in 

 This shows that he was working'* the first case with chemically impure 



substances. 



Keller, 1896, (131) worlced out a method for the quantitative 

 determination of the alltaloids in ergot and found that the only pure 

 alkaloid present in ergot was identical vith the "Ergotinin Tanret", 

 which was declared earlier by Kobert as inactive. Further Keller, as 

 well as Tanret, claimed that Kobert 's cornutin was partly decomposed 

 ergotinin. In spite of this disputed question, Keller preserved the 

 name cornutin for the pure alkaloid and considered it as the bearer of 

 the ergot properties. 



Santesson (228) gave & pharmacological test to Keller's 

 original preparation and came to the conclusion that cornutin did not 

 have the properties of causing contraction of the uterus and that it 

 has only a rather weak poisoning property, 



Jakoby (122) basing his conclusiong primarily upon 

 pharmacological experiments, found that not an alkaloid but a notrogen- 

 free substance of phemol-like nature was the active agent. This active 

 agent, xvhich he called sphacelotoxin, is of a more hsrpothetical nature. 

 Sphacelo toxin acts on bases as well as on acids. Such a compound with 

 an acid is the chrysot02:in and the same with an alkiloid is the secalin- 

 toxin. By purification the secalintoxin loses its action. In pure 

 condition it is called secalin, \>tiich is nothing else but ergotinin. 

 Such was our knowledge of the composition of ergot at the 

 time (1901) vhen Kraft took up the study of this question. He worked for 

 five years on this problem and was able to git)© a somewhat more complete 

 list of the compouzlds found in ergot. 



