BY JAMES M. PETHIE. 793 



Physiological properties.— T>v. H. G. Chapman has carried out 

 for me a number of experiments on rabbits, frogs, and dogs. 

 Introduced into a rabbit's eye, 0-1 mgm.-of solandrine causes 

 full dilatation of the pupil, with loss of the light reflex in twenty- 

 minutes. The inequality of the pupils may be noted until the 

 fourth day after the instillation. 



On the frog's heart solandrine possesses the property of 

 paralysing the receptive substance for the endings of the vagus 

 nerve. After the application of solandrine, stimulation of the 

 trunk of the vagus no longer abolishes or interferes with the 

 rhythm of the heart. Stimulation of the crescentic junction of 

 auricle and sinus also fails to arrest the beat. 



In the dog the injection of 8 mgms. of solandrine abolished the 

 secretion of saliva and tears, accelerated the rate of respiration, 

 increased the rate of the heart beat, and raised the blood pressure. 

 Stimulation of the ))eripheral end of the divided vagus further 

 failed to cause any alteration of the rhythm of the heart beat or 

 the height of the blood pressure. 



In these respects solandrine exhibits the action of the atropine 

 group of nerve and muscle poisons. 



Summary and Conclusions. — The alkaloid is proved to belono^ 

 to the atropine group (1) By its chemical constitution: it splits 

 up, on hydrolysis, into a base and an acid in precisely the same 

 ratio as tropine to tropic acid in atropine and its isomers. ,'2) 

 By its chemical and physiological properties : it gives Vitali's 

 test in common with all the members of this group; it produces 

 complete dilatation of the pupil, and all the effects characteristic 

 of the natural tropeines on the heart, the secretory glands and 

 the blood pressure. 



It exhibits the following differences in properties from the 

 well known tropeines : — phenolphthalein is not reddened by the 

 solution; alcoholic solution of mercuric chloride causes a white 

 ppt., atropine gives red, hyoscyamine gives yellow, and hyoscine 

 a white ppt.; the platinum salt crystallises in small cubical 

 crystals, whilst atropine is monoclinic, and hj^oscyamine triclinic; 

 the aurochloride crystals also are quite different. 



