DE THOMAS R. FRASER ON STROEHANTHUS HISEIDUS. 



353 



Table XV. — Minimum-Lethal Dose of Strophanlhin for Rabbits. 



No. of 

 Experiment. 



Weight of 

 Animal. 



Dose in 

 Grains. 



Dose per lb. 

 of Animal. 



Result. 



XXX. 



3 lbs. 15 oz. 



0-002 



0-0005 



Recovery. Very slight effects. 



XXXI. 



3 lbs. 



005 



0-0016 



Eecovery. Very slight effects. 



XXXII. 



4 lbs. 6 oz. 



0-01 



0-0022 



Eecovery. Slight effects. 



XXXIII. 



3 lbs. 



0-01 



0-0033 



Death in 1 hour and 22 minutes. 



XXXIV. 



3 lbs. 15 oz. 



0-02 



0-005 



Death in 1 hour and 17 minutes. 



XXXV 



3 lbs. 12 oz. 



0-02 



0-0052 



Death in 1 hour. 



XXXVI. 



4 lbs. 12 oz. 



0-05 



o-oi 



Death in 27 minutes. 



The above Tables (XIV. and XV.) show that, by subcutaneous injection, the mini- 

 mum-lethal dose of strophanthin is for frogs about 0*00005 grain, or 20.000th of a grain, 

 per 100 grains of weight of frog, and for rabbits about 0*003 grain, or 333rd of a grain, 

 per pound of weight of rabbit. It is possible, however, that Experiment XXXIII. gives 

 rather too low a minimum-lethal dose, as the rabbit, although healthy, was not quite so 

 active and well-nourished as the others used in the series. Assuming that 0*0035 grain 

 rather than 0'0033 grain is the minimum-lethal dose per pound weight of rabbit, the 

 dose per 100 grains of rabbit would be 0*00005 grain, which is the same as the mini- 

 mum-lethal dose of strophanthin per 100 grains of frog (see Table XIV.). 



This lethal activity places strophanthin among the most powerful of pharmacological 

 agents ; for it shows that when contrasted with the aconite alkaloids, strophanthin is in 

 frogs nearly three times more lethal than aconitine, and nearly ten times more lethal than 

 pseudo-aconitine ; although in mammals it is less lethal than either of these alkaloids.* 



It is noteworthy that strophanthin is shown to be only a little more active than the 

 pure alcohol extract. This result, however, agrees with what has been stated regarding 

 the composition of such an extract (pp. 998, 999). 



The details which follow of several of the experiments recorded in Tables XIV. and 

 XV., also show that the general pharmacological effects produced by strophanthin very 

 closely resemble those produced by the extract. 



Experiment XX. — A frog, weighing 450 grains, received by subcutaneous injection 

 0*000125 grain of strophanthin, dissolved in 2 minims of distilled water. No symptom 

 was observed until 1 hour 7 min. after the injection, when uneasy restless movements were 

 made, and the thoracic extremities became somewhat extended. The latter symptom 

 continued for 20 min., and then an entirely normal posture was assumed, and the frog 

 appeared to be perfectly well. It was observed for 2^ hours, but no change from the 



* These data are derived from a research made by the author several years ago on the aconite alkaloids, but not yet 

 published in detail. 



