henbane, in fact it is nearly ten times as strong. .Specimens of Indian henbane have been known to contain as much as 128 per cent, of alkaloid and unlike the English variety Hyoscyamus niger which contains the alkaloids hyoscyamine hyoscine, and scopolamine the Indian variety muticus is said to contain only hyoscyamine. As a source of this important alkaloid hyoscyamine Indian Hyoscyamus should receive the attention of the manufacturer of fine chemicals and drugs.
For the information of those readers of the Journal who are interested in the chemistry of this subject or the manufature of hyoscyamine, below are given the details of the method of assay used, which is a modification of that devised by Rupp. Pharm. Zeit. 1908, 738 ; Chem. Zeit. Rep. 1908, 32. 529 ; Pharm. J. Russ 1911, 138; J. Pharm. Chem. 1911, 3,551). The method can be used for assaying extracts of belladonna also.
Twenty-five grams of the powdered leaf are extracted with 300 cc. hot alcohol Sp. Gr. 0.829 in a Soxhlet tube (4 times was found sufficient to exhaust the leaves and obtain a washing free from alkaloids). The alcoholic extract is evaporated until a sticky brown mass is obtained. This is weighed and the weight noted. Six grams of the extract so obtained is weighed into a stoppered flask. About 5 cc. of water, 90 grams of ether and one gram of ammonium hydrate are then added and the mixture shaken for 15 minutes. After separation 60 grams of the clear ethereal layer is filtered off and the solvent evaporated. The residue is then treated with 5 grams of ether and again evaporated to dryness. This is repeated three times, each time with 5 grams ether. The residue is then dissolved in 5 grams of alcohol 70 per cent, and the solution transferred to a graduated 100 cc. flask.
The first flask is washed out with another 5 cc. of alcohol 70 per cent, and then with water. To the bulked washings is added 20 grams of sodium chloride and 20 cc. of N/100 HCL are added with sufficient water to bring the whole contents up to 100 cc. After thorough agitation the solution is filtered. 50 cc. of the filtrate is transferred to a stoppered flask. 30 cc. of ether and 5 drops of Iodeosine indicator are added. The excess of hydrochloric acid is then determined by titration with N/100 KOH in the usual manner.
In the meantime a blank experiment with the same reagents but without any extract of the leaves, is performed to obtain the correcting factor for reagent impurities, and this is deducted from the above titration figure. This precaution is absolutely necessary as a correction of upwards of 2 cc. of N/100 HCL is frequently found.
Each cc. of N/100 HCL used by the alkaloids = 0.00289 of mixed alkaloids as hyoscyamine.
This is not the first time that Indian Hyoscyamus has been examined, for Dunstan and Brown examined a specimen (J. C. S. 1899, 75,72), but only 01 per cent, of alkaloid was then recorded. It is possible that more than one variety of Hyoscyamus exist and that the alkaloidal contents of the varieties differ considerably. It is also more than likely that the amount of active principle present will depend upon the age and condition of the plant, for Godamer (Arch. Pharm. 1898. 28), has shown that in Hyoscyamus muticus the
