THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. [August 24, 1872. 
oftlie contradictory communications of MM. Marotte 
and Gubler, the Academy, on the motion of M. 
Bondet, as organ of the Society of Pharmacy, ap¬ 
pointed a commission to inquire into the therapeu¬ 
tical value of the different digitalines. . Amongst [ 
clinical physicians some were for the digitaline of 
the Codex, others for the crystallized digitaline of 
Nativelle and others again for the old preparations 
of digitalis. 
M. Houclicr, the learned military pharmaceutist, 
cleared up the difficulty, or rather perhaps made it 
more complicated, by assigning a complex composi¬ 
tion to digitalines crystallized or amorphous, and by 
ascertaining physiologically the identity of action of 
the crystallized digitaline and that oftlie Codex. 
In the midst of these varieties of studies, opinions, 
actions, affirmations and negations, a young and in¬ 
genious chemist, Dr. Blaquart brought to the School 
of Medicine, in a thesis which was brilliantly sup¬ 
ported in spite of a hostile and irritating opposition, 
a mass of new facts on this much-controverted ques¬ 
tion of digitaline. This thesis (a critical study on 
digitaline, from a chemical and physiological point of 
view) is an original work in its important details, and 
is enhanced by the clearness andneatness of its style. 
The treatise is divided into preface, history of the 
extraction of digitaline, the discovery of pure crys¬ 
tallized digitaline in ordinary digitaline, its extrac¬ 
tion, analysis of ordinary digitaline, results that 
arise from the analysis of common digitaline, exami¬ 
nation of the process of M. Nativelle, the gain of 
crystallized digitaline to chemical science, physiolo¬ 
gical review, comparison of the relative activities of 
different digitalines, experiments with hogs, guinea- 
pigs, rabbits, toads and sparrows; the solubility of 
various digitalines in gastric juice, an examination 
into the physiological activity of other product be¬ 
sides digitaline, extracts of brute digitaline and con¬ 
clusion. This table of contents shows that it is not 
an ordinary thesis, and that it should be justly cele¬ 
brated amongst the scientific treatises on digitaline. 
We would like to make many extracts, but space 
forbids; we will therefore content ourselves with 
giving his conclusions :— 
“ Crystallized digitaline exists in the ordinary 
digitaline, and we have well ascertained its 
presence by isolating it in a state of purity. 
We estimate that it is to be found in the pro¬ 
portion of 10 to 12 per cent., and it has been pos¬ 
sible for us to extract almost the half of this quantity. 
Consequently we deny the assertion that ‘ the means 
hitherto employed for the preparation of digitaline 
do not allow of finding a trace of crystallized digi¬ 
taline.’ The mode of operation that we have 
followed, and which in no way resembles that of M. 
Nativelle, is too long and too difficult to even dream 
of applying to therapeutical uses. 
“ Ordinary digitaline is a complex product; we pro¬ 
pose to give it henceforth the name oibrute digitaline. 
By obtaining successive eliminations by means of 
solvents devoid of chemical action (so that the ob¬ 
jection cannot hold that these substances are the 
products of metamorphoses), we have extracted the j 
following substances;—Crystallized digitaline, amor-1 
plious digitaline (which is in the most dominant | 
proportion), digitinose, digitoleic acid, chloride of 
sodium, acetate of potash, and a red syrupy liquid, 
which is without doubt complex, and contains sugar. 
“As chloroform dissolves neither the acetate of 
potash, nor common salt, it is supposed that digita-1 
line, purified by this menstruum, is increased in 
activity. We have found two digitalines, distinct 
from one another, but the one probably deiived fioni 
the other, viz. amorphous and crystallized digitaline. 
The digitaline prepared after the method of the 
Codex, namely, that which lias been purified by chloro¬ 
form, is not neutral, as has always been hitherto 
said, but very noticeably acid to litmus paper. The 
method of M. Nativelle for extracting the ciystallized 
principle of digitalis (that which he described m the 
report of the commission for the Orfila prize) gave 
us so much difficulty that we were soon convinced 
that tliis mode of operation was not susceptible of 
practical application ; other chemists of greater au¬ 
thority, who have themselves encountered the same 
difficulties, are of the same opinion. M. Nativelle 
changed the name of ordinary digitaline to digitaleine. 
In reality there is no reason for this name, the 
ordinary digitaline or digitaleine, they being both 
the same, is a complex substance. We have intimated 
the volatility of crystallized digitaline; M. Boucher 
has demonstrated it with great exactness. This pro¬ 
perty could perhaps be utilized in toxicological re¬ 
searches. Our only essay in this direction was 
fruitless, and it would be well to attempt a new 
experiment. Crystallized digitaline. comports itself 
as a glucoside. Crystallized digitaline,. amorphous 
digitaline,and the red syrupy liquid act in the same 
manner both on cold-blooded and warm-blooded ani- 
animals, and produce the same characteristic dis¬ 
turbances in the action of the ventricle. 
“In our experiments on hogs we discovered that 
our crystallized digitaline showed itself a little more 
active than that of M. Nativelle; that.amorphous 
digitaline, equal in action to the crystallized princi¬ 
ple, when introduced under the skin in a dry state, 
produces more rapid and more energetic symptoms 
of poisoning than when injected in solution ; and 
also that the digitaline of commerce differs almost 
insensibly from the crystallized, the difference is 
perhaps slightly in favour of the latter. Observations 
founded on experiments with guinea-pigs allow us 
to class our substances as follows:—The digitaline 
of commerce, amorphous digitaline, and crystallized 
digitaline. Babbits gave us contradictory results ; 
the advantages were divided. In our only experi¬ 
ment on sparrows, the digitaline of commerce was 
greatly excelled by the crystallized digitaline and by 
the amorphous digitaline, both of which manifested 
their action at the same time. From all these various 
results, we were perplexed to know how to arrive at 
a decided conclusion. After having seen the three 
substances take by turn, in our classification of their 
relative energies, the first and the last place, we 
were led to conclude that in a general way their 
activity differed little. Further, that the digitaline 
of the Codex, the crystallized principle, lias no effect 
on toads. In experiments on frogs, digitinose and 
digitoleic acids have never exercised the least influence 
on the ventricle. 
“To have been complete, our work ought to have 
been enriched by clinical experience, and we do 
not deceive ourselves that there is in this respect a 
great want. But the commission which the Academy 
of Medicine is about to appoint will not be slow to 
make scienc e sure on this point. We ought also to 
have made a comparative examination of foreign 
digitalines, oftlie English and the German digitaline. 
Time was wanted for us to have undertaken this 
extensive task. 
