Am'juhur'i9ih9.rm'  J  Stability  of  Digitalis  Leaf  Extracts.  425 
OX  THE  STABILITY  OF  DIGITALIS  LEAF  EXTRACTS. 
(FIRST  PAPER.) 
By  James  M.  Schmidt  axd  Frederick  W.  Heyl, 
KALAMAZOO,  MICH. 
Chemists  have  not  vet  succeeded  in  agreeing  upon  the  chemistry 
of  digitalis  leaves  and  it  is  very  probable  that  the  question  will  re- 
main unsolved  until  the  fullest  pharmacological  assistance  is  brought 
into  closest  cooperation.  A  chemist  in  proceeding  with  work  upon 
a  lot  of  digitalis  leaves  ought  to  be  informed  upon  the  activity  of 
the  drug  and  of  various  extracts  such  as  the  water-soluble  and  water- 
insoluble  parts ;  of  the  ether  extract  and  of  the  chloroform  extract 
of  the  water-soluble  part.  Before  proceeding  with  the  study  of  any 
one  of  these  four  fractions  he  ought  to  have  a  precise  idea  of  what 
the  relative  toxicity  of  the  fraction  is,  and  also  whether  the  fraction 
retains  it  without  deterioration  during  the  study  thereof.  Further- 
more, he  ought  to  be  able  to  repeat  the  first  extractions  and  purifi- 
cations and  arrive  at  definite  crude  fractions  uniformly.  The  most 
significant  advances  might  be  made  if  the  efforts  of  chemists  were 
placed  upon  the  production  of  the  crude  fractions  of  somewhat 
constant  composition  rather  than  upon  the  study  of  refined  prod- 
ucts of  crude  material  which  they  either  did  not  prepare  themselves, 
or  which  they  have  not  in  the  first  place  prepared,  repeatedly  with 
some  degree  of  uniformity. 
Of  the  crude  fractions  which  offer  some  hope  of  positive  results 
we  have  above  all  the  ether  and  chloroform  extracts  of  the  water 
extract.  The  water  extract,  however,  has  been  prepared  by  dif- 
ferent methods,  and  consequently  the  constituents  of  these  extracts 
(with  the  possible  exception  of  digitoxin)  cannot  be  said  to  be 
understood. 
Schmiedeberg1  first  described  a  substance  designated  as  "  digitoxin." 
The  leaves  were  extracted  with  50  per  cent,  alcohol,  after  a  preliminary 
water  extraction.  The  alcoholic  extracts  were  clarified  with  lead  acetate, 
filtered,  and  the  filtrate  freed  from  the  excess  of  Pb  with  ammonia. 
After  again  filtering,  the  fluid  was  concentrated  to  remove  alcohol.  When 
the  alcohol  had  been  removed,  a  precipitate  separated  consisting  of  "  digi- 
toxin and  fat,  etc."  This  was  washed  with  dilute  soda  solution,  with  water 
and  dried.    The  dried  residue  thus  obtained  was  extracted  with  chloroform. 
1Arch.  f.  Path.  u.  Phann.,  3,  16  (1874). 
