lost  by  minute 
crystals  springing  from  the  dish.1  This  fact,  I  now  hold,  largely 
accounts  for  discrepancies  with  strychnine  recoveries  that  seem  to 
have  been  misinterpreted  by  others  as  well  as  myself,  for  I  can  see 
no  other  explanation  for  loss  of  alkaloid.2 
Prof.  Norton  said  of  it,  "  Strychnine  exhibits  great  variation,  with 
1  See  note  Am.  Druggist,  May  15,  p.  151.  The  same  is  true  of  caffeine. 
These  substances  will  often  spring  several  inches  in  height  and  in  considerable 
quantities. 
2  Prof.  Norton  and  Mr.  Nichols  (Jour.  Anal,  and  App.  Chem.,  March,  1892, 
p.  172),  from  an  average  of  ten  experiments  lost  07  per  cent,  of  the  strych- 
nine, by  evaporation  in  ordinary  dishes,  but  the  individual  results  were  very 
discordant. 
