POISONOUS PLANTS OF BOMBAY. 259 



this century (vide Bengal Dispensatory, 1841, p. 445), the active prin- 

 ciples causing dangerous symptoms had not been isolated, though he 

 says many attempts were made to obtain the same. O'Shaugnessy, 

 however, firmly believed that the poisonous principle was active and 

 volatile. He even goes to the extent of saying that the vapour of the 

 flowers in a close apartment will prove poisonous. The accuracy of 

 this statement is to me doubtful. O'Shaughnessy says that the wcod of 

 this plant is used by some Eastern nations as the best material for gun- 

 powder charcoal. 



Coming now to discuss the results of modern researches, the following 

 active principles may be mentioned as described by Sohn (Dictionary 

 of the Active Principles of Plants, p. 65, 1894) : — 



1. Oleandrine. — •Alkaloid. ? [Neriodorin, (Schmiedeberg) ; identical 

 with one of Selmis's Ptomaines (Finoshi) ; statement of different 

 observers concerning Oleandrin, Neriin, Neriodorin, &c.,are conflicting ; 

 see Leukowsky, Rep. Chim. Appliq., Ill, 77 ; Schmiedeberg Archiv., 

 Exp. Pathol., XVI, 151 : Greenish, Pharm. J., Trans., 3rd Ser., XI., 

 873, and others.] Amorphous, yellow, resinous, bitter, poisonous. 

 After heating to 240° C. it is no longer soluble in alcohol or water. 

 Melting point above 56° 0. with crystalline sublimate. Soluble in 

 water, Betelli ; alcohol, ether, chloroform and fatty oils. 



Neriodorin scarcely soluble in water or ether, not soluble in bsnzene 

 or petroleum ether. For further information regarding the precipit- 

 ants, see Sohn. 



2. Neriin has all the properties of Digitalin and possibly identical 

 therewith. 



3. Nerianthin bears similar resemblance to Digitalin. 



4. Rosaginin. — A Glucoside (E. Pieszezck). Amorphous, Archiv. 

 Pharm., 1890, 228, 352 ; poisonous ; action like Strychnine. Soluble 

 in alcohol ; not in water, ether, chloroform or petroleum ethers. For 

 further tests, see Sohn. 



The presence of the Glucoside Rosaginin would seem to account for 

 tetanic symptoms noticed in two cases reported in the Indian Medical 

 Gazette of 1866. (lj, In the case reported from the Calcutta Medical 

 College Hospital the trunk and limbs were found rigid, the jaw spas- 

 modically closed, and the pulse very feeble and slow, about 30. (2Y 

 Babu K. H. Acharji reports the second case in which tetanic symptoms 

 12 



