Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  \ 
February,  1896.  J 
Kola  and  Kolanin. 
107 
"  Neither  a  solution  of  atropine  nor  of  the  salts  of  atropine  or 
hyoscamine  in  proportion  to  correspond  to  those  obtained  from  the 
alcoholic  extract  or  tincture  of  belladonna,  seems  to  possess  the  full 
qualities  of  the  alcoholic  extract  or  a  percolate  of  good  belladonna. 
Hence,  admixtures  of  extractive  with  the  purified  alkaloids  cannot 
fully  replace  natural  belladonna  extractives  that  are  of  the  same 
alkaloidal  proportions. 
"  For  this  reason,  phy to-chemical  analysis  does  not  altogether 
determine  the  comparative  therapeutic  value  or  physiological  ener- 
gies of  belladonna  preparations,  or  that  such  as  are  deficient  in 
alkaloid  are  correspondingly  inferior." 
In  the  drug  under  consideration,  an  assay1  from  various  authori- 
ties shows,  besides  the  alkaloids  named,  sixteen  other  substances  set 
apart  and  named.  Some  of  these  groups  include  a  still  larger 
number  of  separate  constituents.  Are  these  constituents  no  factor 
in  the  influence  of  the  drug  upon  the  organism  ?  The  physiologi- 
cal action  of  the  drug,  as  reported  by  a  host  of  observers,  is 
far  different  from  that  of  caffeine  or  any  drug  of  the  caffeine  group. 
One  record  of  observations,  showing  its  influence  upon  muscular 
contractions,  shows  that  caffeine  acts  upon  the  height  of  the  con- 
traction. The  action  of  caffeine  increases  these,  but  the  effect  is  of 
short  duration,  the  amplitude  being  very  restricted.    The  muscle  is 
1  Caffeine  ;  .  2-348 
Theobromine    0023 
Kolanin  1290 
Fat   ,  .  0734 
Essential  oil  ,  .  0*081 
Resin  i*c[2 
Tannin   i"59i 
Glucose   2-875 
Saccharose  0-612 
Mucilage    3^040 
Starch     30990 
Dextrine  2*130 
Soluble  salts  0*070 
Ash  3-325 
Albuminoids  6*325 
Coloring  2*561 
Moisture   10*117 
Cellulose,  etc  30*876 
ICO'OCO 
