29 



POST-MOETEM CONDITIONS 



Autopsies upon six sheep whose death was caused by death camas in 

 feeding experiments showed the following post-mortem conditions : 



There appeared to be no outstanding lesions which would serve to 

 indicate a characteristic effect due to poisoning by this plant. On the 

 whole, the lesions shown were those of a general toxemia. The condi- 

 tions were such as are found more or less uniformly, with individual 

 variations, after death caused by the ingestion of various toxic or semi- 

 toxic plants. 



Various degrees of congestion in the gastro-intestinal tract and in 

 its lymphatic system appeared to be prominent symptoms. In some 

 instances the same condition was also found in the kidney, spleen, and 

 liver. The lungs appeared to show no change. In some cases the heart 

 displayed small hemorrhages beneath the epicardium and endocardium, 

 characteristic of toxemia. Considerable quantities of free fluid were 

 observed in the thoracic and abdominal cavities. 



THE ACTIVE PRINCIPLE OF DEATH CAMAS 



It has long been known that alkaloids are partially, if not wholty, 

 responsible for the poisonous properties of the death camas. Different 

 investigators have studied various species of Zygadenus, and the lack 

 of uniformity in the results obtained is not surprising. In the bulk of 

 the work reported it is stated that alkaloids have either been isolated 

 or detected; a single worker found resins in the plant which had 

 poisonous properties. Later attempts to verify these findings in closely 

 related species resulted in failure. 



Two physiologically active resins were, found by Vejux-Tyrode in 

 1904 in the bulbs of Zygadenus venenosus from Montana. From one of 

 the resins he isolated a basic body which he designated zygadinein and 

 an acid zygadenic acid. In animal experiments he found the zyga- 

 dinein to be the active principle. When given in minute doses to 

 guinea pigs, rabbits, and dogs it produced salivation, staggering and 

 respiratory paralysis followed by death, in some cases in a few minutes 

 but usually within a few hours. In 1913 the chemists of the Wyoming 

 Station, F. W. Heyl and F. E. Hepner, investigated Zygadenus inter- 

 medius for similar toxic resins, but were unable to isolate any toxic 

 substance from the resin or even to establish the toxicity of the resin 

 itself. 



The work of early investigators consisted of color tests made upon 

 impure products and led to conclusions that the alkaloids in the species 

 tested belonged to the veratrine group. 



In 1903 George Heyl obtained an alkaloid from a California species 

 of Zygadenus. The alkaloid found amounted to 0.4%. It was soluble 

 in ether and nearly insoluble in water. Its melting point was 134135. 

 It formed a crystalline hydrochlorid. 



Alkalodial analyses of Zygadenus intermedius were made in Wyo- 

 ming in an endeavor to determine the quantity of alkaloidal material 

 present in the different parts of the plant. On account of the lack of 

 suitable methods for the determination, the results are probably not so 



