Am.  Jour.  Pharm.)     Chemical  Examination  of  Nutmeg.  577 
December,  1908.   \  t  o  *jt  i 
furfural.  The  distillation  flask  then  contained  a  quantity  (35 
grammes)  of  a  black  resin,  together  with  an  aqueous  liquid  of  a 
reddish  color.  The  resinous  matter  was  separated  by  filtration,  and 
carefully  examined,  but  nothing  crystalline  could  be  obtained  from 
it.  The  filtered  aqueous  liquid  was  first  extracted  with  ether,  which, 
however,  removed  only  a  little  amorphous  coloring  matter.  It  was 
then  treated  with  an  amount  of  baryta  just  sufficient  for  the  removal 
of  the  sulphuric  acid,  and  the  filtered  liquid  concentrated  under 
diminished  pressure.  A  dark  colored  product  was  thus  obtained 
which  reduced  Fehling's  solution,  but  no  osazone  could  be  prepared 
from  it. 
In  considering  the  results  of  this  investigation,  it  may  be  noted 
that  the  only  constituents  of  the  petroleum  and  alcohol  extracts 
from  the  "  press-cake  "  of  nutmeg  which  had  not  previously  been 
identified  in  either  the  essential  oil  or  the  expressed  oil  were  the 
following :  sugar,  tannic  acid  and  coloring  matters,  resins,  and  a  very 
small  amount  of  the  crystalline  alcohol,  ipuranol,  C23H3S02  (OH)2. 
Physiological  Tests. 
In  order  to  obtain  confirmation  of  the  statements  which  have 
previously  been  recorded  that  the  narcotic  effects  produced  by 
nutmeg  are  due  to  the  essential  oil  or  the  myristicin  contained 
therein,  and  also  to  ascertain  whether  any  of  the  other  products 
obtained  in  the  course  of  this  investigation  possessed  physiological 
activity,  a  considerable  number  of  tests  were  conducted  for  us  by 
Dr.  H.  H.  Dale,  Director  of  the  Wellcome  Physiological  Research 
Laboratories.  Many  of  these  tests  were  performed  prior  to  the  pub- 
lication of  the  observations  by  Professor  Cushny  on  the  subject  of 
nutmeg  poisoning,  to  which  reference  has  been  made  in  the  intro- 
ductory portion  of  this  paper. 
It  was  found  by  Dr.  Dale  that  nutmeg  itself,  when  administered 
to  a  cat,  in  doses  of  5  grammes,  has  a  very  marked  effect.  Thus  a 
cat  weighing  2640  grammes  was  given  5  grammes  of  nutmeg  at 
2.30  p.m.  A  small  amount  of  this  was  vomited  during  the  night, 
but  the  cat  seemed  practically  well  on  the  following  day.  On  the 
second  day  after  administration,  however,  the  animal  was  found  to 
be  very  sluggish.  It  could  walk  when  roused,  but  very  quickly 
dropped  into  a  semi-comatose  condition,  and  at  3  p.m.  on  this  day 
it  died.  Apart  from  a  slight  congestion  of  the  intestinal  mucous 
membrane,  the  only  post-mortem  abnormality  was  a  fatty  degenera- 
