Am.  Jour.  Pharm. ) 
September,  1920.  ) 
Belladonna  Cultivation. 
629 
Strong  efforts  are  being  made  to  stimulate  the  cultivation  of 
drugs  in  this  country.  To  accomplish  this  every  inducement  must 
be  made  in  behalf  of  the  grower.  With  belladonna,  and  many 
other  drugs,  it  may  be  necessary  to  revise  our  standard,  the  more 
especially  so  when  such  revision  does  not  in  any  way  detract  from 
the  medicinal  value  of  the  drug. 
In  respect  to  belladonna,  the  American  Drug  Manufacturers' 
Association  has  suggested  that  belladonna  herb,  by  which  term  they 
intend  to  include  the  dried  leaves  and  stems,  should  be  made  official 
in  the  Pharmacopoeia,  and  allowed  to  be  used  for  galenical  prepara- 
tions in  the  manufacture  of  medicinal  products.  They  suggest 
that  belladonna  herb  should  be  inserted  in  the  Pharmacopoeia  in 
addition  to  belladonna  leaves  and  belladonna  root. 
Our  records  for  the  year  191 9  show  that  the  tops  of  belladonna, 
including  the  stems,  would  fully  meet  the  requirements  of  the  Pharma- 
copoeia. 
The  following  figures  are  taken  from  the  records  of  herb  cut  from 
three  to  six  inches  from  the  ground,  without  any  attempt  at  selec- 
tion, at  such  times  as  we  found  convenient  for  gathering,  and  without 
any  particular  reference  to  the  alkaloidal  content.  This  latter  for 
the  reason  that  the  drug  was  to  be  made  into  assayed  products. 
BbivLadonna  Hkrb  (Air  Dry  Stems  and  Leaves) — 1919. 
Per  cent,  alkaloid. 
Plot  Number.  Highest.  Lowest. 
I — 500  three  year  old  plants   0.491  0.385 
2  and  5 — 50,000  first-year  seedlings  (potted 
plants)   0.473  0.328 
7—  33,000  two  year  old  plants   o .  5 70  o .  392 
8 —  1,600  three  year  old  plants   0.524  0.520 
10 — 72,000  first-year  seedlings  (cold- 
frame)   0.515  0.305 
From  the  foregoing  it  will  be  seen  that  the  entire  crop  from  this 
150,000  plants,  taken  separately  or  mixed  together,  would  at  all 
times  have  exceeded  the  requirements  of  the  Pharmacopoeia,5and 
there  would  therefore  seem  to  be  no  good  reason  why  belladonna 
herb,  especially  that  obtained  from  cultivated  plants,  should  not  be 
admitted  to  the  Pharmacopoeia  under  proper  restrictions  as  to  alka- 
loidal content,  etc. 
Conclusion. — Much  progress  has  been  made  in  the  growing 
and  collection  of  belladonna  in  the  United  States.    We  are  no 
