380 



Prof. J. T. Cash and Mr. W. E. Dunstan. 



susceptible of further hydrolysis. Whilst there is thus a strong- 

 general resemblance in chemical constitution between pseudaconitine 

 and aconitine, the benzoic radical of aconitine is replaced in pseud- 

 aconitine by the veratric radical of veratric acid, whilst there are 

 probably also constitutional differences in the central nucleus. 



The composition and properties of the toxic alkaloid present in 

 Japanese aconite, "Kuza-uzu," regarded by botanists as Aconitum 

 japonicum or A. Fischeri, has been the subject of some dispute among 

 chemists who have examined it. Wright regarded it as chemically 

 different from aconitine, both in composition and in structure, being 

 an anhydro- or apo-derivative formed by the loss of water and conju- 

 gation of 2 molecules of an unknown alkaloid of the aconitine type. 

 He assigned to it the formula CoeHsglS^C^i. Llibbe afterwards studied 

 the properties of japaconitine, and pronounced it to be identical with 

 aconitine, and, more recently, Freund and Beck have reached the same 

 conclusion. Later, one of us, in conjunction with H. M. Read,* sub- 

 jected japaconitine to a very detailed investigation, in the course of 

 which its properties and those of its principal derivatives were defined 

 and compared closely with those of aconitine. We believe that these 

 results leave little room for doubting that japaconitine is a distinct 

 alkaloid different from aconitine, although Wright was mistaken in 

 the view he took of its composition and constitution. Superficially 

 japaconitine bears a very strong resemblance to aconitine ; it is, how- 

 ever, richer in carbon, and the physical properties of its derivatives do 

 not agree with those of aconitine. To this alkaloid we have pro- 

 visionally assigned the formula C34H49NO11, and have retained for it 

 the name of japaconitine suggested by Wright. 



In general, the decomposition of japaconitine resembles that of 

 aconitine, but the physical properties of the resulting derivatives are 

 not the same. By the action of heat it furnishes acetic acid and jap- 

 pyraconitine ; on partial hydrolysis, japbenzaconine is obtained besides 

 acetic acid ; whilst on complete hydrolysis, the products are acetic 

 acid, benzoic acid, and japaconine. Whilst therefore the constitution 

 of the central nucleus appears to be different, both aconitine and jap- 

 aconitine contain the acetyl and benzoyl groups, whilst in pseudaconi- 

 tine the acetyl and veratryl groups are present. 



In the present paper the physiological action of specially purified 

 pseudaconitine and japaconitine is recorded and compared with aconi- 

 tine. 



The differences found are nearly always differences of degree and 

 not differences of kind, a result which bears out the close constitu- 

 tional relationship which is to be inferred from their chemical re- 

 actions. Although there are probably constitutional differences in the 

 central nuclei of the three alkaloids, the same constitutional type is to 



* ' Journ. Chem. Soc., ! 1899. 



