38  Digitalis  Glucosides  and  Allied  Drugs.  { 
Am.  Jour.  Pharni. 
January,  1913. 
principle  of  Digitalis  purpurea;  he  obtained  it  by  steam  dis- 
tillation from  the  herb  in  the  form  of  yellowish-white  scales, 
which  glisten  like  mother-of-pearl,  soluble  in  alcohol  or  ether 
and  in  hot  water.  They  bore  a  strong  smell  characteristic 
of  dry  digitalis  leaves.  (Jahrbuch  fur  praktische  Pharmazie 
1852,  Vol.  24,  p.  86.) 
Digitasolin  was  the  name  at  first  given  by  Walz  to  his  digitalin. 
According  to  Wiggers,  however,  it  is  a  constituent  (compare 
Roscoe  and  Schorlemmer,  Lehrbuch  1901,  VI,  p.  682) 
of  (raw)  digitalin  Walz,  which  Walz  subsequently  divided 
into  (what  he  called)1  true,  pure  digitalin,  digitalicrin  and 
digitalosin.  He  gave  the  melting  point  of  his  pure  digitalin 
as  1750  C,  and  the  melting  point  of  digitalosin  as  137. 50  C. 
(Compare  Wiggers,  Canstatt's  Jahresberichte  1850,  Vol.  10, 
P-  23.)  ^ 
Digitin  Nativelle  was  described  by  Nativelle  as  a  crystalline  sub- 
stance, insoluble  in  water,  which  possessed  neither  taste  nor 
physiological  action.  It  was  prepared  by  the  author  from 
digitalis  leaves  and  cannot  therefore  be  identified  with  digitin 
(Moniteur  scientifique  1874,  p.  822.) 
Digitoflavone  is  a  yellow  pigment  present  in  digitalis  leaves ;  it 
forms  crystals  and  is  identical  with  luteolin.  (Fleischer,  Dis- 
sertation Freiburg  1898.  Berichte  der  deutschen  chemischen 
Gesellschaft  Berlin  1899,  p.  1184  and  1901,  p.  1453.) 
Digitogenin  is  a  substance  which  has  the  formula  C30  H4S  Os,  or 
Cj$0  H50  Oe,  formed  by  hydrolysis  from  digitonin ;  it  crystallises 
in  fine  needles  and  melts  at  a  temperature  above  2500  C. 
Compare  page  30.  (Archiv.  der  Pharmazie  1892,  p.  261  and 
1893,  p.  448. — Berichte  der  deutschen  chemischen  Gesellschaft 
Berlin  1890,  p.  1555,  1891,  p.  339  and  3951,  1899,  p.  2201 
1901,  p.  3562. — Archiv  fur  experimentelle  Pathologie,  Vol. 
3,  P-  24.) 
Digitogenic  acid,  according  to  Kiliani,  is  an  a-ketonic  acid,  and 
is  formed  by  the  oxidation  of  digitogenin  by  means  of  chromic 
acid.  It  is  a  dibasic  acid  of  the  formula  C28  H44  Og.  (Berichte 
der  deutschen  chemischen  Gesellschaft  Berlin  1891,  p.  343 
and  1899,  p.  2203. — Archiv  der  Pharmazie  1893,  p.  448  and 
1899,  p.  466.) 
/^-Digitogenic  acid,  C28  H44  Og,  is  formed  by  heating  digitogenic 
acid  to    1600    C.     Colorless   crystals   melting  at    105 0  C. 
