o40 Dr. Cash and Prof. Dunstan. Pharmacology of 



hoi. A solution of its hydrobromide in water was used for the 

 determination of its physiological action. This solution, like that of 

 an aconitine salt, produces a persistent tingling and numbness of the 

 tongue and lips. 



Benzaconine, the product of the partial hydrolysis of aconitine, 

 occurs with aconitine in Acordtum napellus* and is the principal con- 

 stituent of the substances named napelline and picraconitine by pre- 

 vious observers. It was first named by us isaconitine, as its percentage 

 composition was found to agree within the limits of experimental 

 error with that of aconitine. t The base is amorphous and separates 

 from a solution in alcohol and ether as a varnish ; it dissolves 

 sparingly in water. Solutions of the alkaloid and of its salts are 

 very bitter, but do not produce the tingling of the tongue and lips 

 which is so characteristic of aconitine. Like aconitine, solutions of 

 benzaconine are dextro-rotatory, whilst those of its salts are laevo- 

 rotatory. When hydrolysed benzaconine furnished aconine and 

 benzoic acid. Although the base has not been crystallised, the salts 

 of benzaconine crystallise easily. For the experiments on the 

 physiological action an aqueous solution of the hydrobromide has 

 been employed. Since benzaconine differs from aconitine only in 

 the absence of an acetyl group, attempts have been made to re-form 

 aconitine from benzaconine by replacing this group. These attempts 

 have, however, failed. Benzaconine does not furnish, under the 

 several conditions tried, a monacetyl derivative, and the compounds 

 which have been prepared containing more than one of these groups 

 do not exhibit any of the characteristic properties of aconitine, and 

 would seem to be isomeric, not identical ; thus the triacetyl benz- 

 aconine is isomeric with diacetylaconitine, and tetracetylbenzaconine 

 isomeric not identical with triacetylaconitine.J 



Aconine is the final basic product of the hydrolysis of aconitine, 

 with which it occurs in Aconitum napsllus.§ It is an amorphous 

 alkaloid readily soluble in water and in alcohol, though not in ether. 

 Its solutions are sweet in taste, alkaline in reaction, and dextro- 

 rotatory — like aconitine and benzaconine, aconine salts being also 

 Isevo-rotatory. The salts are crystalline; a solution of the hydro- 

 bromide has been used for the experiments described in this paper. 



Adopting Wright's modified formula for aconitine, the following 

 formulae and names represent the alkaloids dealt with in the present 

 paper. || 



* Dunstan and TJmney, loc. ext. 



f Dunstan and Harrison, ibid., 1893, and Dunstan and Carr, ibid., 1894. 

 X Dunstan and Carr, ibid., 1895. 

 § Dunstan and Umney, ibid., 1893. 



|| See further, Dunstan, "The Nature of Aconitine" (' Pharm. Journ.,' March, 

 1894) ; and 1 Collected Papers from the Research Laboratory of the Pharmaceu- 

 tical Society,' vol. 2, 1896. 



