SARSAPARILLA.
(565
So]i m " n >a, and contained a few drops of a volatile oil, which was heavier than water, wasj a . in rectified spirit, and had the odour and acrid taste of sarsaparilla. 100 lbs. of"as 1 * 10 * sarsa P ar iHa were distilled with 100 gallons of water. The distilled liquorfe \. and formed a white precipitate with solutions of acetate of lead. It was0 f ' st 'lled : the liquor that first passed over was not ammoniacal, but towards the end^“^process became so.
it ' , m ila,cin. —Discovered in 1824, by Palotta {Journ. de Pharm. x. 543), who termedst£? n ?^ n - Folchi, about the same time, also procured it, and gave it the name ofthe* 00 ”*’ Thubeuf, in 1831, called it salseparin. In 1833, Batka announced thattn iD?, tlve principle of this root was an acid, which he termed parallinic acid. Lastly,Euhst :5 4, Poggiale {Journ. de Chim. Mid. x. 577) shewed the identity of these different
a lJ l *i P rocure d by decolorizing a concentrated hot alcoholic tincture of sarsaparilla byPar's c h arc °al. The tincture deposits, on cooling, impure smilacin, which may be'*i Iron ^ repeated solutions and crystallization. Soubeiran {Nouv. Traite de Pharm.
It u ^ as P ro P ose d a more economical process.c 0 . “ as been frequently asserted that the active principle of sarsaparilla resides in thein er '° a Portion only of the root; but Poggiale asserts that the meditullium is not
tj^'taein is a white, crystallizable, odourless, and, in the anhydrous state, almostd en . ? su bstance; very slightly soluble in cold water, more so in boiling water, andri]] S, ting from the latter by cooling. Its solution has the bitter acrid taste of sarsapa-e 'itr!l.- an d frofbs on agitation. It is soluble in alcohol, ether, and oils. It does notWl 116 w ''b ac 'd s t° f°rm salts. Strong sulphuric acid colours it red, then violet, andr C( j ? yellow. It dissolves in cold and pure hydrochloric acid ; the solution becomess n j a . n< l afterwards gelatinous, when heated. It is soluble in strong nitric acid : if the„ bl V°n be heated, nitrous gas escapes; and by evaporation a solid residuum is* a >ned, which is soluble in boiling water, from which it precipitates in white flocks,e . liquid cools.
Uj'litcin is closely allied to, if it be not identical with, saponin. Now as the latter isth e converted into an acid ( esculic acid), so probably is the former: hence,perhaps,s a , )) P ai ' a llinic acid of Batka may not be absolutely identical with smilacin, but bear the
5 relation to it that esculic acid does to saponin,"niacin has the following composition:—
Henry.
G2-84
9'76
27'40
Petersen.
. 62'80. 9'14
. 2806
Anhydrous Smilacin . lOO'OO .... 100 00 [Parillina] lOO'OO
0. riSldale gives the following formula for its atomic constitution, C 8 H 7i O 3 ; while0 f "nry {Journ. de Pharm. xx. 682) assumes C 9 H 9 O 3 , and Petersen (Thomson’s279) C 9 H B O 3 . As no definite compound of smilacin has been obtained,tom • rmu l8e are of little value. Thubeuf says that hydrated [crystallized] smilacina jns 8'5(i water.
Patjp er * er {Journ. de Chim. Mid. t. i. p. 45, Seconde S6r.) gave it to nine syphilitica ' .I n doses of six grains the stomach readily supported it; but nine grainsttjD ls a w eight at the stomach and nausea. It appeared to relieve the patients’ symp-of f > an d, in one case, seemed to effect a cure. According to Palotta, pariglin, in dosespr 0c ], ni . tw ° t° thirteen grains, acts as a debilitant, reducing the circulation, sometimes'I'bik Cl - n 8' constriction of the oesophagus, and exciting nausea and diaphoresis. He3 a it might be useful in chronic rheumatism, skin diseases, &c.
(eoj * torch .—The large quantity of starch found in Honduras sarsaparilla mustO bus variety nutritive. In the Jamaica and Vera Cruz varieties the quantity/'A small.
^ f °bahi n an ^ Extractive. —These principles require further examination. On themh| y depends a part at least of the medicinal properties of sarsaparilla.
,] Characteristics. —A decoction of sarsaparilla froths greatly when]i t en - It scarcely, if at all, reddens litmus. Diacetate of lead, andof ./'Nitrate of mercury, cause precipitates. Alkalies deepen the coloure decoction. Solution of iodine fonns a copious blue precipitate