PERMANGANATE OF POTASH AS A CHEMICAL ANTIDOTE. 48 



aqueous solution of the salt in healing various stomach and intestinal 

 as well as general diseases, and in cleansing the system from foul 

 matter. No ill consequences attended such use even when compara- 

 tively large doses of the solution were taken. 



The use of the permanganate salt solution as a chemical antidote to 

 oxidize organic poisons which might accidentally get into the stomach 

 was suggested by Muter, but no effort to utilize his suggestion was 

 made until 1881. when Prof. J. B. Lacerda,^ of Rio Janeiro, Brazil, 

 announced the result of his investigations relative to the hypodermic 

 use of the salt as an antidote for snake bites. Lacerda's paper was 

 widely copied in France and throughout Europe, and as a result per- 

 manganate of potash, especially in alkaline solution, is still regarded 

 as a most efficient antidote against the poison of various snakes if 

 promptly injected into the wound. Some persons whose duty it is 

 occasionally to handle poisonous snakes always have the means to 

 apply this remedy at hand when there is danger of being bitten. 



Chemists have long ]>een familiar with the rapid deconiposition 

 which is caused in many organic compounds by permanganate of 

 potash. In 1886 Beckurts and List'' showed that several very poison- 

 ous alkaloids, such as brucine, veratrine. conine, and nicotine, were 

 in.stantly decomposed by it, W'hile still others were oxidized in varying 

 periods of time. The authors did not, however, suggest that the salt 

 had any value as an antidote. 



In 1891 Antal •' showed that the dilute solution of permanganate of 

 potash was an efficient antidote against the effects of phosphorus, 

 which was oxidized by it in the stomach to phosphoric acid, a compar- 

 ativeh' nonpoisonous substance. Again in 181>2 the same investigator 

 showed that this salt was a valuable antidote in cases of poisoning due 

 to strychnine, colchicine, muscarine (the poison of the fly amanita, 

 Amanita iinii<carkC), the oil of sabine. and oxalic acid. He also sug- 

 gested that it would probablv prove of great value in human cases of 

 poisoning from many compounds of either animal or plant origin. In 

 every case a dilute solution of the antidote was given by way of the 

 mouth. No experiments were made upon stock. 



Since the publication of Antal's work other investigators have 

 employed dilute solutions of the permanganate of potash, generall}' 

 without com))ination with any other substances, in case of poisoning 

 from coroinllin, prussic acid, atropine, aconitine, nicotine, curarine, 

 strychnine, and morphine. Its use for all of these compounds was 

 attended with success in experiments made upon nnnnals, but as yet 

 there has been but little chance, except in case of morphine and of 

 phosphorus, to substantiate its value by clinical treatment sufficiently 



'Compt. rend. Aoad. sci. Par., vol. 9.3, pp. 466-469. 1881. 



- Dniggiists' Circular, vol. 30, p. 176. 1886. (From Pharm. Zeit.) 



^Orvosi Hetilap., vol. 35, pp. 591,592, and 606,607. 1891. 



