Atropina, Atropine, C17H23NO3, official. - (Syn., Atrop., Atropia; Fr. Atropine; Ger. Atropinum, Atropin.) This alkaloid in commerce always contains a little hyoscyamine, which is separated with difficulty, as they are extracted together by agitating an alcoholic tincture of the root with slaked lime, in order to decompose the natural salt and liberate the alkaloid, which remains in solution; acidify filtrate with diluted sulphuric acid, concentrate to remove alcohol, fat, resin, shake with chloroform to remove chlorophyll, and to filtrate add potassium carbonate in excess; purify by dissolving washed precipitate (atropine) in alcohol, add water until slightly turbid, crystallize. It is in white rhombic prisms, odorless, bitter, acrid, soluble in water (455), hot water (90), alcohol (2), glycerin (27), chloroform (1), ether (25), aqueous solution alkaline, melts at 115° C. (239° F.); forms numerous salts (hydrobromide, hydrochloride, nitrate, sulphate, etc.). Tests: 1. Evaporate .01 Gm. + few drops of nitric acid to dryness - yellow residue, which upon cooling, + few drops of alcoholic potassium hydroxide T. S., + fragment of potassium hydroxide - intense violet

Fig. 354. - Belladonna root: transverse section, magnified 3 diam.

(abs. of strychnine, which masks reaction). 2. Solution in dilute hydrochloric acid (1 in 50) + gold chloride T. S. - lusterless precipitate (dist. from hyoscyamine - lustrous precipitate); incinerate .1 Gm. -ash non-weighable. 3. Heated with barium hydroxide becomes hydrolized into tropic acid, C9H10O3, and tropine, C8H15NO - tropine tropate - and by heating these together synthetic atropine results; other tropines (alkaloids, compound esters) have been formed with various organic acids, as tropine mandelate, which yields homatropine. Impurities: Foreign alkaloids (platinic chloride T. S. - precipitate), apoatropine, belladonnine (ammonia water - turbidity), hyoscyamine, readily carbonizable substances (sulphuric or nitric acid - yellow, brown). Exercise great caution in tasting, using very dilute solution. Should be kept dark, in well-closed containers. Dose, gr. 1/120-1/60 (.0005-.001 Gm.).

Atropinae Sulphas, Atropine Sulphate, (C17H23NO3)2.H2SO4, official. - (Syn., Atrop. Sulph., Sulphate of Atropia; Fr. Sulfate d'Atropine; Ger. Atropinum sulfuricum, Atropinsulfat, Schwefelsaures Atropin.) Obtained by dissolving atropine mixed with water by means of diluted sulphuric acid, neutralizing, evaporating, or dissolve in alcohol, neutralize with sulphuric acid, evaporate; as such is accompanied usually by small amount of hyoscyamine sulphate, from which it cannot readily be separated. It is a white crystalline powder or in microscopic needles and prisms, efflorescent in dry air, odorless, soluble in water (.4), alcohol (5), boiling alcohol (2.5), glycerin (2.5), chloroform (420), ether (3000); aqueous solution neutral; melts at 190° C. (374° F.). Exercise great caution in tasting, using very dilute solution. Dose, gr. 1/120-1/60 (.0005-.001 Gm.).

Homatropinae Hydrobromidum, Homatropine Hydrobromide, C16H21NO3.HBr, official. - (Syn., Homatrop. Hydrobr., Homatropine Bromide; Fr. Bromhydrate d'Homatropine; Ger. Homatropinum hydrobromicum, Bromwasserstoffsaures Homatropin (Oxytoluyltro-pein).) Obtained by the condensation of tropine and mandelic acid - heating tropine, C8H15NO, with mandelic acid (tropine mandelate) for several days on a water-bath, in the presence of dilute (12 p. c.) hydrochloric acid, adding ammonia water and extracting liberated alkaloid with chloroform, evaporating chloroformic solution, neutralizing with hydrobromic acid, crystallizing. It is a white, odorless, crystalline powder, rhombic prisms, soluble in water (6), alcohol (40), chloroform (420), hot alcohol (12); insoluble in ether; aqueous solution (1 in 20) neutral; melts at 212° C. (414° F.) with partial decomposition. Tests: 1. Shake 1 Ml. (Cc.) of aqueous solution (1 in 10) + chloroform 2 Ml. (Cc), + few drops of chlorine water - chloroform becomes brownish. 2. Add to aqueous solution iodine T. S. - brown precipitate; silver nitrate T. S. - yellowish-white precipitate, insoluble in nitric acid; incinerate .1 Gm. - ash non-weighable. Impurities: Atropine, hyoscyamine, scopolamine (hyoscine), foreign alkaloids (with tannic acid T. S. or platinic chloride T. S. - precipitate). Exercise great caution in tasting, using very dilute solution. Should be kept dark, in well-closed containers. Superior to atropine in being less toxic, in decreasing instead of increasing heart-rate and blood-pressure, and in the effects passing off in one-fourth the time - 1-2 days; inferior to it where lasting mydriasis is desired. Used to correct anomalies of refraction, in 1-2 p. c. solutions. Dose, gr. 1/120-1/60 (.0005-001 Gm.).

Belladonnine, C17H23NO4, Oxyatropine and Atropamine (Apo-atropine, Aposterpine), C17H21NO2. - All these may be one and the same; yellow powder decomposed very easily by mineral acids.

Hyoscyamine (daturine, duboisine of other plants). - This has the same formula as atropine and scopolamine (hyoscine), but is more soluble in water and diluted alcohol, and forms gold salts with a different fusing-point; is converted into atropine by alkaloids in alcoholic solution.

Atrosin (β-methyl oesculetiri). - This is the red coloring matter, fluorescent.

Malic Acid. - This holds the alkaloids in combination.

The young roots contain only hyoscyamine, those of 8-10 years old also atropine; alkaloids are mostly in the bark, hence large woody roots should be rejected.

Preparations. - I. Leaves: 1. Extractum Belladonna Foliorum. Extract of Belladonna Leaves. (Syn., Ext. Bellad. Fob, Extractum Belladonnae Foliorum Alcoholicum; Fr. Extrait de Belladone; Ger. Belladonnaextrakt (Spirituoses), Tollkirschenextrakt.)