68 THE JOURNAL OF PHARMACOLOGY. 



tinctly more powerful than smilacin. Because of this action on the blood, 

 ;ill these substances cause hemoglobinuria and methemoglobinuria; eventu- 

 ally bilirubin appears in the urine. Owing to its effect on the blood, the 

 subcutaneous and other tissues after death have often a yellowish aspect, 

 and the exudations in the cavities are of a reddish color. In warm-blooded 

 animals the intravenous injection of doses which eventually cause death 

 leads to but little change in the blood -press ure or frequnecy of the heart's 

 heat. 



The three active constituents of sarsaparilla produce their most powerful 

 effect on the intestinal canal, causing increased peristalsis and injection, 

 sometimes inflammation of tbe large and small intestine, the contents of 

 which (post mortem) are found to contain bloody mucus. Ulceration of 

 the stomach and intestines is sometimes present. The urine usually con- 

 tains blood-coloring matter wheal the animal is poisoned by the intravenous 

 injection of parillin, smilacin or sarsasaponin, and the kidneys are found 

 (post mortem) of a dark-red color, the tubules containing red-colored con- 

 tents. 



it is manifest that the pharmacological effects of the active principles 

 which have been separated from sarsaparilla throw no light on its sup- 

 posed curative influence on syphilis and other ailments. It is possible, in- 

 deed, that the increase in the flow of saliva which the saponin constituents 

 tend to produce may have some beneficial effect in lesions connected with 

 the throat and mouth; perhaps, too, the large quantities of fluid which were 

 at one time taken with sarsaparilla preparations had a beneficial effect. 

 But Sclmlz's researches strengthen the views entertained by the majority 

 of physicians, that sarsaparilla as a therapeutic agent has no important 

 value. It has no dl effects because its active principles are not absorbed. 

 Does it contain any other active principle which has not been discovered? 

 The care with which the chemical examinations have been conducted by 

 Schulz and other observers renders this improbable. Pereira, indeed, found 

 in it an essential oil, but as 140 pounds only yielded a few drops, it is hardly 

 likely that this constituent gives efficacy to the drug. — Therapeutic Gazelle. 



Digestive Ferments. — Prof. Chittenden has shown that potassium per- 

 manganate, borax, ammonia alum, sodium salicylate, quinine and the salts 

 of most alkaloids act antagonistically to the peptic ferment; while Dr. 11. A. 

 Weber's experiments have proved that the so-called harmless colors — aureo- 

 line yellow and magenta— arrest digestion, even when taken in very mi- 

 nute quantities. Further experiments in the same direction have been con- 

 ducted by F. D. Simons (Phar. Jour., No. 1,431, p. 457), who finds that 

 peptic digestion is retarded even after prolonged treatment by picric acid, 

 tropaelin 000, and metanil-yellow; pancreatic digestion being retarded in 

 like degree by Bismarck brown, essence of cinnamon and formic aldehyde-. 



