Am.  Jour.  Plmrm. 
November,  1897. 
}       Hyoscine- Scopolamine  Question.  597 
one  may  obtain  at  will  either  a  normal  scopolamine  (rotating  about 
24°  to  25  °),  or  a  feebly  rotating  one.  He  succeeded  even  in  directly 
obtaining,  from  one  and  the  same  scopolia  root,  a  normally  (that  is, 
strongly)  rotating  and  a  feebly  rotating  scopolamine.  The  former 
was  obtained  by  alkalinizing  the  liquors  with  sodium  bicarbonate  or 
ammonia ;  the  other  by  employing  strong  bases,  such  as  soda-lye, 
concentrated  solution  of  potassa,  etc. 
It  is  thus  still  an  open  question  whether  or  not  Hesse's  "  atros- 
cine "  should  be  regarded  as  identical  with  Schmidt's  "  inactive 
scopolamine."  Upon  considering  the  contradictory  verdicts  of 
medical  authorities  who  have  tested  both  these  substances  as  to  their 
action  on  the  eye,  one  might  almost  incline  toward  the  second 
alternative,  that  is,  non-identity. 
O.  Hesse,  in  his  treatise,  quotes  medical  councillor  Dr.  Kbnigs- 
hbfer's  conclusions  from  physiological  tests  made  by  him  with 
atroscine,  to  the  effect  that  its  action  differs  in  certain  points  from 
that  of  scopolamine.  The  passage  quoted  reads  as  follows  :  "  We 
thus  find  that  this  remedy  (that  is  atroscine)  acts  identically  with 
atropine  and  scopolamine,  in  so  far  as  its  mydriatic  effect  is  con- 
cerned ;  while  in  the  matter  of  paralyzing  the  accommodation  it 
considerably  surpasses  both  these  substances  in  promptness  of 
action,  as  well  as  in  duration  of  effect,  the  ratio  of  difference  rang- 
ing from  double  to  quadruple." 
E.  Schmidt,  on  the  other  hand,  reports  that  Prof.  Dr.  Uhthoff, 
director  of  the  eye  clinic  at  the  University  of  Marburg,  in  conjunc- 
tion with  Dr.  Axenfeld,  lecturer,  arrived  at  the  following  important 
conclusion  :  In  comparative  tests  with  a  strongly  rotating  scopola- 
mine hydrobromate  (25-43°)  and  a  very  feebly  rotating  salt  (6  62°), 
"...  it  was  found  that  no  difference,  whatever,  could  be 
shown  between  the  effects  of  these  two  salts." 
To  these  contradictory  reports  published  by  Schmidt  and  by 
Hesse,  I  can  add  the  following  facts,  gathered  from  observations 
made  by  us  at  the  Darmstadt  Laboratory.  Ever  since  this  property 
of  hyoscine,  of  strongly  rotating  the  plane  of  polarization,  has  been 
known,  special  regard  has  been  given  to  this  point  at  our  labor- 
atories in  working  the  side-bases  from  hyoscyamus  seeds  for 
hyoscine.  The  product  of  each  separate  batch  was  invariably 
examined  for  the  determination  of  its  optical  properties.  In  the 
course  of  these  observations  it  was  found  that  we  always  obtained  a 
