568  Gleanings  from  the  German  Journals.  {AmNS?f;i892™'' 
per  cent,  gauze  were  used,  the  gauze  occupied  a  volume  of  3*6  cc, 
hence  instead  of  having  100  cc.  of  the  alcoholic  solution  there  are 
only  96-4  cc. — G.  H.  Boldingh  (Ber.  der  Niederl.  Pharm.  Ges.)  Pharm. 
Ztg.,  1892,  517. 
Ipecacuanha  root. — The  proportions  of  bark  and  woody  portion 
in  the  three  commercial  varieties  were  found  as  follows : 
Bark. 
Wood. 
Per  Cent. 
Per  Cent. 
  77 
23 
  65-5 
34-5 
  84 
16 
  9i-5 
8-5 
  9i 
9 
Rio  ipecacuanha  was  found  to  yield  0-53-1-45  per  cent,  emetine,, 
depending  upon  the  quality  of  the  root ;  Carthagena  ipecacuanha 
from  0-9-1-85  per  cent.,  the  woody  portion  yielded  0-23  per  cent, 
emetine  ;  Singapore  ipecacuanha  gave  0-54  per  cent,  emetine.. 
These  assays  were  made  by  Kremel's  method  (see  Am.  Journ. 
Pharm.,  1892,  519). — Caesar  &  Loretz,  Apotheker  Ztg.,  1892,  464. 
Kola-nut  and  cacao-nut  constituents. — The  investigations  of  Dr.  E. 
Knebel  (Am.  Journ.  Pharm.,  1892,  190),  disclosing  the  fact  that  the 
kola-nut  contained  a  glucoside  which  by  decomposition  gave  rise  to 
caffeine,  glucose  and  kola-red,  and  rendering  it  very  probable  that 
fresh  kola-nuts  contained  no  caffeine,  but  only  glucoside,  has  been 
verified  by  A.  Hilger,  who  recently  obtained  fresh  kola-nuts  so  as  to 
perform  the  necessary  analysis.  Of  other  drugs  yielding  caffeine 
and  theobromine  a  specimen  of  cacao-nut  preserved  in  alcohol  was 
examined,  with  results  similar  to  those  obtained  from  the  kola-nut. 
There  is  present  a  glucoside  which  is  decomposable  by  a  diastatic 
ferment,  also  present  in  the  fruit,  into  dextrose,  cacao-red  and  a  mix- 
ture of  caffeine  and  theobromine  ;  boiling  water  and  warm  dilute 
acids  also  bring  about  decomposition.  The  fresh  fruit  was  found  to 
be  free  from  cacao-red,  caffeine  and  theobromine.  To  isolate  the 
glucoside  from  the  commercial  cacao-nut,  the  fat  is  removed  by 
use  of  petroleum  ether,  the  theobromine  and.  dextrose  by  use  of  cold 
water,  and  then  the  glucoside  extracted  with  alcohol ;  the  solvent  is 
carefully  evaporated,  leaving  the  glucoside,  which  is  purified 
by  repeated  solution  in  very  dilute  potassium  hydrate  solution  and. 
