10 
International  Conference. 
(Am.  Jour.  Pharm 
I     January,  1903. 
"  With  regard  to  active  principles,  alkaloids,  glucosides,  etc.,  the 
Dutch  delegates  propose  to  absolutely  discountenance  them  for 
international  usage  so  long  as  they  cannot  be  obtained  in  a  crystal- 
line state  and  chemically  pure." 
Notwithstanding  the  proviso  contained  in  this  declaration,  a 
strong  protest  was  raised  by  the  same  delegation  against  the  adop- 
tion of  aconitine,  which  was  based  on  the  argument  that  the  sub- 
stances occurring  under  this  name  in  commerce  are  variable  in 
character,  and  that,  being  so  extremely  potent  in  a  pure  state,  the 
use  of  the  alkaloid  was  exceedingly  dangerous  and  in  some  cases 
had  been  attended  with  fatal  results.  In  the  opinion  of  the  writer 
the  reasons  advanced  for  the  rejection  of  this  substance  are  pre- 
cisely  those  which,  for  the  public  safety,  should  have  made  its 
recognition  by  an  international  conference  not  only  desirable,  but 
even  imperative.  The  British  Pharmacopoeia  of  1898  has  adopted 
a  pure,  crystalline  aconitine,  and  the  characters  of  this  are  believed 
to  be  so  well  defined  that,  if  they  were  accepted-  as  a  standard,  no 
difficulty  whatever  would  be  experienced  either  in  the  uniformity  of 
its  production  or  in  its  proper  identification.  It  is,  moreover,  a 
question  whether  a  permanent  solution  of  such  a  pure,  crystalline 
aconitine  or  one  of  its  salts,  of  a  strength  corresponding  approxi- 
mately to  a  tincture  ot  the  drug  and  of  international  uniformity, 
would  not  only  be  safer  but  therapeutically  more  satisfactory  than 
the  galenical  preparations  of  aconite  at  present  in  use.  Inasmuch 
as  the  opinion  was  expressed  by  one  of  the  delegates  and  supported 
by  some  others,  that  aconitine  could  not  be  properly  defined,  not- 
withstanding the  precise  melting  point  of  the  alkaloid  and  some  ot 
its  salts  as  well  as  other  characters,  as  stated  in  the  British  Phar- 
macopoeia, it  was  decided  by  the  votes  of  a  majority  of  the  delegates 
that  the  use  of  this  substance  should  not  be  sanctioned  by  the  Con- 
ference, and  that  the  strength  of  pharmacopoeial  preparations  of 
aconite  should  be  based  upon  the  determination  of  a  fixed  percent- 
age of  total  alkaloid.1 
It  has  been  gratifying  to  the  writer  to  know  that  his  views  on 
1  The  committee  appointed  to  decide  upon  the  proportion  of  alkaloids  that 
should  be  contained  in  aconite  and  belladonna  and  their  preparations,  consists 
of :  Professors  Schmidt,  Tschirch,  Bourquelot,  Jorissen  and  Mr.  Yvon.  It  is  of 
interest  to  note  in  this  connection  that  some  of  the  large  and  progressive  phar- 
maceutical manufacturers  do  not  regard  aconite  as  capable  of  accurate  chemi- 
