246 IMPORTANCE TO TOXICOLOGIST. 



heart of the frog in diastole, the suspected substance arrests it in 

 systole. 



A Colchicin-like Substance. — Baumert found, in a case of sus- 

 pected poisoning, twenty-two months after death, a substance giving 

 many of the reactions for colchicin. It was extracted from acid 

 solutions with ether, to which it imparted a yellow color. On 

 evaporation of the ether, a yellow, amorphous substance remained, 

 and this dissolved in warm water with yellow coloration. It could 

 be extracted from acid solutions also by chloroform, benzol and 

 amylic alcohol, but not from petroleum ether. It was removed with 

 much more difficulty from alkaline solutions. All the extracts were 

 yellow and left on evaporation a strictly alkaline, markedly bitter, 

 sharp tasting, amorphous yellow residue, which dissolved in water 

 and dilute acids incompletely, forming a resin. When this resin 

 was dissolved in dilute sodium hydrate and the solution rendered 

 acid with sulphuric acid, the same reactions were obtained as with 

 the original extract. With phosphomolybdic acid, phosphotungstic 

 acid, potassio-bismuthic iodid, potassio-mercuric iodid, iodin in 

 potassium iodid, cyanic acid, and gold chlorid, this substance gave 

 the same reactions which were obtained by parallel experiments with 

 colchicin. Thus, the tannic acid precipitates were both soluble in 

 alcohol, and the precipitates with phosphomolybdic acid in both 

 cases became blue on the addition of ammonium hydrate. Concen- 

 trated sulphuric and dUute nitric and hydrochloric acids dissolved 

 the supposed colchicin with yellow coloration. Strong nitric acid 

 colored the substance dirty red, scarcely to be called a violet. When 

 the substance was purified as much as possible, this color became a 

 beautiful carmine-red. The addition of water changed the red into 

 yellow, and caustic soda produced a dark dirty orange. In general, 

 in the above-mentioned reactions, the putrefactive product agreed 

 with colchicum, but the former gave precipitates with picric acid 

 and platinum chlorid, while the latter gave no precipitates with these 

 reagents. 



In 1886, Zeisel proposed the following test for colchicum : When 

 a hydrochloric acid solution of the alkaloid is boiled with ferric 

 chlorid, it becomes green, sometimes dark green, and cloudy ; then, 

 if the fluid be agitated with chloroform, the chloroform takes up the 

 coloring matter and appears brownish-red, or dark, and the super- 

 natant fluid clears up without becoming wholly colorless. Baumert 

 applied this test to both colchicum and the putrefactive product. 

 To from 2 to 5 c.c. of the suspected solution in a test-tube, he added 

 from five to ten drops of strong hydrochloric acid, and from four to 

 six drops of a 10 per cent, solution of ferric chlorid, then heated the 

 mixture directly over a small flame until it was evaporated to half 

 its volume or less. In the presence of 1 mg. of colchicin the origi- 



