Active  Principle  of  Ergot. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
April,  1911. 
into  ether  and  crystallizing  from  methyl  alcohol.  The  two  alkaloids 
were  separated  from  one  another  by  means  of  their  sulphates.  Ap- 
parently these  bases  could  be  transformed  one  into  the  other.  Kraft 
also  determined  the  presence  of  several  lacton  acids,  secalonic  acid 
and  certain  of  its  derivatives.  As  to  whether  these  products  are 
related  to  the  crude  scleroxantine  of  Dragendorff  and  Podwissotski 
is  not  considered.  Kraft  also  found  an  oil,  betain,  cholin,  mannit 
which  had  been  noted  by  previous  workers,  Tanret's  ergosterine 
and  tri-methylamin  which  he  believed  were  derived  from  betain. 
Walz  had  called  attention  to  tri-methylamin  in  ergot,  and  Brieger 
in  1887  believed  it  traceable  to  cholin  or  isocholin.  Kraft  first  used 
Keller's  method  of  extracting  the  bases  from  ergot  by  means  of 
alkaline  ether,  using  MgO  to  secure  alkalinity  and  to  free  them, 
but  found  that  he  could  obtain  these  bodies  by  means  of  ether  with- 
out adding  the  alkali  and,  therefore,  argued  that  the  alkaloids  existed 
in  a  free  condition,  a  suggestion  which  had  been  previously  made 
by  Keller. 
The  physiological  testing  of  these  preparations  was  done  by 
Jacquet.  He  tested  the  precipitate  obtained  from  an  ethereal  ex- 
tract by  means  of  petroleum  ether.  This  precipitate  would  cor- 
respond to  Jacob j's  chrysotoxin.  When  administered  as  a  powder, 
or  an  oily  emulsion,  to  cocks  it  caused  no  bluing  of  the  comb,  but 
if  dissolved  with.  NaOH,  the  filtrate,  on  injection  into-  cocks,  pro- 
duced a  bluing  of  the  comb,  and  a  similar  injection  into  pregnant 
rabbits  was  followed  by  abortion.  To  produce  this  action  in  guinea 
pigs  0.25  gm.  of  the  crude  substance  w^as  required.  This  would 
really  represent  50  gm.  of  ergot. 
After  dissolving  in  glacial  acetic  acid  and  diluting  with  water, 
0.02  gram  of  ergotinin  v^as  injected  into  a  pregnant  guinea  pig. 
This  animal  died  in  twenty-four  hours  with  symptoms  of  ascending 
paralysis.    There  was  no  abortion. 
After  dissolving  in  the  same  acid  and  lessening  the  acidity 
with  NaOH,  0.013  gm.  of  hydroergotinine  was  injected  into  a  cock. 
This  injection  was  followed  by  a  typical  bluing  of  the  comb,  but 
the  animal  died  the  next  day.  A  similar  injection  of  o.oi  gram  of 
hydroergotinine  caused  bluing  of  the  comb,  but  the  animal  did  not 
die.  An  injection  of  the  same  amount  of  this  base  into  a  pregnant 
guinea  pig  caused  convulsions.  After  two  days  0.025  gm.  more 
was  injected  into  this  animal.  Twitchings  of  the  muscles  and  rest- 
lessness were  observed  and  four  days  later  immature  young  were 
