BY JAMES M. PETRIE. 335 



The Alkaloid op the Centkal African" Species: Erythrophloeum guine<ense. 



Erythrophloeum gidneense is one of the group of poisonous jslants used by 

 the pygmies in Central Africa in the preparation of their arrow poisons. It is 

 well known too from its use for criminal purposes. It is the Nkasa, the "doom 

 tree'' of tlie West African natives, who use it in the trial by ordeal to detect 

 persons accused of sorcery and witchcraft or other crimes. The bark alone is 

 used for this purpose. A small piece is removed and pulverised; an infusion of 

 this is made, and the accused persons are forced to drink a certain quantity. 

 The general result of drinking this infusion is a rapid appearance of symptoms 

 of poisoning. The first stage is characterised by violent vomiting, but, if a 

 small dose only has been given, these symptoms may disappear and the person 

 recover, in which case he is declared innocent and set free. If, however, a larger 

 dose has been administered, the second stage is rapidly reached in which the 

 vomiting and purging continue, all power is suddenly lost from the limbs and 

 the person falls to the ground. He is then considered guilty of the crime and 

 is either at once put to death, or quickly dies of heart-paralysis, the effect of 

 this powerful draught. 



A vivid description of a trial by ordeal in the Gold Coast is to be found 

 in the Pharmaceutical Journal for 1856, where it may be read with all its grue- 

 some details (11). 



The ordeal tree was first examined chemically in 187G by Gallois and Hardy 

 of Paris (12). Their fii-st experience while working with this material was 

 the violent fits of sneezing produced by the powdered plant, and great care had 

 to be taken to prevent the dust penetrating the respiratory passages. An in- 

 tensely poisonous alkaloid was isolated which was named "crythrophleine" by 

 the authors. Neither the base nor its salts could be obtained in crystalline form, 

 and the alkaloid was found in the bark, leaves and seeds. It was stated to be a 

 powerful heart-poison. 



During the same year, E. Merck, of Darmstadt, prepared a large quantity of 

 erj'throphleine, and this was distributed to pharmacologists in various countries. 

 Prom this material Lauder Brunton (13) made a very extensive examination of 

 the physiological properties of the alkaloid. The chief conclusion arrived at 

 was that crythrophleine possessed the pharmacological properties of both the 

 digitalis and the picrotoxin gi-oups in its action on animals. He emphasised 

 also the effects on the respiratory organs: "All the men employed by us in 

 grinding or pounding the bark suffered severely from the violent and irresistible 

 fits of sneezing which attacked them, and in one instance these were accompanied 

 by great faintness and tendency to syncope.'' 



In 1888 there was a large production of published papers in medical litera- 

 ture on the use of crythrophleine as a therapeutic agent. It was employed in 

 heart diseases as a cardiac tonic. It was said to have no cumulative action and 

 therefore, a valuable substitute for digitalis. It was found to have a consider- 

 able anaesthetic action like cocaine. It possessed certain local irritant properties 

 when injected subcutaneously or instilled into the eye. 



In 1895 Merck succeeded in preparing a new supply of alkaloid, which ho 

 purified with extreme care, and with this, Harnack, in 1895 (10), proved that 

 the picrotoxin action was eliminated, and the pure digitalis action alone was ex- 

 hibited. Even with this pure substance the alkaloid was amorphous and its 

 salts could not be crystallised. 



Harnack determined the approximate composition of the base from the 

 analysis of its amorphous platinum salt, and from these results the formula was 

 provisionally expressed as C28 H43 Ot N. 



