588  Notes  on  Solanaceous  Bases.  {Am£'5arns'* 
between  1150  and  1160.  In  commerce  it  is  termed  also  "heavy  atropine"  or 
"  atropinverum." 
For  the  preparation  of  this  base  I  selected  the  commercial  sulphate  in  a  state 
of  absolute  purity.  A  solution  of  the  salt  in  water  was  mixed  with  excess  of 
ammonia  and  shaken  out  into  chloroform.  On  evaporating  the  chloroform 
solution  the  base  was  obtained,  partly  in  the  form  of  delicate  white  needles 
and  partly  as  brilliant  prisms  melting  at  115° "5.  A  solution  in  absolute  alcohol 
gave  for  p  =  3*22  and  t  =  150  [a]D  =  —  0*4.  Will  stated1  that  atropine  in 
alcoholic  solution  has  do  rotatory  power  ;  but  subsequently  he,  together  with 
Bredig, 2  found  the  rotatory. power  to  be  —  1-89.  On  the  contrary,  Ladenburg3 
is  of  opinion  that  atropine  is  optically  inactive,  though  he  admits  that  he  could 
not  obtain  it  in  a  perfectly  inactive  state. 
Neutral  Sulphate. — In  ophthalmic  practice  atropine  is  not  used  in  the  free 
state,  but  as  a  sulphate  which  is  required  by  the  German  Pharmacopoeia  to  be 
of  great  purity.  The  samples  of  the  salt  which  I  examined  answered  all  the 
prescribed  requirements  ;  but,  with  one  exception,  they  contained  some  hyos- 
cyamine  salt.  The  presence  of  this  salt  may  be  readily  ascertained  by  mixing; 
a  solution  of  the  salt  to  be  examined  in  absolute  alcohol  with  ether  until  a 
milky  turbidity  is  produced.  After  some  short  time  the  turbidity  disappears, 
and  when  hyoscyamine  is  present  the  salt  separates  in  the  form  of  dull,  crys- 
talline masses  ;  but  in  the  absence  of  hyoscyamine  salt  the  atropine  sulphate 
takes  the  form  of  long,  brilliant,  loosely  connected  needles.  Atropine  sulphate 
contains  water  of  crystallization  which  is  easily  removed  at  ioo°.  The  com- 
position of  the  salt  is  represented  by  the  formula  (C2  7H2 3N03)2,S04H2  -j- 
H20.  The  water  solution  gives  for  [a]D — 8°*8  when  p  —  2  (anhydrous)  and 
t  =  15°. 
The  platinum  salt,  obtained  by  mixing  a  moderately  concentrated  solution 
with  platinum  chloride  and  evaporating  the  clear  solution,  crystallizes  in 
tabular  form,  it  is  anhydrous  and  melts  at  197-2000,  according  as  it  is  rapidly 
or  slowly  heated. 
The  gold  salt,  obtained  by  precipitating  the  slightly  warmed  sulphate  solu- 
tion with  gold  chloride,  separates  partly  as  an  oily  mass,  which  soon  becomes 
crystalline,  and  partly  in  small  moss-like  aggregates  of  laminae,  which  have 
no  lustre  after  drying  in  the  air.  The  melting  point  of  the  crystalline  salt  is 
near  138°,  while  that  of  the  first-mentioned  form  is  generally  about  30  lower. 
The  neutral  oxalate,  (C2 7H23N03)2,C204H2,  obtained  by  very  gradually- 
adding  to  a  solution  of  the  base  in  acetone  an  ether  solution  of  oxalic  acid, 
separates  in  warty  crystalline  masses  consisting  of  short  anhydrous  prisms. 
The  salt  is  but  sparingly  soluble  in  hot  alcohol,  and  separates  on  cooling  the 
solution  in  granular  masses  ;  it  melts  at  1760. 
(2)  Hyoscyamine. — This  base  was  prepared  partly  from  the  seed  of  Hyos- 
cyamus  niger,  partly  from  the  sulphate  obtained  from  Trommsdorff,  and  also,, 
as  I  was  informed,  prepared  from  Hyoscyamus  niger.  No  difference  between 
these  preparations  could  be  detected,  but  the  following  data  could  be  deter- 
mined only  with  the  base  prepared  from  Trommsdorff's  salt,  which  proved  to 
1  Berichte,  xxi,  p.  1724. 
2  Ibid.,  xxi,  p.  2792. 
3 Annalen,  ccvi,  p.  282,  and  Berichte,  xxi  p.  3065. 
