i6o 
Active  Principle  of  Ergot. 
/Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
I       April,  1911. 
toxin,  because  Schmiedeberg  had  previously  used  the  term  for  the 
unknown  active  constituent  of  ergot.  The  combination  of  ergo- 
chrysin  with  sphacelotoxin  was  named  chrysotoxin  and  that  of  secaHn 
with  sphacelotoxin  was  designated  secalintoxin.  Palm  corroborated 
the  activity  of  Jacobj's  preparation  by  clinical  observations  and  also 
by  animal  experiments. 
Meulenhoff  essentially  corroborated  Jacobj  and  stated  that 
the  active  principle  of  ergot  was  sphacelinic  acid.  This  he  be- 
lieved identical  with  sphacelotoxin  but  retained  Robert's  nomen- 
clature, using  the  term  sphacelinic  acid.  He  claimed  the  presence 
of  but  one  alkaloid,  ergotinine,  which  he  considered  only  partly 
active.  Robert  claimed  that  spasmotin  was  weaker  than  his  sphace- 
linic acid  and  warned  against  its  clinical  use,  as  he  believed  that 
it  was  merely  sphacelinic  acid  and  had  all  its  disadvantages. 
Rielander  has  corroborated  the  work  of  other  investigators 
in  finding  both  betain  and  cholin  in  ergot.  By  injection  he  showed 
that  these  bodies  were  not  responsible  for  the  local  gangrene  which 
appears  at  the  site  of  an  ergot  injection.  In  addition  to  these 
compounds  he  found  both  tetra-  and  penta-methylendiamin.  As 
to  whether  these  exist  as  such  in  ergot  or  are  products  from  the 
reagents  is  not  proven.  Ludwig,^^  years  before  this,  claimed  that 
methylamin  was  present  in  ergot,  while  Ganser  denied  that  methyl- 
amin,  or  trimethylamin  existed  as  such  in  ergot.  Tanret  traced 
methylamin  to  the  decomposition  of  his  ergotinine.  It  is  to  be 
presumed  that  the  free  ammonia  which  Vauquelin  suspected  to 
be  present  may  be  in  reality  an  amine. 
Vahlen  has  recently  introduced  a  crystalline  principle,  which 
he  obtained  by  evaporating  the  aqueous  extract  of  ergot  and  ex- 
tracting the  residue  with  hot  alcohol  (75  per  cent.).  On  cooling 
this  alcohol  crystalline  needles,  which  he  named  clavin,  separated. 
The  crystals  varied  in  form  when  other  methods  of  separation  were 
used.  They  melt  at  262-263°  C.  and  are  soluble  in  water,  and 
their  solution  reacts  neutral  to  litmus.  Clavin  is  not  precipitable 
by  caustic  alkalies,  by  alkaline  carbonates  or  by  alkaloidal  reagents, 
and  is  insoluble  in  petroleum  ether,  ether  and  absolute  alcohol. 
Vahlen  was  unable  to  determine  accurately  the  yield  of  clavin,  but 
stated  that  one  kilogram  of  ergot  yields  a  few  grams  of  this  substance. 
He  has  calculated  the  empirical  formula  to  be  C11H20N4O2,  and 
believes,  on  the  basis  of  his  molecular  weight  determination,  that  in 
aqueous  solution  it  dissociates  into  two  bodies  which  have  approxi- 
