Chemical examination of elaterium and the characters of elaterin / by Frederick B. Power and Charles W. Moore.
- Frederick Belding Power
- Date:
- [1909?]
Licence: In copyright
Credit: Chemical examination of elaterium and the characters of elaterin / by Frederick B. Power and Charles W. Moore. Source: Wellcome Collection.
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![The principle which occurs in commerce under the name of elaterin, and which, as above noted, is recognised under that title by the British and United States Pharmacopoeias, has received the attention of several investigators during the past few years. The formula adopted for it by the Pharmacopoeias, namely, C20H,805, is that first suggested by Zwenger.2 Berg3 has assigned to elaterin the formula C28H3807, and considers it to exist in the juice of the fruits of Ecballium in the form of a glucoside, which is accompanied by an enzyme designated as elaterase. The product regarded as a glucoside does not appear, however, to have been specially characterised, and was in fact only obtained in an amorphous state. Thoms,4 in a report on experiments conducted by Mann, considers elaterin to possess the formula C22H3006, whereas Poliak5 obtained re¬ sults which were in fairly close agreement with the formula suggested by Zwenger, namely, C20H2805. Hemmelmayr,6 on the other hand, with consideration of his analyses and mole¬ cular weight determinations, has assigned to elaterin the formula C24H3406. In view of the varying results of the above-mentioned investigators, it is evident that even the empirical formula of the product known as elaterin cannot as yet be considered definitely established. The present authors, having recently had occasion to pre¬ pare some elaterin, have deemed it of interest to examine the other constituents of elaterium, so far as the limited quantity of material available would permit. At the same time some commercial specimens of elBerin have been examined, and the very interesting and important facts which have thus been revealed, together with the deductions therefrom, are summarised at the end of this paper. Experimental. The material employed for this investigation consisted of the best English elaterium, which was obtained from a re¬ liable source, and conformed in its general characters to the requirements of the British Pharmacopoeia. Determinations of the amount of moisture and of ash gave the following results:—0'4180, when heated at 110° C., lost 2 Ann. d. Chem., 1842, 43, 460. Soc. Ghim.t mi [in.], 17, 85, and 1906 [iii.], 35, 435; Chem. Centralblatt, 1897, I., 483, and 1906, II., 610; Phnrm. Journ., 1906 77 283' Compi rend., 1907, 143, 1161, and Chem. Centralblatt, 1907, I., 636; Compt rend., 1909, 148, 566, and Chem. Centralblatt, 1909, I., 1239. 1 4 Chem. Zeit., 1906, p. 923, and Plvirm. Journ., 1906, 77, 351. 5 Ber. d. deutsch. chem. Ges., 1906, 39, 3380. 6 Ibidem, 1906, 39, 3652.](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b30614430_0004.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
