158 Botanic Drugs 



ECHINACEA 



BLACK SAMSON, CONE-FLOWER, Echinacea angusti- 

 folia. Not official. It is stated that much of the 

 root of this plant upon the market is grown east of 

 the Mississippi and is of little value, the best quality 

 coming from the prairie lands of Nebraska. J. U. 

 Lloyd believes the active agent in echinacea to be 

 "an acid organic body of a resinous character, nearly, 

 if not quite colorless, and possessing, in an exalted 

 degree, the persistently acrid qualities of echinacea 

 so intensely that it is distressing to the taste, even 

 in very small amount, when pure. The stinging 

 sensation affects the tip of the tongue for hours. 

 But small quantities of it are present, even in the 

 best root less than ^2 to 1 per cent." 



After numerous trials, I succeeded in separating 

 from echinacea a body I believe to be a stearoptene 

 or camphor; but it was in considerably less than 

 }/% per cent. It was a semi-solid at ordinary tem- 

 peratures. Under the microscope, on a warm stage, 

 it contained, after some evaporation, needle-like 

 crystals. I was unable to crystallize these out in 

 a pure state, as they broke down. Doubtless this 

 is the agent isolated by Prof. Lloyd. 



That it is a stearoptene, I may not positively 

 state: that its anesthetic effects are as described by 

 Prof. Lloyd, I know. Also I know that small quan- 

 tities of it preserve urine from decomposition for 

 3 or 4 days, after which interval it loses effect. 

 The action of this body was similar to that of 

 thymol, only more intense. It is antifermentative, 

 antiseptic, and a local anesthetic. A persistent 

 acrid sensation in the fauces follows ingestion; the 



