The constituents of the flowers of Trifolium incarnatum / by Harold Rogerson.

  • Rogerson, Harold.
Date:
[1910?]
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: The constituents of the flowers of Trifolium incarnatum / by Harold Rogerson. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    4/16 (page 1005)
    subject of a thorough investigation (Power and Salway, this vol., p. 231), it was deemed desirable also to examine those of the less widely cultivated “ carnation clover/’ especially as the latter possess such very distinctive characters. It has thus been ascertained that the flowers of the two above-mentioned species of Trifolium exhibit appreciable differences with respect to their constituents, and a complete summary of the results of the present investigation is given at the end of this paper. Experimental. The material employed in this investigation consisted of the flowering tops of Trifolium incarnatum, which had been collected during the month of June from a field of the cultivated plant in Kent. A portion (10 grams) of the dried material was first tested for the presence of an alkaloid, but the reactions obtained were very slight, and indicated the presence of not more than traces of such a substance. Another portion (25 grams) of the dried material was successively extracted in a Soxhlet apparatus with various solvents, when the following amounts of extract, dried at 100°, were obtained : Petroleum (b. p. 35—50Q) extracted Ether ,, Chloroform ,, Ethyl acetate ,, Alcohol ,, Water ,, Total... 0*50 gram = 2-00 per cent. 0-32 ,, = 1-28 0-20 ,, = 0-80 l-03 grams = 4T2 4-60 ,, =18-40 1-29 ,, = 5-60 7'94 grams =31*76 per cent. For the purpose of a complete examination, 94'35 kilograms of the flowers were collected. This material, after careful drying, amounted to 20*75 kilograms, or 22 per cent, of the original weight. The entire amount of this material was ground, and then extracted by continuous percolation with hot alcohol. After the removal of the greater portion of the alcohol, a dark-coloured extract was obtained, which amounted to 6*35 kilograms. Distillation of the Extract with Steam: Separation of an Essential Oil. The whole of the above-mentioned extract was mixed with water, and steam passed through the mixture for several hours. The distillate (12 litres) contained some drops of oil floating on the surface. It was thoroughly extracted with ether, the ethereal liquid being dried, and the solvent removed, when 6 grams of an essential oil were obtained. The yield of the latter was equivalent