Chemical examination of the barks of Brucea antidysenterica, Lam. and Brucea sumatrana, Roxb. / by Arthur H. Salway and Walter Thomas.
- Salway, Arthur Henry.
- Date:
- [1907]
Licence: In copyright
Credit: Chemical examination of the barks of Brucea antidysenterica, Lam. and Brucea sumatrana, Roxb. / by Arthur H. Salway and Walter Thomas. 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.
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![[A Communication to the Britiah Phai’inaceutical Conference, Man- chester, July, 1907, and reprinted fi’orn the Year-Book of Pharmacy, 1907.] CHEMICAL EXAMINATION OF THE BARKS OF BRUCEA ANTIDYSENTERICA, Laih., AND BRUCEA SUMATRAN A, Roxb. By Akthur H. Salway, Ph.D., and Walter Thomas. 1.—Examination of the Bark of Brucea Antidysen- TERiCA. By Arthur H. Salway, Ph.D. A small quantity of this bark was obtained through the kind- ness of H.B.M. Minister, Lieut-Colonel Sir J. L. Harrington, K.C.V.O., C.B., at Adis Ababa, Abyssinia, and it was deemed of interest to compare its constituents with those of the fruit of tlie same .species of Brucea, more especially with reference to the bitter principle contained in the latter, since both parts of the plant are stated to be used with success in Abyssinia in the treatment of diarrhoea and fever (compare Engler, “ Die naturhehen Pflanzenfamilien,” Theil III., Abtheil. 4, p. 220, Leipzig, 1896), • The bark was in small fragments of a hght brown colour, and possessed a slightly bitter taste. As a preliminary experiment a portion of the finely ground material was extracted successively in a Soxhlet apparatus with various solvents, when the following amounts of extract, dried at 100°C., were obtained :— Petroleum (b.p. 36-50°C.) Ether Chloroform Alcohol Water extracted 1-22 per cent. „ 0-9G „ 0-78 8-48 7-22 Total . . 18-66 per cent. For the purpose of a complete examination of the constituents of the bark, a quantity (675 Gm.) of the finely ground material was extracted with hot alcohol. After the removal of the greater portion of the alcohol, the thick, dark-coloured extract was brought into a distilling flask, water added, and steam passed through the mixture in order to separate any volatile substances. The distillate, which contained a few oily drops](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b22425342_0005.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
