A^anuTry  Si3m'}  Digitalis  Gliicosides  and  Allied  Drugs.  27 
active  substance,  which  could  fully  replace  digitalis  leaves  and 
supplant  them  in  our  list  of  most  important  remedies.  However, 
the  work  of  Homolle,1  Quevenne,2  Walz,3  Nativelle,4  Schmiedeberg  5 
and  Kiliani G  has  led  to  the  isolation  of  a  number  of  digitalis  gluco- 
sides,  several  of  which  are  much  valued  in  therapeutics. 
From  the  work  of  the  above  named  authors  it  is  apparent  that 
the  digitalis  plant  contains  several  glucosides,  the  physiological 
action  of  which  varies  considerably,  both  qualitatively  and  quantita- 
tively. Therefore,  before  entering  upon  a  consideration  of  the 
practical  employment  of  digitalis  and  of  its  glucosides,  the  latter 
must  be  examined  more  closely  with  regard  to  their  chemical  com- 
position and  their  physiological  action.  This  is  imperative  for  the 
reason  that  the  nomenclature  adopted  by  different  authors  in  the 
literature  on  this  subject  has  led  to  such  confusion  as  is  scarcely 
met  with  in  any  other  field  of  pharmacy  or  pharmacology. 
The  first  digitalis  glucoside  to  attain  any  degree  of  impor- 
tance in  therapeutics  was  digitalin,  prepared  by  Homolle  (1845) 
from  the  leaves  of  Digitalis  purpurea.  Until  that  time  all  attempts 
to  isolate  an  active  principle  from  digitalis  had  been  unsuccessful. 
Thus  Borijean  7  in  1843,  onrv  two  years  before  the  publication  of 
Homolle's  work,  mistook  a  resinous  body  for  the  active  substance 
of  digitalis.  Homolle  himself  enumerates  the  following  as  his 
predecessors  in  the  field  of  research  regarding  digitalis:  Bidault, 
Planavia,  Leroyer,  Rein,  Haase,  Welding,  Dulong,  Henry,  Quevenne, 
and  Tromsdorff.  Homolle's  method  for  preparing  his  digitalin 
was  that  formerly  much  in  vogue  for  the  isolation  of  glucoside-like 
vegetable  substances.  Inis  method  consisted  in  clearing  the  aqueous 
extract  of  the  drug  with  subacetate  of  lead,  and  after  separation 
1  Homolle,  Journal  de  pharmacie  et  de  chimie  1845,  I,  p.  57. 
2  Homolle-Quevenne,  Neues  Repertorium  fur  Pharmazie,  Vol.  9,  p.  2.  Gazette 
des  hopitaux,  1850,  p.  53.    Union  medicale,  1851,  p.  69. 
3  Walz,  Jahrbuch  fur  praktische  Pharmazie,  Vol.  14,  p.  20;  Vol.  21,  p.  29, 
Vol.  24,  p.  86. 
4  Nativelle,  Journal  de  pharmacie  et  de  chimie  1869,  I,  p.  255 ;  1872,  II,  p. 
430;  1874,  II,  p.  81. 
5  Schmiedeberg,  Archiv  fur  experimentelle  Pathologie  und  Pharmakologie 
1875,  p.  16. — Neues  Repertorium  der  Pharmazie,  Vol.  24,  p.  89. 
6' Kiliani,  Archiv  der  Pharmazie  1892,  p.  250;   1896,  p.  273,  481;   1897,  p. 
425 ;  Berichte  der  deutschen  chemischen  Gesellschaft  Berlin,  1890,  p. 
1555;  1891,  p.  339  and  3951  ;  1898,  p.  2454  ;  1899,  p.  2196  and  2201. 
7Bonjean,  Journal  de  pharmacie  et  de  chimie  1843,  P-  23- 
