Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
A^rii,  1921. 
Scientific  Abstracts. 
287 
Muscarine:  An  Interesting  Alkaloid. — Muscarine,  although 
non-official  and  virulently  toxic,  is  nevertheless  an  alkaloid  of  no 
little  interest  physiologically.  As  the  active  principle  of  the  fungus 
Agaricus  muscarins,  it  has  often  caused  fatalities  by  being  mis- 
taken for  the  edible  fungus  Agaricus  campestris.  Again,  Brieger 
has  shown  that  muscarine  is  not  an  uncommon  product  of  albumi- 
nous decomposition  during  putrefaction.  It  can  therefore  be 
classed  as  a  ptomaine.  Lauder  Brunton  many  years  ago  suggested 
that  the  symptoms  of  muscarine  poisoning  were  closely  allied  to 
those  of  Asiatic  cholera,  from  which  he  concluded  that  the  antidote 
to  muscarine — atropine — would  prove  useful  in  that  disease.  Hav- 
ing excluded  mushroom  poisoning  in  cases  in  which  the  symptoms 
were  of  a  choleric  character,  he  gave  doses  either  of  belladonna 
by  the  mouth  or  atropine  hypodermically.  So  directly  successful 
were  the  results  that  the  use  of  atropine  as  a  cardiac  and  respira- 
tory stimulent  in  cholera  appealed  to  him  as  an  encouraging  method 
of  treatment.  The  inference  to  be  drawn  from  Brunton's  observa- 
tions is  that  muscarine  as  a  ptomaine  differs  in  some  respects  from 
the  alkaloid  derived  from  the  fungus.  (Med.  Press  and  Circular, 
Nov.  24,  1920,  through  The  Pharm.  Jour,  and  Pharmacist,  Jan.  29, 
1921.) 
Reaction  of  Benzoic  Acid  and  Its  Application  to  the 
Detection  of  Atropine,  Cocaine,  and  Stovaine.  M.  Guerbet. 
(/.  Pharm.  Chem.,  1920,  22,  321-323.) — The  reaction  described  de- 
pends on  the  conversion  of  the  benzoic  acid  into  a  mixture  of  nitro- 
benzoic  acids,  reduction  of  these  to  aminobenzoic  acids  which  are 
then  diazotised,  and  the  resulting  diazonium  compounds  condensed 
with  5-naphthol.  The  mixture  of  0-,  m-,  and  />-naphthol  azoben- 
zoic  acids  formed  has  an  orange-red  color.  The  test  may  be  used 
for  the  detection  of  atropine,  cocaine,  and  stovaine,  or  other  sub- 
stances containing  a  benzoyl  group  in  their  molecule.  The  details 
of  the  test  are  as  follows:  About  10  mgrms.  of  benzoic  acid  are 
mixed  on  a  watch-glass  with  5  drops  of  fuming  nitric  acid,  and 
evaporated  on  a  water-bath;  the  residue  is  treated  with  1  drop  of 
10  per  cent,  stannous  chloride  solution,  heated  for  three  minutes, 
cooled,  and  2  drops  of  1  per  cent,  sodium  nitrite  solution  are  added. 
After  a  few  minutes,  4  drops  of  a  1  per  cent.  £-naphthol  solution 
in  10  per  oent.  ammonia  are  added,  when  a  red  orange-colored  pre- 
