THE 
AMERICAN  JOURNAL  OF  PHARMACY. 
MAY,  1864. 
AN  ESSAY  ON  THE  ACTIVE  CONSTITUENTS  OF  ERGOT  OF  RYE. 
By  William  T.  Wenzell. 
The  greatly  discordant  views  advanced  by  chemical  writers 
on  Secale  cornutum,  and  a  desire  to  investigate  the  proximate 
chemistry,  of  this  degenerated  cereal,  have  induced  me  to  take  up 
this  apparently  difficult  subject.  I  have  succeeded  in  isolating 
two  vegetable  nitrogenized  alkaloids,  the  first  of  which  I  have 
provisionally  denominated  "  Ecbolina,"  a  name  naturally  sug- 
gesting itself  by  the  ecbolic  or  womb  contracting  power  pecu- 
liar to  the  crude  drug,  and  which  physiological  action  I  believe 
to  reside  in  that  alkaloid.  To  the  second  alkaloid  I  have  given 
the  name  of  "  Ergotina."  It  is  further  intended  to  show  in 
this  treatise,  that  "  Propylamine"  (the  Secaline  of  Dr. 
Winkler,)  exist  in  Ergot  preformed,  and  that  the  acid  peculiar 
to  spurred  rye,  "  Ergotic  Acid,"  is  volatile. 
PRELIMINARY  EXAMINATION. 
A  cold  prepared  aqueous  solution  of  Ergot  possesses  an  acid 
reaction.  This  reaction  is,  I  believe  to  be,  owing  to  the  ex- 
istence of  an  acid  phosphate  of  magnesia,  for  on  adding  carbo- 
nate of  baryta  in  excess,  and  shaking,  the  acid  reaction  is  not 
removed.  But  on  adding  sufficient  solution  of  potassa  to 
neutralize  the  infusion,  the  basic  phosphate  of  magnesia  is  pre- 
cipitated, and  by  adding  now  sulphate  of  magnesia,  an  ad- 
ditional quantity  of  the  phosphate  is  precipitated.  The  infu- 
sion is  precipitated  by  acetate  of  lead,  nitrate  of  silver, 
and  barytic  water,  phosphates   and   ergotates  of  the  re- 
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