ELATERIN . 661 



ELATERINUM. Elaterin. A mixture of principles deposited 

 from the 'juice of the full grown, but unripe fruit of Ecballium Elater- 

 ium (Fam. Cucurbitaceae) , a decumbent, perennial herb, indigenous 

 to the countries of the Mediterranean region, and cultivated to some 

 extent in central Europe, and at Mitchan and Hitchin, England. 

 The fruit is ovoid, fleshy, about 4 cm. in length, when unripe, of a 

 pale green color and covered with numerous, uniseriate glandular 

 hairs. When ripe, the fruit separates suddenly from the stalk, the 

 juice with the seeds being forcibly ejected from the aperture left 

 by the detached peduncle. This phenomenon is due to the trans- 

 ferral of the juice from the outer layers of the pericarp to the central 

 cavity, the pressure becoming so great as to finally cause the cells 

 to break at their weakest point. In order to obtain the juice, it is 

 therefore necessary to collect the unripe fruits, which are sliced 

 longitudinally, the juice being obtained by slight pressure. The 

 juice is allowed to stand for 2 hours, and the deposit, which is formed, 

 is collected on cheese cloth, rapidly drained and then dried between 

 layers of filter paper, using porous bricks and a gentle heat. The 

 resulting product is known in commerce as elaterium. 



Elaterium usually occurs in rectangular pieces, from 3 to 4 cm. 

 in diameter and about 5 mm. in thickness. When fresh, it is of a 

 greenish-brown color, changing to a light grayish-brown on keeping. 

 It has a granular fracture, a somewhat aromatic odor, and an acrid, 

 bitter taste. It consists of 40 per cent of elaterin; 17 per cent of a 

 resin; 6 per cent of starch, and small quantities of other principles. 



Elaterin. Recent investigations show that this substance is a 

 mixture of two principles, possessing widely different properties, 

 (a), From 60 to 80 per cent of a Isevorotatory principle , a-elaterin, 

 which is completely devoid of purgative action; and (6), a small 

 quantity of a dextrorotatory constituent, a-elaterin, which possesses 

 strong purgative properties. The studies of Power and Moore 

 (Jour. Chem. Soc., 1909, p. 1985; 1910, p. 1797), serve to establish the 

 fact that elaterin exists in the fruit in a free state, and not in the 

 form of a glucoside, as a previous investigator had affirmed. Various 

 products heretofore regarded as definite constituents of the fruit were 

 likewise shown to have consisted of more or less complex mixtures. 



CAMPANULACE.E, OR BLUEBELL FAMILY 



A family of about 1500 species, which are widely distributed, 

 those occurring in temperate regions being perennial herbs, while 

 those of the tropics include shrubs and trees. The leaves are alter- 



