Die Alkaloide

SINCE Derosne and Sertürner isolated morphine, the crystalline principle of opium, about a century ago, the separation of the natural bases from plants has always taken a prominent place in chemical research. To-day the number of these substances exceeds two hundred, and the list is probably far from complete. The process of their isolation is usually accompanied by a study of their therapeutic value and by the more difficult and fascinating task of discovering their structure. Of the pioneers in this branch of chemistry, A. W. Hofmann stands in the forefront. Following the earlier discoveries of Gerhardt on the relation of the pyridine bases to the alkaloids, he was able by the aid of new and ingenious methods of disintegration, to identify many of the products with derivatives of these bases. But, as the authors of the above monograph state:— Die Alkaloide. By Prof. E. Winterstein Dr. G. Trier. Pp. vii + 340. (Berlin: Gebrüder Borntraeger, 1910.) Price 11 marks.