56 
If my readers will turn to Part LIT, p. 31, of the present work, they will 
observe that I have given a brief account of the Fish poisons of the Aborigines. 
In many cases the active principle is, or is believed to be, a saponin, and, as a very 
general rule, a saponin possesses poisonous properties. 
A saponin may be the active principle in certain trees and herbs which have 
been suspected of being poisonous to stock, though the bitterness of the plant 
containing it is usually a deterrent. 
The late Dr. M. Greshoff made original researches in regard to the plants 
which contain saponins, and the following is taken from his posthumous work* : 
Of still greater pharmacological and toxicological importance than the occurrence of hydrocyanic 
acid in a given plant is the discovery in it of a poisonous glucoside of the saponin group. A number of 
medicinal, toxic and economic properties of the plant may thus suddenly become clear. Medicinally : 
its use as diuretic, antisyphilitic (e.g., Sarsaparilli), expectorant (e.g. Senega), emetic, vermifuge, taenicide, 
<fec. Toxicologically : various poisonous actions on man and on animals, ascribed to the plant by popular 
experience, and further, the important application of saponin-containing plants as fish poisons and as 
insecticides. Economically: The use in washing as a substitute for soap (e.g., QuUlnja). For further 
information I refer to the excellent work of Prof. R. Robert, " Beitrage zur Kenntniss der Saponinsub- 
stanzen," 1904. Unfortunately, in the case of saponins there are no well-defined chemical characteristics 
like those of hydrocyanic acid, but for practical purposes three properties suffice : in the first place, the 
marked frothing of a plant extract containing sapcmins, which persists at very great dilutions ^sometimes 
to 1 in 3,000, occasionally even to 1 in 15,000) ; secondly, the hydrolysis of glucosidal saponins by boiling 
with dilute acids and the colour reactions of the sapogenin formed ; thirdly, as an important indication of the 
general toxicity, the determination of the haemolytic power. In the following report the figures 1-300 
mean, for instance, that an extract of the plant at a concentration of 1 part in 300 dissolves an equal 
volume of diluted ( 1 per cent.) fresh blood of the ox. 
Dr. Greshoff also quotes his work.f 
Following are the references I have taken from. Greshoff's Kew work so far 
as they refer to Australian plants : 
Acacia (Leguminosse-Mimosese). 
At Kew, I found saponin in the leaves of A. pulchella B.Br. ; according to notes made at 
Haarlem, saponin also occurs in the seeds of A. verliciUata Willd. 
Various other species (such as A. anthelmintica Baill., A. Cunninghamii Hook., A. concinna DC., 
A. delibrata A. Cunn.) were already known to contain saponin. Six species of Acacia are mentioned as 
fish poisons in my " Monographic der bedwelmende planten bij de vischvangst in gebruik," Vol. ii, p. 69 ; 
this is probably connected with the presence of saponins. (p. 402.) 
Aphanopetalum (Saxifragacew). 
The leaves of A. rssinosum Endl., have a very bitter taste. The extract froths slightly and shows 
alkaloidal reaction. I was able to extract the alkaloid from a small quantity of leaves by shaking with 
ether. The plant deserves further examination, (p. 403.) 
At p. 404 he records Atriplex as a saponin plant, and this may afford a hint 
to examine our Saltbushes, of which many belong to this genus. 
Callicoma (Saxifragaceaj). 
The leaves of C. terratifolia Andr. contain saponin, but not in large quantity, (p. 404.) 
Castanosperm um (Legurainosse-Papilionaceae). 
" Phytochemical Investigations at Kew." Kew Bulletin No. 10 of 1909, p. 401. 
" Monographic tier giftige en bedwelmende planten bij de vischvangst in gebruik" (Monograph (in fish poisons), 
which is at the game time a surrey of the most poisonous plants of the world, and their distribution in natural orders, 
this work, Vol. 1 was published in 1893, at Batevia, and Vol. II in 1900 ; Vol. Ill in 1910 
