584 
BIOCHEMISTRY: MACHT, HERMAN AND LEVY 
Action of Opium Alkaloids Individually. — By the above methods the 
six principal opium alkaloids, morphin, papaverin, codein, narcotin, 
narcein and thebain were studied. Administered in moderate thera- 
peutic doses, it was found that in respect to their analgesic power be- 
ginning with the strongest and ending with the weakest they ranged 
themselves in the following order: Morphin (10 mgs.)— >Papaverin (40 
mgs.)->Codein (20 mgs.) -^Narcotin (30 mgs.)->Narcein (10 mgs.)-^ 
Thebain (10 mgs.). 
In respect to morphin in one of us an idiocyncrasy was noted. The 
subject (N. B. H.) was rendered hypersensitive to pain, and this effect 
could be measured quantitatively. This was an interesting confirma- 
Table Showing the Maximal Effects of the Various Drugs Used for D. I. M. 
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111 
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w a 
P M 
O M 
O M 
Time of reading 
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r 
w 
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C.G.S. 
C.G.S. 
G.G.S. 
C.G.S. 
C.G.S. 
C.G.S. 
C.G.S. 
C.G.S. 
C.G.S. 
C.G.S. 
C.G.S. 
C.G.S. 
units 
units 
units 
units 
units 
units 
units 
units 
units 
units 
units 
unit? 
Hand 
Before injection 
2553 
4554 
2829 
2208 
2484 
5-520 
6624 
7038 
5451 
3174 
3588 
4899 
After injection 
4209 
4554 
6210 
2967 
3036 
5106 
6210 
7038 
17664 
5106 
4209 
6624 
Tongue 
Before injection 
1588 
1897 
1173 
2208 
2277 
3036 
2760 
2622 
1622 
1725 
1656 
2070 
After injection 
3174 
1794 
2277 
3036 
2553 
2760 
2622 
2553 
3626 
2829 
2208 
3588 
Lip 
Before injection 
1002 
1312 
639 
966 
1104 
2070 
1312 
2139 
829 
932 
897 
1156 
After injection 
2208 
1380 
1656 
1346 
1588 
1794 
1312 
2070 
4345 
1139 
1151 
1725 
Nose 
Before injection 
1156 
1002 
518 
1588 
1244 
1244 
1622 
1794 
1156 
1156 
1036 
1622 
2277 
1070 
2484 
1897 
1656 
1104 
1520 
1794 
3450 
2070 
1380 
2622 
tion of the existence of undoubted cases of persons, who are not relieved 
by morphin, but are rendered even more sensitive by it. 
Action of Combination of Alkaloids. — ^After a study of the individual 
alkaloids, the action of combinations of morphin and narcotin meconates 
(narcophin) and other salts were studied. It was found that a given 
dose of narcophin has greater analgesic power than is represented by 
the arithmetical sum of the effect of its constituents, morphin and 
narcotin. Thus 5 mgs. of narcophin produces distinct analgesia, while 
5 mgs. of morphin alone, or 10 mgs. of narcotin alone, produces no 
such effect. This observation is in complete agreement with Straub's'^ 
views on synergism of these two substances. A similar action was ob- 
served with a mixture of the total opium alkaloids (Pantopon). 
