which they thought would prove to be the Asclepione of List (Gmelin's Handb. XVII., 368), but subsequently (1885), upon Warden continuing the investigation of the drug in the Chemical Laboratory of the Gesundheits Amt, Berlin, he found the substance supposed to be asclepione to have a composition corresponding with the formula C17H280, whereas List's asclepione is represented by the formula C20H34O3.
The white cauliflower masses of crystals obtained in Berlin were found to agree closely, as regards their melting point and behaviour with solvents, with a substance called Alban obtained by Payen from gutta-percha (Jahresbericht uber die Fortsehder Chimie, 1852, p. 643), they were accordingly named Madar-alban. A yellow resin associated with maclar-alban in the drug was found to agree, in behaviour with reagents, with the Fluavil found by Payen in gutta-percha, but as regards chemical composition the madar-alban and madar- fluavil differed from the alban and fluavil of gutta-percha. Dr. Warden also separated from the drug a yellow bitter resin, which is probably the active principle, and Caoutchouc.
He found the percentage of the various principles (the results being calculated on the bark containing 8.079 per cent, of water) to be—
- Madar-alban 0.610
- Madar-fluavil 2.471
- Black acid resin. 0.997
- Caoutchouc free from M.-alban and M.-fluavil 0.855
- Yellow bitter resin (active principle) 0.093
The fact that the sap of the Madar plant contains in addition to Caoutchouc two principles analogous to the alban and fluavil of gutta-percha is a point of some interest, as madar guttapercha has been recommended as a substitute for the commercial article. For full particulars of the chemical examination, see Pharm Journ., Aug. 22nd, 1885.
Drs. E. G. Hill and A. P. Sarkar of Muir College, Allahabad, have analysed the root-bark and have published the results in the Journal Chemical Society {T. 1915 pp. 1437-1442), of which the following is a summary :—
FOUR kilos, of the root bark broken up and extd. with boiling 98% alc. for 3 hrs., gave 78 g, oil, 90 g. white solid (A) which sepd. partly on cooling and partly on concn,, and a residue which, when extd. with Et2O and digested with H20, gave 330.5 g. gutta-percha-like residue and a small amt. of a yellow bitter principle. A long series of fractional crystns. from alc. of (A), identical with Warden and Waddel's " madaralban" Pharm J. 1885, 165), gave, as the less sol. portion, akundarol isovalerate (B), C38H61OC02C4H9 , needles, m. 210°, [a]D23 119° in Et20, and as the more sol., mudarol isovalerate (C), C30H97OCO2C4H9 , nodules, m. 140°, [a]D23 128° in Et20. Sapon. of (B) gave akundarol (D), C38H62O2 , needles, m. 215°
