404 POISONS : THEIR EFFECTS AND DETECTION. [§§ 473 , 474 . 
Nor-liyoscyamine is a white crystalline base melting at 140-5°. It is strongly basic, 
even phenolphthalein being coloured by it. It forms many well-crystallised salts. Its 
chemical constitution is simply that of hyoscyamine minus the NCH 3 group ; and 
it can be converted into Miyoscyamine by the action of methyl iodide. The 
specific rotatory power of the basic ion of the salts in water is [u]d —33-8°; in 50 per 
cent, alcohol, [a] D —23-0°; the ratio of the two being as 1 : 1-47, which is practi¬ 
cally the same ratio as that found by Carr and Reynolds for similar solutions of 
hyoscyamine. 
By the action of dilute barium hydroxide, nor-hyoscyamine (as well as nor-atropine) 
gives tropic acid and a volatile alkaloid, nor-tropanol, according to the equation 
C 16 H 2 i0 3 N + H 2 0 =C 9 H 10 O 3 + C 7 H 13 ON. Nor-hyoscyamine can be transformed by 
dilute alkalies into its racemic form—nor-atropine. Nor-atropine, C 16 H 24 0 3 N, is a 
white crystalline base melting at 113°-114°, and forms well-crystallised salts on methy- 
lat-ion by treatment with methyl iodide; the resulting compound is identical with 
natural atropine. 
The physiological action of nor-hyoscyamine and nor-atropine as regards mydriasis 
appears to be similar to, but weaker than, that of the methylated alkaloids. Thus nor¬ 
hyoscyamine is one-eighth as active as Z-hyoscyamine, and therefore about one-fourth 
as active as atropine. Nor-atropine is about one-eighth as active as atropine. 
Tests.— Like the other alkaloids of the group, both these alkaloids give Vitali’s 
reaction. They are best distinguished by the solubilities of their oxalates and the 
melting-points of their bases and salts, which are summarised as follows :— 
Atropine. 
Hyoscya¬ 
mine. 
Alkaloid 
O 
116-117 
O 
107 
Hydrochloride 
163 
, , 
Sulphate 
194 
205-209 
Oxalate 
196-197 
176 
Aurichloride 
137-139 
165 
Picrate 
175-176 
165-166 
Nor-hyo¬ 
scyamine. 
Nor- 
atropine. 
Hyoscine. 
Z-Scopol 
amine. 
O 
140-5 
O 
113-114 
O 
O 
• • 
207 
193 
200 
• • 
249 
257 
• • 
245 
247-248 
# # 
178-179 
157 
198-206 
208 
220 
227 
180-181 
193 
3. SOLANINE. 
§ 473. Distribution of Solanine. —Solanine is a poisonous nitrogenised glucoside 
found in all parts of the plants belonging to the nightshade order. The English 
common plants in which solanine occurs are the edible potato plant ( Solarium 
tuberosum), the nightshade ( Solarium nigrum), and the Solanum dulcamara, or 
bitter-sweet. The berries of the Solanum nigrum and those of Solanum dulcamara 
contain about 0-3 per cent. Mature healthy potatoes appear to contain no solanine, 
but from 150 grms. of diseased potatoes G. Kassner 1 separated 30 to 50 mgrms. 
Albert Hilger and W. Markens ( Ber ., 1903) have purified crude solanine by extrac¬ 
tion with boiling absolute alcohol, and precipitation with acetic acid, water and 
ammonia. The product is recrystallised from alcohol; these observers give the 
formula as C 52 H 97 0 18 N, and state that on hydrolysis with 2 per cent, sulphuric acid, 
croton-aldehyde, dextrose, and solanidine are formed, according to reaction— 
2C 52 H 97 0 18 N f 3C 6 H 12 0 6 + 2C 4 H 6 0+2C 39 H 61 0 2 N+22H 2 0. 
This research is criticised by Simon Zeisel and J. Wittman {Ber., 1903), who state 
that only methylformaldehyde is formed in small quantity, that the sugar produced 
contains a large proportion of rhamnose as well as some other carbohydrate, but that 
from the mixture of sugars no crystalline dextrose can be obtained. 
§ 474. Properties of Solanine. —The reaction of the crystals is weakly alkaline ; 
1 Arch. Pharm. (3), xxv. 402, 403. 
