Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  | 
April,  1911.  / 
Active  Principle  of  Ergot. 
149 
Dietz  found  that  the  aqueous  extract  of  ergot  possessed  the  same 
action  as  ergot  itself,  while  Schrofif  ^  claimed,  that  in  man,  Wig- 
gers'  ergotin  produced  the  essential  symptoms  seen  after  ergot 
administration.  Wiggers  also  obtained  a  wax-like  body  which  he 
called  cerin. 
In  1840  Wright,-^  from  clinical  observations  and  also  from  ex- 
periments on  dogs  and  birds,  claimed  that  the  oil  obtained  from 
ergot  contained  the  active  principle.  This  oil  was  extracted  from 
ergot  by  means  of  ether.  Sir  J.  Y.  Simpson  in  speaking  of  this 
oil  said,  "  I  have  repeatedly  employed  your  preparation  of  the 
ergot,  and  have  always  preferred  it  of  late,  because  it  has  ap- 
peared to  me  to  act  with  more  precision  than  the  infusion  of  the 
powder,  and  its  dose  is  more  easily  regulated.  I  have  used  it  both 
in  cases  of  lingering  parturition,  dependent  on  deficient  uterine 
contractions,  and  also  in  instances  of  post-partum  hemorrhage." 
Wright  imagined  that  the  oily  body  obtained  by  distilling  dry 
ergot,  and  that  obtained  by  treating  ergot  with  liquor  potassse,  was 
the  same  as  the  one  which  may  be  obtained  by  extraction  with  ether. 
Perhaps  the  differences  may  explain  certain  variations  in  the  reports 
as  to  the  action  of  this  oil.  No  doubt  in  these  extractions  of  oil 
various  compounds  were  contained. 
The  name  ergotin  was  also  used  by  Bonjean  (1842)  for  an 
aqueous  extract  freed  from  some  extraneous  matter  by  precipita- 
tion with  alcohol.  It  was  not  claimed  to  be  a  definite  chemical, 
but  rather  a  pharmaceutical  preparation.  The  ergotin  of  Bon- 
jean  was  also  called  Extractum  hsemostaticum,"  as  he  believed 
it  to  be  an  efficient  agent  for  controlling  hemorrhage.  Bon  jean 
denied  that  Wiggers'  ergotin  was  active.  He  noted  that  after  the 
administration  of  ergot,  animals  developed  a  "  narcotic  "  condition, 
which  he  compared  to  that  resulting  from  the  administration  of 
morphine,  and  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  combs  and 
wattles  of  cocks  turned  blue.  Bon  jean  said  the  principal  thera- 
peutic agent  was  the  aqueous  extract,  but  that  the  poison  was  an 
oil,  soluble  in  ether.  This  oil  lost  its  poisonous  property  bv  being 
boiled.  Kohler,^^  by  experiments  on  frogs,  showed  a  difference  in 
activity  between  the  ergotin  of  Wiggers  and  Bon  jean's  preparation. 
Schroff  noted  that  i  gm.  of  Bon  jean's  ergotin  caused  abortion 
in  a  rabbit. 
Hooker  1-  (1852)  found  that  the  oil  extracted  by  ether  slowed 
markedly  the  pulse  rate  in  a  young  man.    This  slowing  of  the 
