The constituents of the seeds of Casimiroa edulis / by Frederick B. Power and Thomas Callan.

  • Frederick Belding Power
Date:
1911
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: The constituents of the seeds of Casimiroa edulis / by Frederick B. Power and Thomas Callan. 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.

    10/20 (page 2000)
    in dilute acids, and on rendering the solution alkaline the alkaloid only slowly separates in the form of rosettes of needles. It is very sparingly soluble in chloroform, ether, benzene, ethyl acetate, or cold alcohol, but is readily soluble in hot alcohol, and amyl alcohol dissolves it freely. A slightly acidified solution of casimiroedine, even when exceed- ingly dilute, gives a reddish-brown precipitate with a solution of iodine in potassium iodide, but potassium-mercuric iodide and picric acid only yield precipitates with a somewhat concentrated solution. The alkaloid in acid solution was found to be optically active, and a determination of its rotatory power gave the following result: 0’4198, made up to 20 c.c. with 1 per cent, hydrochloric acid, gave aD —1°32/ in a 2-dcm. tube, whence [a]D — 36'5°. Casimiroedine was found to contain no methoxyl group, and in its chemical behaviour is a very indifferent substance. No crystalline derivative could be prepared from it with the exception of the aurichloride. Casimiroedine Aurichloride, C17H2405N2,IIAuC14,2HoO.—On the addition of a concentrated solution of gold chloride to a fairly strong solution of casimiroedine in hydrochloric acid the auri- chloride is precipitated as an oil, which crystallises on stirring. This salt is dissociated in contact with water, but could be crystal- lised from 20 per cent, aqueous hydrochloric acid, when it separated in bright yellow, microscopic needles, which melt indefinitely at about 90° in their water of crystallisation. After drying at 70°, however, the salt melts and completely decomposes at 145—148°: 0'0984, dried at 100° to a constant weight, lost 0‘0054 H20. HoO —5 5. 0'0930 (dried salt) gave, on ignition, 0‘0272 Au. Au = 29 2. C17H2405N2,IIAuC14,2H20 requires H20 = 51 per cent. C17H2405N2,HAuC14 requires Au = 29-2 per cent. The original aqueous liquid, which had been completely extracted with both ether and amyl alcohol, as already described, was subse- quently treated with a slight excess of solution of basic lead acetate. A voluminous, light brown precipitate was thus produced, which was collected, thoroughly washed, and decomposed with hydrogen sulphide, but it yielded nothing definite. The filtrate from the basic lead acetate precipitate was treated with hydrogen sulphide for the removal of the excess of lead, and the filtered liquid concentrated under diminished pressure. It then formed a viscid syrup, which contained a considerable quantity of sugar,