726  Alleged  Poisoning  by  Potatoes.     {  ^cj^'i^™' 
acid  in  moderately  strong  sulphuric  acid  (2  water  to  1  acid)  an  in- 
tense red  color  developed.8 
(d)  On  gently  heating  a  small  quantity  with  strong  nitric  acid 
a  brownish  color  was  at  first  developed,  then  became  decided  red, 
and  passed  suddenly  into  a  pale  yellow. 
In  the  Berlin  epidemic  already  mentioned  Pfuhl  states  that  the 
potatoes  concerned  contained  solanine  as  below  :9 
Pared  and  uncooked    0.38  part  per  1,000 
Pared  and  cooked   0.24  part  per  1,000 
He  gives  as  the  normal  content  for  May  and  June : 
Pared  and  uncooked  (May)   0.060  part  per  1,000 
Pared  and  uncooked  (June)    0.064  part  per  1,000 
These  figures  indicate  that  in  both  the  Berlin  and  Glasgow  cases 
the  potatoes  which  caused  the  symptoms  of  poisoning  contained  at 
least  five  to  six  times  the  quantity  of  solanine  which  is  found  in 
normal,  unsprouted  potatoes. 
An  attempt  to  detect  the  presence  of  solanine  in  a  quantity  of  the 
bowel  contents  of  the  fatal  case  was  unsuccessful,  but  this  is  not 
surprising  in  view  of  the  failure  of  Meyer  to  detect  more  than  traces 
in  the  faeces  and  urine  of  a  dog  which  had  received  0.1  Gm.  of 
solanine  for  ten  days. 
The  chemical  data  obtained  in  conjunction  with  the  statistics 
compiled  by  Dr.  Wright  demonstrate  conclusively,  in  our  opinion, 
that  the  outbreak  of  poisoning  was  due  to  the  eating  of  potatoes  con- 
taining an  excessively  large  quantity  of  solanine,  and  indicate  the 
necessity  for  caution  in  the  use  of  potatoes  which  have  begun  to 
sprout. 
8  Baur,  Zeitschr.  fiir  angew.  Chemie,  1899,  99;  Analyst,  1899,  24,  152. 
9  Deutsche  medicimsche  W ochenschrift,  1899,  p.  753. 
