RED-SQUILL POWDERS AS RATICIDES 
3 
by Kopaczewski (18) as the toxic principle of squill; (2) scillidiuretin, 
a strong diuretic, also isolated by Kopaczewski; (3) xanthoscillide, 
a yellow crystalline glucoside, insoluble in chloroform, but soluble 
in boiling alcohol, isolated by Buschmanii (2) ; and (4) a water-soluble 
toxic substance isolated, but not identified, by Ewins (8). George 
obtained a red glucoside from African squill, Urginea bur Jcei, which 
corresponded in properties to Merck's scillitoxin. (Scillitoxin has 
not been chemically identified as a definite chemical entity.) Gala- 
vielle and Cristol (11) foimd the same chemical principle in Scilla 
autumnalis L. grown in the neighborhood of Montpellier, France, as 
in S. maritima. A patent has been granted to Stoll and Suter (27) 
for a process of isolating a physiologically active glucoside, ''Scillaren," 
from white squill. The chemical composition and formula are not 
given in the patent. 
PHYSIOLOGICAL « 
Lewin (21) reported that animals receiving squill showed a slower 
pulse, dyspnea, and pyrexia, and died on account of respiratory fail- 
ure. Danysz and Kopaczewski (6) stressed the paralysis of the hind 
Hmbs, convulsions, and characteristic gyrations of rats following the 
consumption of squill. They state that the respiration is greatly 
depressed and that after several gasps the animal dies. Gunn and 
Heathcote (14) found that the subcutaneous minimum lethal dose of 
the glucoside prepared by Ewins 's process (8) was 5 milligrams per 
kilo of body weight for the rabbit and 150 milligrams per kilo for 
the rat; also, that much stronger concentrations were required to 
stop the isolated rat heart than to stop the isolated rabbit heart in 
the same space of time. They concluded: 
It is, of course, still possible that the rat may be more susceptible than other 
domestic animals to squill taken by the mouth; but this, if true, must be due, say, 
to some constituent of squill other than the glucoside or to some difference in 
action than the action on the heart. The possibility that this alleged hyper- 
susceptibility of the rat may be due merely to the fact that the rat is the only 
domestic animal that will eat squill has not been sufficiently excluded * * *^ 
The rat is markedly less susceptible than the rabbit. 
The present experiments tended to confirm the conclusions of Gunn 
and Heathcote. Death following squill is apparently produced by 
respiratory rather than cardiac action. 
TOXICITY 
The toxicity of squill (whether of the red or of the white variety 
is not always stated) has been studied by a number of investigators 
since the first experiments by Orfila in 1818 {22, v. 2, pp. 99-102). 
The reports are summarized in Table 1. 
The great apparent variation lq toxicity may be attributed to 
differences in products, in methods of preparation, and in adminis- 
tration. Relatively enormous quantities of squill are apparently 
required to injure animals other than rats. 
> While this bulletin was being prepared two articles by Winton {28, 29 ) were published. Winton 
concluded that "the cardiac glucoside and the rat-poisoning principle in red squills are distinct substances. 
The former occurs in about equal amounts in red and white squills. The rat-poisoning substance, however , 
is present in significant amounts in red squills only," 
