32 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. XIV. 



" Lfidenburg," adds Dr. Murrell, " has re-investigated tlie matter 

 and says there are only three natural mydriatic alkaloids,* They are as 

 follows :— 



1. Atropine — which occurs in Atropa belladonna, and in Datura stramo- 

 nium, (I may add in the Indian Datura, varieties and species of all Datura 

 plants, K.R.K^ 



2. Hyoscyamine — which occurs in Belladonna, Datura, Hyoscyamus, and 

 Duboisia myoporoides, 



3. Hyoscine — which occurs in Hyoscyamus. 



Duhoisine is identical with Hyoscyamine ; and Daturine is a mixture of 

 Atropine and Hyoscyamine, 



N.B. — I am all at sea here, for Sohn, whom I have quoted above, says 

 that the Datura stramonium contains Atropine, Byoscyamine, Hyoscine, and 

 Stramonine. The reader may accept the views of any of the pharmaco- 

 logists I have cited above. 



The term " Atropa," says Murrell, " is derived from Atropos (Gr.), 

 one of the evil destinies, whose mission in life was to destroy life, 

 and it is supposed to be indicative of the fate of those who came 

 under its influence." These " evil destinies " — so named by Dr. 

 Murrell — were known as the Parcce or the Fates among the ancient 

 Romans. They were three : — (1) Clotho, or the spinning Fate ; (2) 

 Lachesis, or the Fate assigning to man his fate ; (3) Atropos^ or the 

 Fate that cannot be avoided. (See Dr. William Smith's Classical 

 Dictionary, p. 455, London, 1868). Reader mine, pray pardon this 

 classical intrusion ! It is at times refreshing to fly to old classical 

 literature, in considering the hard facts of this our scientific age. 



Dr. Murrell says that Atropine, Hoscyaraine and Hyoscine are 

 isomeric, each answerable to the formula C^^H^^NO^. They 

 can all three be resolved thus : — 



1. Atropine yields tropic acid and tropine (base)} 



2. Hyoscyamine yields the same, i.e., tropic acid, and tropine (base) ; 



3. Hyoscine yields tropic acid, and pseudo-tropine, 



Note here, that, in chemical parlance, Atropine is a compound of a base 

 called Tropine, and Tropic acid, Ladenburg calls the compound Tropeine. 



I pass on now to consider the action of the alkaloids hitherto 

 recognized in the Datura plants-and its congeners Atropa belladonna, 

 Hyoscyamus niger and Dubosia myoporoides. 



* N.B, — Dr. Murrell does not give the date of the re-investigation njade by Ladenburg, 

 whose name has been mentioned in my quotations in the foregoing remarks — K.E.K, 



