"^"jmierissr"'' }  Gleanings  in  Materia  Medica.  305  ■ 
investigated  the  seeds  of  an  African  strophanthus,  and  found  it  to  be 
a  powerful  paralyzing  agent  and  cardiac  poison. 
The  new  poison  which,  in  the  absence  of  a  name,  is  called  wanika, 
after  one  of  the  tribes  using  it,  was  found  by  Gerrard  not  to  contain  an 
alkaloid;  it  contains  a  tannin,  precipitating  ferric  salts  blucish-green^ 
and  a  glucoside,  wliich  was  prepared  by  diluting  the  alcoholic  extract 
with  water,  filtering,  precipitating  with  basic  lead  acetate,  filtering, 
removing  excess  of  lead  by  sulphuric  acid,  evaporating,  treating 
repeatedly  .with  a  mixture  of  chloroform  and  alcohol  to  remove  glu- 
cose, and  evaporating.  The  principle  is  neutral,  amorphous,  pun- 
gently  bitter,  soluble  in  alcohol  and  water,  insoluble  in  ether  and  chlo- 
roform, yields  with  strong  sulphuric  acid  a  slight  brown  color,  and 
when  heated  with  soda  lime  evolves  ammonia ;  with  Fehling's  solu- 
tion it  gives  no  reduction  till  boiled  with  a  dilute  acid. 
Dr.  Ringer  found  this  arrow  poison  to  be  a  powerful  muscle  poison, 
as  active  as  veratria,  and,  unlike  veratria,  not  prolonging  the  relaxa- 
tion of  a  muscle  after  its  contraction.  It  is  a  feeble  poison  to  motor 
nerves,  and  has  no  effect  on  afferent  nerves.  It  is  as  powerful  a  cardiac 
poison  as  digitalin,  and  more  so  than  veratria.  It  anests  the  ventri- 
cle in  systole,  and  does  not  prolong  the  systole  of  the  heart  nearly  so 
much  as  veratria.  It  has  but  little  action  when  administered  by  the 
mouth ;  5  minims  of  a  5  per  cent,  solution  hypodermically  given  will 
kill  a  cat  in  from  15  to  20  minutes,  whilst  45  minims  given  by  the 
stomach  caused  only  nausea  and  vomiting,  with  a  little  weakness. 
The  antidote  to  this  poison  is  made  in  Africa  from  five  roots,  which 
are  said  to  be  baked  and  afterwards  ground  and  mixed  with  honey  ; 
unless  given  within  5  minutes  of  the  time  when  the  wound  is  received, 
the  antidote  does  no  good.  In  the  hands  of  Dr.  Ringer  it  proved  to 
be  worthless,  whether  given  internally  or  applied  topically. — Ibid.y 
April  9,  pp.  833-835. 
Preparation  of  Cocaina, — V.  Trupheme  exhausts  coca  leaves  by 
ether  in  Payen's  percolator,  arranged  for  continuous  distillation,  when 
a  blackish-green  liquid  is  obtained,  which  is  evaporated  to  dryness. 
The  residue  is  agitated  with  boiling  water,  which  dissolves  the  alka- 
loid, leaving  the  impure  wax-  behind.  The  solution  is  mixed  with 
magnesia,  evaporated  to  dryness,  and  the  residue  treated  with  amylic 
alcohol,  from  which  slightly  yellowish  crystals  are  deposited,  and  these  . 
are  obtained  colorless  by  one  recrystallization. — Jour,  de  Phar.  et  de 
C/i?m.,  April,  1881,  p.  329. 
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