22 THE ANALYST. THE ADU-L!!ERATION OF DRUGS I N AMERICA.+' BY FREDERICK STEARNS. THE Committee on Adulteration of Drugs offer the following as their report :- Prior to writing the report the chairman sought, from members of the Association, by circular, whatever information upon the subject each member might hare to offer. The order followed in arranging this report is, first, to give the new forms of adulteration noticed in those journals to which the writer has bad Bccess during the past year, together with the means, when given, for determining the same ; second, recent legislation against adulterating food and medicines ; third, euggestiona, criticisms and comments bearing upon the subject. ADULTERATIONS, Glzccose.-Eleven millions of bushels of corn will be used this year in the twenty glucose factories of the United States in producing this product, most of which is employed for adulterating cane sugar and cane syrup. This amount of grain is equivalent t~ OV6r one thousand car-loads per day, and when it is to be considered that the principal temptation to its production is, so far, its fraudulent use as an adulterant for true cane sugar, not easily detected, enabling the producers to reap fabulous profits therefrom, the writer thinks that it is high time that State or Nat'ioslal legislation shonld compel manufacturers and mixers of this left-handed, often impure, insipid sugar to brand it, whether pure, or mixed with cane sugar, by its right name and percentage, that buyers may get what they pay for.At the last meeting of the American Pharmaceutical Association, Mr.Allaire, of this committee, very properly reported against the rise of glucose, in making medicinal syrups, as a substi- tute for cane sugar. Japanese Star-Anise.-IXr. Kelly, of this committee, through the kindness of Stallman & Fulton, New York, reports (with accompanying specimen) upon this article, gtating that there was an arrival in New York rif about fiflly cases, which were, it is believed, afterwards *Read at the Seventh Annual UonvenCion of the Western Wholesale urug Association, New York.THE ANALYST. 23 exported to London. It wag offered as low as ten cents per pound. An exhaustive article on this drug appears in New Remedi~, July, 1881, pages 199 to 202 inclusive, which is appended to this report.A synopsis of the same may be stated as follows : The genuine star-anise is a product of Cochin-China, and Siam, while the false star-anise comes from Japan, both belonging to the genus Illiscinni, of the N. 0. Magnoliacea. The botanical difference in the fruit of the two is so slight as to easily deceive upon superficial examination. In taste the genuine is sweet and anise-like, the odour faintly like anise. The taste of the false ie digagreeable, and not sweet or anise-like, its odour different from anise, faintly resembling laurel, camphor and nutmeg. The gennine is somewhat larger than the false, its surfaoe more cork-like, points short, horizontal, or slightly curved upwards, further aeparated carpels, less woody, Bhrunken and wrinkled ; seeds mostly dark-brown, with rounded point. Surfaco of the false fruit more shining and red brown ; points thin, often strongly curved upwards ; carpels more woody, greatly shrunken and wrinkled ; aeeds mostly yellowish-brown, with strong raphe and elevated point.This false star-anise is considered highly poisonous in its native habitat, and analyses by the sanitary authorities of Japan have isolated a crystalline principal as powerfully poisonous. Whether the genuine atar-anise contains an identical poison in smaller proportion remains yet to be determined. Your reporter thinks it not at all improbable, for reason of the profound physiological effects of the proximate principal of the Japan star-anise, that it may in the near future become a valuable addition to the materia medics far exceeding in therapeutic value the variety which this specimen is vainly wandering around the world to substitute.Cubebs.-The present high cost of this drug, owing to iSs increased use for smoking in catarrhal cigarettes, has led to fraudulent practices. The writer has recently had offered to him crushed cubebs from which the essential oil had been mostly removed by distillation. Antimony Szdphumt.-Your reporter has seen this article offered, consisting entirely of ground, broken crockery, and anthracite coal dust. Cascara Bark.-This new drug, the product of Rhamnus Purschiana, has come largely into use since its introduction to the medica1 profession by Parke, Davis & Co. Through the ignorance of colIectors it often occurs, and has occurred repeatedly to your reporter, that large parcels of inert and worthless bark and barks of allied species are offered in place of genuine.Mis:turm.-Mr. Allaire, of this committee, reports that twice during the past year mixtures prepared for adulterating powdored drugs were offered him. He failed to obtain samples for reaaons that he could not get them in less than five barrel lots. They were of three colours, red, yellow, and brown. They were offered him at 2+ to 4 cents. per pound. Jalap.-Mr. Allaire has made several examinations of commercial powdered jalap, showing that not over 10 per cent. of the samples were up to standard. In regard to jalap, your reporter see8 no reason why it should not have its market value and price established by the proper assay of each lot, as in the case of opium and cinchona.Spruc6 Gum-Your reporter detected an ingenious substitution in a lot of this rarticle; his suspicions were excited by the fine appearance of the lot. I t proved to consist of artfully prepared lumps of eomrnon resin, mixed with a small per cent. of the genuine gum, the whole being roughened by attrition.24 TEE ANALYST. Oil of Bay Rum.---Your reporter is informed that the so-called ‘& smuggled ” oil of bay rum is nothing but the genuine oil mixed with the oil of clove and oil of pimento, and in this condition artfully foisted upon unsuspecting parties at a price less than the imported and duty-paid oil can be sold, under the pretext that it is ‘( probably smuggled.” OLE of Bitter AZmond. (Ess.)-In order to introduce into market the oil now made by synthesis, and which, while it has the chemical formula of its natural analogue, is unlike it somewhat in odour, and, showing strong signs as it does of its derivative, ia branded Oil Ylang Ylang.--The recent, great reduction in the price of this fine perfume leads to the suspicion that the reason for it liefi in some ingenious sophistication not yet determined.Ginseng.-Lilienthal Bros., of New York, report being impoEed upon by ginseng fraudulently mixed with a root so closely resembling ginseng as to defy detection, unless every root was carefully broken for examination. They 3160 found leaden plugs inserted in genuine root to add weight to it. Rose Leaves.-Mr. Greenish (London Pharm. SOL), calls attention to artificially- coloured rose leaves, common in the London market early this year.They prove to be petals of the pale cabbage rose, Rosa Centi,folia, artfully dyed with coraline, or rosanaline, and dipped in perfume. They prove to be of German origin, and shipped from Hamburg to the amount of from one to three thousand pounds. Oil of Peppermint.-J. J. Quetting & Co., New York, report finding much of this oil adulterated with oil of‘ pennyroyal, and give :is a reliable test a solution of two parts of chloral in one part of sulphuric acid, to which is added 5 per cent. of alcohol. The test mixed with the suspected oil in equal proportion given a fino cherry colour to pure oil, and it dark, olive-green if’ mixed with pennyroyal. Olive Oil and Cotton Seed Oil.-Our Consul at Naples, the Hon.B. 0. Duncan, reports to the State Department that immense quantities of refined cotton seed oils are imported into Italy for the special purpose of sophisticating the native oil, fur reason that it can be laid down in Naples at less than half the cost of prdducing pure olive oil. Hence the temptation is great to use it for mixing with pure oil for export from Italy to other countries, Its use is not easily detected except by chemical means. G. A. Buckheister (Droguisten Zeitzlizg) finds tthat while the ordinary tests, sulphuric and nitric acids, potash, lye, ammonia, &c., produced no definite reactions, he could, by a mixture of equal parts of sulphuric and nitric acids, render visible as small an addition of cotton seed oil as ten per cent. Three parts of this test to ten parts of the suspected oil is shaken together. Pure oil gives a white colour with B greenish cast, that mixed with sesame a grass-green, and that mixed with cotton oil a paler colour.After a few minutes the liquids separate, and pure olive oil appears almost unchanged ; cotton seed oil, a light brown. Out of 123 samples of wines examined at the new laboratory at the Prefecture of Police, Paris, only three were found genuine grape juice ; the remainder were falsified. Logwood.-Le Tincturier Pratique notes complaints about the adulteration of this dye wood with inert substances, such as rnoIasmz, sawdust, clay, &c., reinforced by Sumac and chestnut extracts. German Oil.” Wines.-(N. Y . Tinws Paris correspsndence).TEE ANALYST. 25 Oil Wintergreerc.-Is adulterated with alcohol and chloroform, and also with oil sassafras.Chloroform will make itself evident OD warming a sample of suspected oil. Strong nitric acid will detect oil of sassafras, turning the sample red and throwing down a dark resinous mass. In pure oil this test lewes the oil unchanged for some time, and finally deposits white crystals of methyl nitro salicylic acid. A second method is to distil from the sample the chloroform -generally added with the sassafras to give the correct specific gravity; add to the residue one-fourth its weight of potassium hydrate solved in four parts of hot water, when the odour of the aassafras will be apparent. Potassium 1odide.-Kasper (Schweix. Woch. Pharm.) has investigated oommercial iodide of potassium as to its purity, and determines it by its reaction with corrosive subli- mate, a simple and easy test.His conelusions are that in the commercial state the pure salt varies from 88 to 99+ per cent, ; that it should contain from 96 to 97 per cent. pure salt. Red Cinc1zonas.-R, Y. Mattison (New Remedies, October, 1881) gives the analysis of 20 specimens of commercial red barks, and states that four-fifths of the so-called red barks are nearly or quite devoid of crystallizable alkaloids ; that the commercial red barks rejected by the quinine makers are absolutely worthless-that it is never a true red bark. No rich barks can be had at a Iow price. This explains why Huxham’s tincture is so often found worthless, and why it is so much better when made from the popular fluid extract, for the reason that the manufacturer has to use care in making his choice of material.Out of twenty analyses, the commercial barks yielded from nil to traces, and in one instance only nearly a half per cent. quinins ; of cinchonidia, etc., from nil to one and six-tenths of one per cent. ; of cinchonia, etc., from nil to three per cent. Now the French journals announce that the silicate itself is adulterated with soap, added for the purpose of giving it a deceitful gelatinous appearance. Salicylic Acid.-Adulterants of this salt are mentioned (Drug Circular, September, 18S1,) as sugar, acid sulphate of potassa and cryst. sulphate of lime, starch and silica, and as accidental impurities due to imperfect washing -carbolic acid, muriatic acid, and soda salts. Fulse Clzian Tzirpe?itine,-!Phis drug, in its purity, has probably not existed in market to any extent at all for many years.Linsged Oil.--Mason (Report to Liverpool Chemists’ Association) says 250 tons of this oil, adulterated with neutral petroleum oil, has been sent from that port to foreign ports; that it contained about 30 per cent. ; that the test is its specific gravity, and the separation of the adulterant made by converting the sample into soap, and washing this with petroleum spirit, which readily removes the mineral oil, which does not saponify. Benxoic Acids.-Gehe etates that hippuric-benzoic acid is now made from urine of cows as well as that from horses, and when so made has less characteristic odour ; and further states that toluol benzoio acid is now in market at various grades and prices.Bedford (Proc. N. Y., State Pharmaceutical Associatien) states the latter has a strong odour of its derivative-nitro-benzole; and that of the imports of the past year-8,500 pounds- over 5,000 pounds of this was the urine-benzoio acid. Permanganate of potassium, added to a solution of benzoic acid neutralized with earbonate of sodium, is discharged if the beaeoic acid is that from urine, but if from gum it becomes green. To b6 continued in our Izext. The first two may be detected by fractional distillation. Silicate of Soda.-This has long been used as a dilutant of laundry soaps.SOCIETY OF PUBLIC ANALYSTS. Analyses of English Public Water Supplies in January, 1882. A l l results are expressed in GRAINS PER GALLON.--- 32.6 22.7 24.0 satisfactory satisfactory 21.2 7.0 23.0 22.4 7.7 24.3 10% 23.8 8.4 4.5 ' 8 2 7.0 22-5 30.7 23.3 none mineral and veg. debris vegetable debris mineral and veg. debris mineral and veg. debris satisfactory 8. carb. lime none satisfactory satisfactory none none diat. des. min. movg. org satisfactory dc.vg.db., min. mtr., diat . turb. grensh. . turbid yellow c, blue green rownish green s. turb yellow c. pale blue c. pale blue f. greenish c. yellow s. yellow s. brown !. brnsh. yellow c. p. blue c. colourless bty. mlky. wht. brownish none none slight none s. mossy none none none s. peaty none none none none none earthy,offr s. peaty Grantham . . . . Eing's Lynn . . Liverpool .... Ipswich . . . . . . ,, 14 7 ) 18 I , 14 ,, 9 ,, 17 HARDNESS, Clark's Scale, in fLegree.q 4 1 OXYGEN, Absorbed in Phosphoric Acid in ?hosphates.trace trace alight slight h. trace trace slight trace Dewription of Sample. Date when drawn. Appearance in Two-foot Tube. 4 hour$ at 80Q Fahr. ANALYSTS. 5 mias at 800 Fehr. *012 a042 -032 -059 *052 -028 *059 ,050 After 30LlIllp. Before L0ilUIg. 19.6' 15.0" 15.0' 14.0" 13.5" 15.4O 14O0 18 0" p h . blue, brght I c. f. yellow p. yellow green c . v. p. yellow yellowish p. brown c. v. p. yellow p. grnsh. yell. none none slight none none none none none 1.91 1.05 1.27 1-24, 1.11 1.22 1-24 1.19 -98 -40 2-05 -90 *95 1.40 1-47 1.19 -84 9 7 -64 -84 9 8 2.26 1.65 1.08 - *34 -29 -29 -20 -17 *16 -20 *33 -0031 -0014 -0005 4020 *0012 *0020 *0020 ,0056 -0096 -0028 -0043 *0060 -0061 ~0078 -0050 -0087 *015 -075 -086 -084 -089 .LO8 -075 *097 6-8' 4.5" 5-40 4.0' 3-50 4*2O 4.0' 5.50 Wigner & E a r h a .B. Dyer. Wigner & Harland. 5. Muter. 0. Hehner. A. Wynter-Blyth. J. Muter. A. Dupri:. Kent Go. .. .. . . New River . . . . East London . . Southwark & Vauxhall . . ] West Middleser Grand Junctior Lambeth ..-* Chelsea . . . . . I Birmingham .( Bolton.. . . . . . Brighton.. . . . Bristol . . . . . . . Bury (Lan.) . Cambridge . . . Canterbury.. . Croydon . . . . . Darlington . . . Edinburgh . . . Exeter . . . . . . . Dublin , * a * . none satisfactory -- trace none slight none none slight none slight slight slight none slight slight trace trace slight -04 -03 -39 *05 *03 -56 -41 -31 *02 ;racer trace -15 -62 -24 -19 .02 ,0007 -0019 so11 -020 lone -020 -023 -00 4 -00 4 none -0116 *034 *01G -023 0004 -009 *070 *052 -090 -012 none *05G -044 *009 -006 none e l 8 9 -035 ~076 -040 -006 -006 -322 6131 15.2" 3.20 13*0° 16.9O 4-33 16.0' 5-60 15.5O 5.0" 1.3' 6.2' 2.8' 1 5 * 7 O 19.5' 17.6" 3.8" 8.00 3.2' 5*2O 1-90 4-40 5.0° 3 .6 O 4 9 4.50 -6O 4-90 2-8' 4 8 O 8-40 5.6' 3-40 - A. Hill. W. H. Watson. Wigner & Harland. I?. W. Stddart. W. H. Watson. 3. West KnightcJ. S . Harvey. C. Heiach. W. F. R. Stock. C. A. Cameron. J. Falconer King. F. P. Perkins. A. Ashby. J. Napier. W. Johnstone. A. Smetham. *0052 moo06 -0039 .0003 -0013 *0005 -0005 -0020 -0020 -0020 -0016 none -0013 -0044 *002s -9056 0026 ,0098 -0015 *0006 -0060 -00-10 ,0050 -0032 -0033 -0021 *oo52 *0063 a0070SOCIETY OF PUBLIC ANALYSTS. Date Eg. Description oi Sample.Appearancein Two-foot Tube. Maidstone- Wtr. Cornpan) Public Conduil Manchester. . . . Newark . . . . , . Newcastle -on- Tyne.. . . . . Nottingham , , Norwich . . . . . . Portsmouth ., Reading . . . , . . Rochdale . . . Rugby ....*... Salford . . . . . . Southampton.. Swansea . , . . . . Warwick.. . . . Whitehaven .. t Jan. 14 ,, 11 ,, 16 ,, 14 ,, 9 Analyses of English Public Water Supplies A January, 1882. p.grnsh. blue pale blue 8. turb. f.yell. c. gmrah. blue f. yellow A11 results are expressed in GRAINS PER GALLON. 9. grnsh. blue . grnsh. yellow v. s. turbid f. yellow pale blue f. turbid clear yellow , f. grsh. yell, clear greenish c. f. green none none none none none none none none none none none none none none none none - 2.45 2.15 -74 1.12 -88 1-42 1.87 1.12 1-00 -65 1.27 -6 -98 -90 1.12 039 - I Phosphorio I Acid in ?hosphrttes.trace trace none trace trace trace trace trace none none h. traoe none h. trace trace none none .!3 . a I $a% g2 p I_ -2 5 -40 none -06 -04 1.12 *02 *25 -14 *01 -14 none -51 none .19 -005 - o i .A 4 I none none ~0039 -0008 -0010 a0012 traces traces -0009 -0020 -0070 *0014 trace *0010 *0014 none *0042 *0007 *0047 -0048 -0070 -0014 *0029 -0023 -0056 *0030 -0200 -0028 -005 6 -0063 -0021 *0007 OXYQEN, Absorbed in 5 mins. at 80° Fahr. *0112 *0100 *021 -013 -051 -008 -042 none -003 none *03Q .010 -034 *004 -005 ,007 c horn Fahr. B t 80' -015 -014 488 *031 DO88 -014 -052 none *074 *001 ,055 -039 a097 0004 *039 0015 - HARDNESS, Clark's scele, in del 3efore oiling. - 21*8O 19.9' 1.80 16.7O 16.4O 11.00 17.5O 17.2O 14.8O 3.50 11.20 3-50 14.8O 1*4O 21.00 *4O - 338. After oiling. F__ 7.2' 7.2' 1.8O 12.7' 5.40 7.0' 4-50 2.00 4*1° 3.0° 8.6O 3*0° 5-50 1*4O 13.4' -40 - U @$ r! %& : 5s z 35.8 31.8 4.7 35.0 21.7 17.4 24-0 18.4 19.2 4.5 17.0 5.1 21.6 3.7 21-0 2.1 _I Microscopical E d t i o n of Deposit. satisfactory satisfactory s. mineral satisfactory satisfactory vegetable debris satisfactory vegetable debris amorphous matter satisfactory 'eg. deb., sand, infusoria none satisfactory none none satiefactory ANALYSTS. M. A. Adams. M. A. Adars. W. Thornson. A. Ashby. J. Pattinson. Wjgner & Harlmd W. G. Crook. W. J. Sykes. 5. Shea. T. A. Collinge. A. P. Smith. J, Carter Bell. A. Angell. W. Morgan. A. Bostock Hill, A. Kitchin. Abbreviations:-&, clear; f., faint; h., heavy;.^., pale; v. h.,verg heavy; 7. s.,?erp sQh