48 Transactions of the South African Philosophical Society. 



NOTES ON SOME EXPEEIMENTS WITH THE ACTIVE 

 PRINCIPLE OF MESEMBRIANTHEMUM TORTUOSUM, L. 



By Isaac Meiking. 

 (Read September, 1896.) 



This plant, which goes under the broad designation of " Hotten- 

 tot's Kauwgoed," grows in the Karoo, the locality from which the 

 supply under consideration was obtained being Fortuin, near Mat- 

 jesfontein. Like many other Cape plants, it has great medicinal 

 virtues ascribed to it, chief of which are its soporific influence on 

 young children and its curative and quieting effect on them when 

 suffering from acidity. It is alleged that for these purposes the 

 plant is very widely used, the method of procedure being that one or 

 two drops of the juice of the green plant is given to the child, who 

 then enjoys a deep, quiet rest for several hours. This assured effect 

 I ascribed to the alkaline nature of the juice, which is so great that 

 it is said to be used for washing clothes when soap is not obtainable.* 



In November, 1889, I procured a small supply of the plant, and 

 which Professor McOwan kindly identified for me botanically, for 

 the purpose of making an examination of it, and I found it to con- 

 tain an alkaloidal principle which, when injected into a frog, soon 

 produced a marked hypnotic effect. These experiments were then 

 allowed to drop for several years, but since then some clinical 

 experiments with a tincture of the dried plant proved that it had 

 decided anodyne properties without concomitant bad effects. I have 

 thought it might be interesting to bring this plant more prominently 

 forward. 



The method of isolating the Active Principle, after some prelimi- 

 nary experimenting, was as follows : 



A strong decoction of the dried plant was made in water. After 

 filtration this was concentrated to a convenient bulk, and acetate 

 of lead was added to precipitate the tannin and other vegetable acids 



* Since writing the above my attention has been drawn to the following : 

 " This species (Mescmbr. tort., L.), a native of the Karoo, appears to possess 

 narcotic properties. The Hottentots, who know it by the name of ' Kauwgoed, 

 are in the habit of chewing it, and become intoxicated, while the farmers use it 

 in the form of a decoction or tincture as a good sedative " (Pappe. Flor. Cap. 

 Med. Prodromus, 1868). 



