The constituents of the fruit of Ecballium elaterium / by Frederick B. Power and Charles W. Moore.

  • Frederick Belding Power
Date:
[1909]
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: The constituents of the fruit of Ecballium elaterium / by Frederick B. Power and Charles W. Moore. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

    8/12 (page 1990)
    melting and decomposing at 189—190°. It was very soluble in alcohol, and amounted to only 0‘25 gram : 0*2346, made up to 20 c.c. with chloroform, gave + 0°24' in a 2-dcm. tube, whence [a],, +17*0°. The three fractions gave on analysis the following results : I. 0*1607 gave 0*4056 COg and 0*1180 HgO. C = 68*9; H = 8*l. 11.0*1468 „ 0*3710 002 „ 0*1114 H2O. 0 = 68*9 ; H = 8*4. 111.0*1355 „ 0*3406 002 » 0*1005 HgO. 0 = 68*6; H = 8*2. OgoHggOg requires 0 = 68*9 ; H = 8*0 per cent. C24H3A 0 = 68*9; H = 8*0 O28H38O7 „ 0 = 69*1; H = 7*8 Froqi these results it is evident that the above-described, sparingly soluble, crystalline powder corresponds to the product known as “ elaterin,” and which is recognised under this title by the British and United States Pharmacopoeias. The formulae which have been assigned to elaterin by various investigators are as follows : O20H28O,.,, Zwenger (^Annalen, 1842, 43, 460); 024Hg^0g, Hemmelmayr (5e?*., 1906, 39, 3380); OggHggO^, Berg {Bull Soc. chim., 1897, [iii], 17,85; 1906, [iii], 35, 435). It has, however, quite recently been shown by the present authors {Pharm. J., 1909, [iv], 29, 501) that the product known as elaterin is not homogeneous, as has hitherto been assumed, but that it consists of a mixture of substances which, although possessing apparently the same percentage composition, differ essentially in their physical properties, especially in their optical rotatory power, as also in their physiological action. The above-noted results of the present investigation therefore afford further confirmation of the previous conclusions. The final alcoholic mother liquors obtained during the separation of the above-described elaterin fractions yielded, on dilution with water, a small amount of a colourless substance, which crystallised in small needles and melted and decomposed at 168—170° : 0*2098, heated at 115°, lost 0*0070 HgO. H.p = 3*3. 0*1318 of anhydrous substance gave 0*3264 COg and 0*0980 HgO. C = 67*5 ; H = 8*2. A. determination of its specific rotatory power gave the following ^ result: 0*2942 of anhydrous substance, made up to 20 c.c. with chloroform, gave Op -p0°38' in a 2-dcm. tube, whence [ajo -b21*5°. These results would indicate that the above-described substance consisted* to a considerable extent of the dextrorotatory constituent of elaterin, but the amount of material available was so small that it | was impossible to obtain auy evidence of its purity.