392 
Constituents  of  Lobelia. 
f  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
\       Aug.,  1886. 
caused  by  drinking  spirits  is  gone.  On  the  west  coast  of  Africa, 
the  Mahometans  and  Arabs  surpass  the  natives  in  point  of  drinking 
capacity,  for  whilst  drinking  they  also  chew  kola,  and  so  anticipate 
the  after  ill-effects  otherwise  experienced,  and  prevent  them.  A  little 
supply  of  kola  nut,  I  would  suggest,  or  its  paste,  might  prove  a  use- 
ful help  to  the  professional  heads  of  our  hydropathic  establishments, 
serving  for  use  as  a  kiud  of  anti-periodic  against  those  attacks  of  al- 
coholic craving,  sometimes  leading  inmates  to  wander  forth  and  com- 
mit themselves  to  positively  dangerous  excesses.  The  kola  nut  con- 
tains very  considerable  quantities  of  caffeine  (over  two  per  cent.),  and 
also  some  theobromine,  and  it  forms  the  basis  of  a  stimulating  food 
(the  paste)  of  great  value. 
Dr.  A.  Hudson,  Medical  Inspector  of  the  United  States  Navy,  has 
recently  stated  in  a  letter  to  Dr.  Thomas  Christy,  of  London,  to 
whom  he  has  applied  for  an  experimental  supply  of  the  kola  paste, 
that  being  put  in  possession,  by  the  Surgeon-General  of  the  U.  S. 
Navy,  of  a  sample  of  the  paste,  he  had  employed  it  in  a  case  of 
mitral  disease,  with  granular  kidney  of  slow  progress,  the  average 
quantity  of  urea  contained  in  the  urine  being  about  half  the  normal. 
With  much  lassitude  and  malaise  there  were  intense  headaches  (pro- 
bably ursemic)  at  intervals  of  three  or  four  weeks,  and  some  dyspep- 
tic symptoms.  The  kola  was  given  economically  for  nearly  a  month, 
with  apparently  decided  benefit.  Certainly  the  tone  and  vigor  of  the 
patient  improved,  and  the  single  headache  which  occurred  within  six 
weeks  had  less  than  a  day's  duration,  and  was  of  a  mild  character. 
Synchronously  there  was  an  increase  in  the  amount  of  urea  excreted, 
as  well  as  the  quantity  of  urine. — Med.  Chronicle,  June,  1886. 
CONSTITUENTS  OF  LOBELIA. 
By  Hermann  yon  Rosen.  M.  D. 
Abstract  of  an  Inaugural  Dissertation,  University  of  Dorpat,  1886,  communicated  by  the 
Author. 
Lobelia  nicotiansefolia  is  indigenous  to  southern  and  western  India; 
the  infusion  of  the  leaves  is  used  as  an  antispasmodic.  The  lower 
part  of  the  stem  is  woody,  about  1J  inches  in  diameter;  the  upper 
part  is  hollow  and  tubular.  The  leaves  resemble  tobacco  leaves  in 
shape,  are  finely  toothed  and  hairy.  The  capsules  are  of  the  size  of 
a  pea,  two-celled,  and  contain  numerous  light  brown  seeds  which  are 
