Am;'  Jour.  Pharni.  ) 
April,  1911.  / 
Keeping  Qualities  of  Ergot. 
173 
sample  of  crude  ergot  which  was  obtained  from  a  large  London  im- 
porter accompanied  with  the  statement  that  they  had  had  it  for  three 
years  and  that  they  obtained  it  in  turn  from  a  New  York  firm  who, 
to  their  certain  knowledge,  had  had  it  for  at  least  four  years,  and 
when  we  remember  that  the  New  York  firm  must  have  imported  the 
ergot  from  Europe,  so  that  it  was  at  least  one  or  two  years  old  when 
they  got  it,  it  is  evident  that  this  sample  of  ergot  was  nearly,  if  not 
quite,  ten  years  old.  The  specimen  consisted  largely  of  granular 
detritis,  evidence  of  the  ravages  of  insects,  and  the  letter,  comment- 
ing upon  the  appearance  of  it,  stated  with  a  delicious  naivete : 
"  If  sifted  it  would  look  presentable,  but  could  be  saleable  at  current 
prices  only  if  a  scarcity  came  along,  or  if  wanted  for  a  cutting  con- 
tract for  some  institution  !  " 
Sad  as  it  is  to  contemplate  this  disregard  of  our  national  standard, 
it  becomes  horrifying  when  we  consider  the  justness  of  that  standard, 
and  remember  the  uses  to  which  the  drug  is  put.  Griinfeld  obtained 
a  freshly  gathered  sample  of  ergot  which  he  tested  at  various  inter- 
vals during  a  year.  He  found  that  in  October  it  required  twice  the 
dose  to  produce  the  coxcomb  reaction  that  it  did  when  gathered  in 
August,  that  by  February  it  required  eight  times  the  dose,  and  by 
June  no  dose  would  produce  the  characteristic  effect.  He  does  not 
state  definitely  what  precautions  were  observed  in  keeping  the  ergot, 
and  my  own  experience  would  lead  me  to  believe  with  proper  care 
crude  ergot  can  be  preserved  more  successfully  than  in  his  experi- 
ments. His  work  shows,  howevei", 'the  absolute  necessity  of  using  as 
fresh  ergot  as  can  be  obtained. 
There  are  two  causes  for  the  loss  of  activity  in  ergot  :■  ( i )  the 
attacks  of  insects,  and  (2)  chemical  change  taking  place  in  its 
active  principles.  In  regard  to  the  first,  there  is  at  present  no  positive 
evidence  that,  if  the  ergot  is  sifted,  the  whole  grains  which  are  left 
upon  the  sieve  are  inferior  in  quahty'  to  ordinary'  ergot.  Moreover, 
it  is  comparatively  simple  to  protect  the  drug  against  these  enemies. 
A  little  chloroform  vapor  is  all  that  is  necessary. 
Concerning  the  change  which  takes  place  in  the  active  principles 
of  the  drug,  we  have  little  information  as  to  the  chemical  nature  of 
these  alterations  or  how  to  prevent  them.  Basing  my  conclusions 
upon  the  results  of  a  single  experiment,  I  have  advised  .that 
powdered  ergot  should  be  dried  for  48  hours  at  a  temperature  of  37° 
C.  and  then  hermetically  sealed,  a  little  chloi-oform  being  previously 
added  to  prevent  the  growth  of  any  mites. 
