154 
Active  Principle  of  Ergot. 
(  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
\       April,  1911. 
In  1886  Kobert  ^'  reported  a  crystalline  specimen  of  ergotinine 
to  be  inactive  on  the  uterus  and  that  it  also  failed  to  produce 
bluing  of  the  cock's  comb,  although  he  had  in  1883  stated  that 
ergotinine  (Tanret)  would  cause  marked  toxic  action  in  frogs 
and  a  rise  in  blood  pressure  in  rabbits.  Meulenhoif  reported 
ergotinine  inactive,  however,  Blumberg  found  that  20  mg.  would 
kill  frogs,  while  in  Palm's  hands  0.0 1  gm.  caused  little  or  no  bluing 
of  the  cock's  comb.    The  clinical  reports  of  its  use  also  varied. 
Galippe  and  Budin  noted  no  symptoms  in  a  dog  after  the 
subcutaneous  injection  of  30  mg.  of  Tanret's  ergotinine,  but  80 
mg.  induced  colic  and  vomiting  with  a  lowering  of  the  temperature, 
while  a  syrup  containing  105  mg.  of  ergotinine  induced  death. 
One  milligram  of  this  ergotinine  represented  i  gm.  of  ergot. 
IJujardin-Beaumetz  noted  similar  nausea  and  vomiting  to  occur  in 
man  after  the  injection  of  4-5  mg.  of  this  alkaloid.  In  one  case 
puerperal  hemorrhage  was  apparently  arrested  by  it,  yet  the  arrest 
only  occurred  after  hours  of  delay  and  there  must  necessarily  be 
an  element  of  uncertainty  in  this  case.  Others  reported  favorable 
clinical  action  from  its  use.**^  The  confusion  in  the  reports  is 
probably  due  to  the  fact  that  some  of  the  specimens  used  were  wholly 
crystalline,  while  others  were  a  mixture  of  the  crystalline  and  amor- 
phous varieties. 
In  1884  Kobert  announced  the  presence  of  three  bodies  in  ergot 
— a  base,  cornutin,  and  two  with  acid  properties,  ergotinic  acid  and 
sphacelenic  acid.  Kobert  isolated  no  body  chemically  pure.  His 
isolations  were  merely  physiological.  The  term  ergotinic  acid  had 
already  been  used  by  Merck  for  Zweifel's  preparation. 
Ergotinic  acid  subcutaneously  injected,  acted  as  a  paralyzant 
on  the  brain  and  spinal  cord,  but  caused  no  bluing  of  the  cock's 
comb,  and  was  inactive  on  the  pregnant  uterus  of  sheep,  cats, 
rabbits,  and  dogs.  By  mouth  it  was  inactive,  either  being  unab- 
sorbed  or  destroyed  in  the  gastro-intestinal  tract.  Sphacelenic 
acid  received  its  name  from  the  old  name  of  ergot,  Sphacelia 
segetum.  Kobert  believed  the  specific  action  of  ergot  was  due 
to  this  resinous  acid,*^  although  he  admitted  that  he  had  not  isolated 
it  in  a  chemically  pure  condition.  Sphacelinic  acid  caused  bluing  of 
the  cock's  comb  and  had  the  characteristic  action  on  the  uterus. 
Kobert  introduced  the  cock's-comb  test  as  a  guide  for  the  recog- 
nition of  this  acid.  Cornutin,  except  in  toxic  doses,*^  produced  no 
uterine  contractions  and  caused  no  bluing  of  the  cock's  comb,  but 
