'^™ju°y^i882*^"'}     Constituents  of  Gelsemium  Sempervirens.  343 
This  reaction  readily  distinguishes  gelseniine  from  strychnine  and 
the  other  alkaloids. 
Solutions  of  the  salts  of  gelsemine  are  colorless,  and  have  the 
strongly  bitter  taste  of  the  alkaloid.  These  solutions  yield  precipitates 
with  a  number  of  different  liquid  reagents,  even  in  some  instances 
when  highly  dilute ;  but  in  no  instance  is  the  reaction  peculiar  to  this 
alkaloid. 
Physiological  action, — 0'008  gram  (J  grain)  of  gelsemine,  admin- 
istered hypodermically  to  a  cat,  caused  very  marked  symptoms  in 
fifteen  minutes,  and  death  in  one  hour  and*a  half. 
O'OlO  gram,  given  to  a  frog,  produced,  after  half  an  hour,  great 
prostration,  followed  by  tetanic  convulsions  and  death  in  about  four 
Lours. 
0.033  gram  of  the  alkaloid,  in  the  form  of  chloride,  was  injected 
into  the  peritoneum  of  a  frog.  The  animal  soon  opened  its  mouth 
•convulsively,  the  jaws  fell  at  intervals,  and  there  was  quickly  great 
muscular  prostration.  In  twenty  minutes  the  body  was  completely 
relaxed  ;  the  muscles  not  irritable  under  pricking ;  reflex  action  was 
greatly  diminished,  and  life  seemed  to  be  extinct.  On  opening  the 
thoracic  cavity  it  was  found  that  the  heart  had  been  arrested  in  diastole 
and  was  not  irritable. 
Gelsemium  Poisoning. — The  cases  of  gelsemium  poisoning  thus  far 
reported  have  been,  with  two  or  three  exceptions,  the  result  of  accident 
or  ignorance.  The  preparation  of  the  drug  most  frequently  employed 
is  the  fluid  extract^  each  fluidounce  of  which  represents  480  grains  of 
the  dried  root.  This  preparation,  as  found  in  the  shops,  as  we  have 
heretofore  shown  (this  journal,  1877,  151),  usually  contains  '2  per 
cent,  of  gelsemine  and  '4  per  cent,  of  gelsemic  acid. 
Of  twenty-five  cases  of  gelsemium  poisoning  that  we  have  collected, 
(some  private),  thirteen  proved  fatal.  The  fatal  period  varied  from 
one  hour  to  about  eight  hours.  Yery  small  quantities  of  the  drug  may 
cause  death.  A  case,  is  reported  in  which  a  quantity  of  a  tincture 
equivalent  to  about  twelve  minims  of  the  fluid  extract  proved  fatal  to  a 
child  aged  tliree  years.  In  another  instance,  four  doses  of  fifteen 
minims  each  of  the  fluid  extract,  repeated  at  short  intervals,  caused  the 
death  of  a  healthy  man  in  less  than  four  hours  after  the  last  dose  was 
taken.    So,  also,  a  teaspoonful  of  the  same  preparation  proved  fatal  to 
woman. 
There  is  no  chemical  antidote  known  for  this  kind  of  ])ois()ning. 
