The constituents of senna leaves / by Frank Tutin.

  • Tutin, Frank.
Date:
[1913?]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The constituents of senna leaves / by Frank Tutin. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    3/22
    CCXIII.—The Constituents of Senna Leaves. By Frank Tutin. Senna leaves have in the past been the subject of numerous investi¬ gations, but until recently little information has been obtained regarding the definite compounds present in them. Most of the investigators have recorded the isolation of “ chrysophanic acid ” and the “ cathartic acid ” of Dragendorff—a product to which the purgative action of the drug has been attributed—but which for some time has been recognised as an indefinite mixture of substances. The most recent investigation of importance on this subject is that by Tschirch and Hiepe {Arch. Pharm., 1900, 238, 427), where a detailed mention of the previous literature will be found. These investigators described the isolation of the following pro¬ ducts: A crystalline substance, C14H]0O5; “ sennarhamnetin ”; “ anthraglucosennin ” ; “ senna - emodin ”; “ sennachrysophanic acid”; “ sennaisoemodin,” and amorphous “ serfnanigrin.” No melting point was recorded for the “ substance, C14H10O5,” and in view of the results of the present investigation it would appear probable that it was a mixture of aloe-emodin and rhein. The latter substance, which has now been isolated from senna, had previously been known to occur only in rhubarb. With regard to the “ sennarhamnetin,” Tschirch and Hiepe record no analysis, and merely state that the product in question did not melt at 260°. It is now shown, however, that the flavone product present in various specimens of senna leaves consists either of kaempferol (m. p. 274°) or of a mixture of the latter with fsorhamnetin (m. p. 302°). The “ anthraglucosennin ” of the lastrmentioned authors would appear to have been a mixture of the glucosides of rhein
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