2 



period depending on the quantity of alkaloid employed. As illus- 

 trating the powerful nature of these alkaloids it may be mentioned 

 that f-^s grain of hyoscyamine is capable of causing dilatation of the 

 iris in the rabbit. This property is frequently employed for the 

 detection of traces of these alkaloids. 



Among plants of this order which are to be met with in Egypt 

 various species of Datura and the common henbane are the most 

 important. Many of the cultivated species of Datura contain alkaloids, 

 but only D. stramonium is used as a material for the preparation 

 of drugs. Egyptian henbane, on the other hand, contains a large 

 amount of alkaloid and is a most useful material for the preparation 

 of pharmaceutical extracts or of pure alkaloid. This plant, which 

 is to be found in almost all parts of the country, both on cultivated 

 land and also in the desert, contains quite a large proportion of the 

 active substance. The leaves, stem and seeds all contain hyoscy- 

 amine, while even the oil expressed from the seeds is stated by some 

 to contain traces of alkaloid. The oil of Hyoscyamus is officinal in 

 many continental pharmacopoeias, but not in the British. 



It is a noteworthy fact that H. muticus grown in Egypt' contains 

 far more alkaloid than the same species grown in India. Dunstan 

 and Brown, * who some years ago examined the plants from both coun- 

 tries, pointed this out in the "Journal of the Chemical Society" and 

 showed the great value of the Egyptian plant. Curiously enough, 

 however, no notice seems to have been taken of the.se reports, and 

 British manufacturers of drugs continued to use the English and 

 continental henbane (H. niger and H. albus), which plants contain 

 u very much smaller proportion of alkaloid. 



Henry, in "The Plant Alkaloids," gives a table showing the 

 amounts of alkaloid found in the various plants. As might be expected, 

 the amount of alkaloid found varies considerably even in the same 

 species ; this variation may be partly due to climatic conditions or to 

 soil, but is also in great measure dependent on the fact that the plants 

 examined have not all been collected at the same stage in their growth. 

 That this is a matter of great importance is well shown by a table 

 quoted by Winter Blyth in his work on poisons. From this it would 

 appear that the English and continental species of Hyoscyamus contain 



* J.O.S., 189!>, I.XXV, 71 ; 1901, I,XXIX, 72. 



