IRbofcora 



JOURNAL OF 



THE NEW ENGLAND BOTANICAL CLUB 



Vo1 - 4 March, 1902 No. 39 



IVY POISONING AND ITS TREATMENT. 

 Franz Pfaff, M. D. Ph. D. 



Of all the cutaneous eruptions caused by poisoning plants, those 

 produced by poison ivy and by poison sumach are probably the most 

 common in this country. 



It is the general belief of the public and of most physicians, that 

 the eczematous conditions, which occur in many persons after hand- 

 ling such plants may be caused also by emanations from the plant, 

 the active principle being thought to be a volatile substance. 



The two attempts to isolate the active principle failed. One of the 

 investigators, J. Khittel, attributed the action of poison ivy to a 

 volatile alkaloid, the other, John M. Maisch, denied it, stating that a 

 volatile acid, which he called "toxicodendric acid" is the active prin- 

 ciple. 



Both statements proved to be erroneous, as experiments, which I 

 made a few years ago, have shown. 



The lack of any rational treatment of ivy poisoning may be ascribed 

 to the imperfect knowledge of the cause of this disease. 



In my researches (v. Journal of Exper. Med. Vol. II. No. II. 97.) 

 I used different parts of the plants, gathered at different seasons of 

 the year and found, that the so-called " toxicodendric acid," which 

 Maisch did not produce in the chemically pure state, is nothing but 

 acetic acid and therefore not the cause of the eruption peculiar to ivy 

 poisoning. 



Further investigations showed that the active principle is an oil, 

 which I named " Toxicodendrol " and which can be found in all 

 parts of the plants, both in Rhus toxicodendron and Rhus venenata. 

 This oil is easily soluble in alcohol, ether, chloroform, etc., but is 

 insoluble in water. Toxicodendrol is easily decomposed by heat, but 



