io8 
Alkaloids  in  Belladonna  Plant. 
(Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
\    March,  1914. 
and  stems  rank  in  the  order  named  as  regards  the  percentage  of 
alkaloidal  content.  These  observations  are  in  perfect  accord  with 
the  results  here  given.  A  number  of  interesting  facts  are  emphati- 
cally brought  out.  Of  the  aerial  part  of  the  plant  all  parts  but  the 
large  woody  stems  contain  enough  alkaloids  to  make  their  utilization 
practicable.  During  the  early  summer,  belladonna  herb,  including 
leaves,  tops,  and  small  stems,  could  be  advantageously  picked  as  far 
as  medicinal  strength  is  concerned  if  the  herb  rather  than  leaves 
were  official.  The  flowering  tops  in  the  third-year  plants  easily 
rank  first  as  containing  the  greatest  percentage  of  alkaloids.  In  all 
the  first-year  plants,  the  young  sprouts  are  found  to  contain  the 
greatest  quantity  of  alkaloids,  two  of  the  six  containing  more  than 
i  per  cent.  Attention  has  been  directed  to  the  fact  that  the  flowering 
tops  and  the  young  sprouts  represent  the  youngest  and  tenderest 
growth  in  the  third-year  and  in  the  first-year  plants,  respectively. 
Since  in  the  plants  analyzed  the  greatest  concentration  of  alkaloids 
is  found  in  these  parts,  the  logical  conclusion  is  that  the  greatest 
concentration  of  alkaloids  is  to  be  found  in  the  youngest  parts  of  the 
plants.  A  further  study  of  the  tables  will  emphasize  this  fact  still 
more.  In  seven  of  the  ten  plants  the  small  leaves  are  considerably 
richer  in  alkaloids  than  the  large  leaves,  the  average  for  the  small 
leaves  being  0.687  per  cent,  and  for  the  large  ones  0.578  per  cent. 
The  small  leaves  usually  appear  on  the  plants  later  than  the  large 
ones.  In  the  case  of  the  third-year  plants,  which  were  analyzed  in 
June,  the  small  leaves  were  found  mostly  near  the  tops  of  the 
branches,  indicating  that  they  represented  younger  growth  than 
the  large  leaves.  Later  in  the  season  there  is  always  a  preponder- 
ance of  small  leaves,  very  little  growth  of  large  leaves  taking  place 
after  the  flowering  period  is  over.  Hence,  in  all  the  plants  under 
consideration,  the  small  leaves  constitute  in  a  general  way  younger 
growth  than  the  large  ones.  The  higher  percentage  of  alkaloids  in 
the  former  is,  therefore,  parallel  to  the  condition  that  exists  in  the 
flowering  tops  and  young  shoots.  Again  it  is  seen  that  the  same 
is  true  of  the  stems.  The  average  per  cent,  of  alkaloids  in  the  small 
stems  is  0.332,  and  in  the  large  stems  0.113.  The  difference  is 
especially  marked  in  the  third-year  plants.  Here  again  those  stems 
which  constitute  the  youngest  growth  are  richest  in  alkaloids.  In 
the  four  plants  where  the  large  and  small  roots  were  separated,  the 
average  alkaloidal  content  of  the  small  roots  was  0.561  per  cent.,  and 
of  the  large  roots  0.421  per  cent.    The  small  roots,  as  has  been 
