564  COMMERCIAL  ACONITINE. 
show  that  it  is  quite  distinct  from  the  product  of  Apis  mellifica. 
I  hope  to  give  the  results  of  a  chemical  investigation  to  a  futuie 
meeting  of  the  Conference. — Loncl.  Pharm.  Journ.,  Oct.,  1868. 
COMMERCIAL  ACONITINE. 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Pharmaceutical  Journal. 
Sir, — We  beg  to  hand  you  a  translation  of  a  paper  on  aconi- 
tine,  received  from  Mr.  Merck,  of  Darmstadt.  It  refers  to  a 
sample  which  we  had  sent  to  Mr.  Merck,  and  which  we  had  re- 
ceived from  a  first-class  house  here.  The  extraordinarily  low 
price  at  which  this  preparation  is  being  sold  lately  in  London 
induced  us  to  have  it  examined,  and  we  doubt  not  that  the  re- 
sult will  prove  of  interest  to  your  readers. 
We  remain,  Sir,  your  most  obedient  servants, 
Roller  &  Wldenmann. 
3,  Love  Lane,  Eastcheap,  London,  Sept.  7,  1868. 
The  sample  of  aconitine  received  from  London  differs  as 
against  my  preparation,  id  est  the  officinal  aconitine,  in  the  fol- 
lowing points  : — The  pure  officinal  aconitine  is  readily  soluble  in 
ether,  alcohol,  and  chloroform,  and  from  these  solutions  it  is 
obtainable  only  in  an  amorphous  resinous  mass,  but  by  no  means 
in  crystalline  form.  In  boiling  water  it  becomes  soft,  and  can 
be  kneaded.    Its  reaction  is  decidedly  alkaline. 
The  English  aconitine,  on  the  other  hand,  is  but  slightly  soluble 
in  ether,  and  also  much  less  soluble  in  alcohol  than  the  pure 
aconitine;  from  its  solution  in  boiling  alcohol  it  crystallizes 
readily  on  cooling.  It  is  also  difficultly  soluble  in  chloroform, 
and  in  boiling  water  it  does  not  become  soft,  but  remains  in  a 
pulverulent  condition.    Its  reaction  is  less  alkaline. 
If  the  aconitine  in  question  be  prepared  from  aconite  root 
(which  there  is  no  cause  to  doubt),  it  is  probably  identical  with 
aconelline  or  napelline,  since  both  these  bodies  are  found  in  the 
aconite  root,  and  they  are  very  similar  in  properties  to  the 
sample  in  question.  On  no  account,  however,  can  the  latter  be 
accepted  as  pure  aconitine. 
According  to  experiments  made  at  Paris  with  the  various 
aconitines  of  commerce,  the  crystalline  body  is  far  less  active 
then  the  amorphous  aconitine. — Pharm.  Journ.,  Oct.,  1868. 
