34  Digitalis  Glucosides  and  Allied  Drugs.  {A  jj™rr}:  \^m- 
of  hydrochloric  acid.  (Compare  Roscoe  and  Schorlemmer, 
Lehrbuch  der  organischen  Chemie  1901,  part  6,  p.  682.)  The 
portion  of  raw  digitalin  Walz  insoluble  in  ether  and  water 
was  also  included  under  the  name  of  digitaletin.  (Conf.  p.  29.) 
Digitalicrin,  according  to  VViggers  (Canstatt's  Annual  Reports 
1850,  Vol.  10,  p.  23),  is  a  constituent  of  digitalin  Walz  (raw 
digitalin),  a  substance  with  an  acrid  and  harsh  taste,  of 
the  formula  Clt  H20  Os. 
Digitalid,  digitalidine  and  digitalosin  are  substances  which  Homolle, 
in  his  later  publications,  states  that  he  found  in  the  leaves 
of  digitalis  besides  his  digitalin.  (Roscoe  and  Schorlemmer, 
Lehrbuch  der  organischen  Chemie  1901,  part  6,  p.  682.) 
Digitaligenin  is  a  crystalline  body  corresponding  to  the  formula 
C22  H30  03,  melting  at  about  21 1°  C,  and  formed  in  the  de- 
composition of  digitalin  Kiliani.  This  preparation  is  soluble 
in  alcohol  and  insoluble  in  water,  and  is  said  to  have  no 
physiological  action.  (Kiliani,  Archiv  der  Pharmazie  1892, 
p.  250.  Berichte  der  deutschen  chemischen  Gesellschaft  Berlin 
1898,  p.  2454.) 
Digitalin  with  no  other  specification  is  a  vague  term,  and  should 
be  avoided  in  the  literature  and  in  practice  in  order  to  eliminate 
a  source  of  errors  and  of  confusion.  The  same  applies  to 
digitalinum  and  digitaline. 
Digitalin,  amorphous.  This  designation  is  probably  chiefly  intended 
to  cover  digitalinum  Gallicum  (digitaline  chloroformique)  of 
the  French  pharmacopoeias  of  1866  and  1895,  a  substance  which 
is  completely  soluble  in  chloroform.  But  it  must  be  remem- 
bered that  digitalinum  verum  and  digitalinum  Germanicum 
are  also  amorphous. 
Digitalin  (um)  crystallisatum  has  so  far  been  used  as  a  synonymous 
term  for  digitonin.  As  this  is  misleading  it  would  be  better 
to  avoid  its  use  altogether.  In  commerce,  however,  names 
which  have  once  been  introduced  are  difficult  to  get  rid  of. 
Kiliani  objected  to  the  term  "  digitalin  cryst."  as  early  as 
1891.  (Berichte  der  deutschen  chemischen  Gesellschaft 
Berlin  1891,  p.  3953.) 
Digitalin  Henry  was  a  mixture  of  glucosides  from  digitalis  leaves. 
(Journal  de  pharmacie  et  de  chimie  1845,  I>  P-  460.) 
Digitalin  Homolle  is  a  mixture  of  glucosides  and  their  products 
of  decomposition  contained  in  digitalis  leaves,  and  is  practically 
insoluble  in  water.    (Conf.  p.  28.) 
