ORGANIC MATERIA MEDICA. 
481 
place in the Materia Medica and Preparations of a Pharmacopoeia published in the 
United Kingdom. The process ordered in the Pharmacopoeia for its preparation is 
essentially that of M. Henry, which was itself a simplification of the one origi- 
nally given by M. Ilomolle, who first succeeded in isolating this principle, which 
he termed digitaline. The characters given in the Pharmacopoeia are quite correct 
as applied to this substance, but, unfortunately, the authors of the Pharmacopoeia 
appear to have overlooked the more recent memoir of MM. Ilomolle and Quevenne, 
in which much new and additional information is given respecting the chemical 
constituents of digitalis.* In this later memoir they have shown that the pro¬ 
per active principle ( digitaline ), which is intensely bitter, is commonly, as ob¬ 
tained by the ordinary or Pharmacopoeia process, mixed with at least two other 
peculiar neutral principles, which they have respectively named digitalin , and 
digitalose. As these are tasteless, and almost, if not entirely inert, they have 
given a process by which the active digitaline may be separated from them, and 
obtained in a pure state. In this pure condition digitaline is not white, as de¬ 
scribed in the Pharmacopoeia, but of a pale yellow colour, and in other respects 
its characters and reactions do not altogether accord with those there given. 
It should be further noticed that the term digitalin is employed in the Phar¬ 
macopoeia for the active principle of digitalis, while the original discoverers call 
this— digitaline , and use the former name to designate an inert principle. This is 
also very unfortunate, and may lead to much confusion, more particularly so as, 
although the authors of the Pharmacopoeia have adopted essentially the process 
originally given for obtaining, as well as the characters of digitaline , by alter¬ 
ing the name to digitalin , these characters no longer apply to either substance 
of the discoverers. 
The digitalin of the British Pharmacopoeia is said to be applicable for any 
purpose to which the leaves of digitalis have been hitherto employed, and to pos¬ 
sess the advantage of being more uniform in strength, and hence capable of 
being administered with more precision and with more certainty of a successful 
result than digitalis, or the other preparations therefrom. As it is a very poison¬ 
ous principle, and from its scarcity and high price very liable to be adulterated, 
we fear that, as far as our present knowledge extends, it cannot be regarded as 
a valuable introduction to the British Pharmacopoeia. The dose of digitalin is 
from the one-sixtieth to about the one-twentieth of a grain. The small doses re¬ 
quired, and the difficulty of prescribing and adjusting them, are further great 
impediments to the employment of digitalin as a remedial agent. 
Digitalis.— u The dried leaf ; from wild indigenous plants, gathered when 
about two-thirds of the flowers are expanded,” is ordered. Nothing is said, as 
in the last London Pharmacopoeia, about the removal of the leaf-stalks and mid¬ 
ribs, nor is any preference given to second year’s leaves over those of the first 
year’s growth. In the present state of our knowledge of the relative medicinal 
activity of the different parts of the leaves, and of those of different ages, we 
think the directions in the Pharmacopoeia sufficiently precise. 
Among other characters, the leaves are described as “ovate-lanceolate, and 
shortly petiolate.” We should have characterised them as ovate-lanceolate, ob¬ 
long, or oblong-lanceolate, and petiolate, shortly petiolate, or sessile. 
Elaterium. —This is properly described as “ a sediment from the expressed 
juice of the fruit.” In the last London Pharmacopoeia this sediment was incor¬ 
rectly termed Extraction Elaterii , as it is neither an extract nor an inspissated 
juice in the proper sense in which these terms are employed. In the Prepara¬ 
tions and Compounds, Elaterium is very properly directed to be prepared from 
the nearly ripe fruit, and slight pressure only to be employed in expressing the 
juice, f 
'* Bouchardat’s ‘Archives de Pliysiologie,’ etc., Jan. 1854*. 
f Prof. Bentley “On Elaterium,” Pliann. Journ., vol. i. 2nd ser. p. 323. 
