214 
Digitalis.  Foxglove. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharui. 
May,  1913. 
digitoxin  during  keeping  would  have  a  tendency  to  make  the  drug 
appear  to  have  undergone  deterioration  when  tested  on  the  frog. 
On  the  other  hand,  such  a  change  would  not  materially  affect  the 
activity  of  the  drug  when  tested  by  the  cat  method,  for  in  this  the 
factor  of  absorption  is  entirely  eliminated.  The  statement  of  Focke 
that  it  is  in  the  first  few  weeks  after  harvest  that  digitalis  deterior- 
ates most  rapidly,  and  to  the  greatest  extent,  exactly  coincides 
with  the  explanation  just  offered. 
Conclusions. 
1.  Commercial  digitalis  leaves  of  good  quality  do  not  undergo 
any  deterioration  in  many  instances  as  the  result  of  age;  in  a  few 
cases  they  do  appear  to  have  deteriorated,  but  only  with  extreme 
slowness — at  a  rate  probably  not  exceeding  if/2  to  2  per  cent, 
a  year. 
2.  The  same  statement  holds  for  the  Pharmacopceial  prepara- 
tions made  with  a  menstruum  containing  at  least  50  per  cent,  of 
alcohol. 
3.  Heat  below  1200  C,  applied  for  a  reasonable  length  of  time, 
does  not  cause  deterioration"  in  digitalis  leaves,  aqueous  infusions, 
or  alcoholic  preparations ;  in  the  latter  case  even  though  the  prepa- 
ration be  reduced  to  a  soft  solid. 
4.  The  acetic  fluid  extract  of  digitalis  is  worthless. 
5.  Liquid  Digalen  is  decidedly  inferior  to  the  alcohol-containing 
galenical  preparations  of  digitalis  in  so  far  as  permanency  is 
concerned. 
DIGITALIS.  FOXGLOVE.1 
Common  Name:  Foxglove,  Purple  Foxglove.2 
By  John  Uri  Lloyd,  Phar.M. 
Digitalis  frequents  silicious  lands,  but  does  not  thrive  in  lime- 
stone soil.  It  is  native  to,  but  unequally  distributed,  over  such 
localities  as  the  Madeira  Islands,  Portugal,  Spain,  France,  Ger- 
1  Part  of  a  treatise  on  Digitalis  in  the  Lloyd  Laboratory  Series,  pub- 
lished in  advance. 
2  The  term  Digitalis  purpurea  is  not  precise.  The  earliest  references 
cite  that  its  flowers  range  from  white  to  purple,  and  it  is  a  matter  of  regret 
that  the  name  is  not  characteristic. 
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