444  Color  Reaction  for  Aconite.         { Am)^1£iarm- 
ABSTRACTED  AND  REPRINTED 
ARTICLES 
A  COLOR  REACTION  FOR  ACONITE.* 
By  S.  Mallanneh,  M.  D.,  D.  P.  H. 
The  color  reactions  at  present  known  are  not  reactions  of  aconi- 
tine,  but  of  benzoic  acid,  which  is  one  of  the  products  of  decomposi- 
tion of  aconitine.  Hence  the  color  reactions  are  not  specific. 
Most  of  the  color  reactions  for  alkaloids  are  such  that  they 
are  useful  only  when  applied  to  pure  samples  of  alkaloids,  but  they 
are  of  no  use  when  applied  to  crude  substances  containing  alkaloids. 
In  medico-legal  cases,  especially  in  India,  the  poisoning  is  gen- 
erally caused  by  the  administration  of  crude  substances  in  the  form 
of  powdered  root,  bark,  or  seeds,  and  not  by  the  use  of  active  prin- 
ciples. If  the  quantity  of  the  vegetable  poison  present  in  the  stomach 
be  small,  as  is  generally  the  case  with  aconite,  it  is  next  to  impossible 
in  most  cases  to  get  a  sufficient  amount  of  alkaloid  extracted  in  or- 
der to  prove  the  presence  of  poison  by  means  of  experiments  on  ani- 
mals. 
In  India  the  vegetable  poison  also  undergoes  decomposition  so 
quickly  that  it  is  almost  impossible  to  detect' its  presence  in  a  dead 
body,  though  distinct  clinical  symptoms  of  poisoning  might  have 
been  present  before  death.  But  the  cause  of  the  failure  to  detect 
the  poison  in  such  cases  is  that,  up  to  date,  there  is  no  reliable  chem- 
ical test  known  for  aconite. 
As  the  result  of  my  experiments,  I  have  discovered  a  test  which 
I  think  is  very  useful  for  medico-legal  purposes.  If  a  minute  par- 
ticle of  potassium  ferricyanide  be  placed  close  to  a  minute  portion 
of  aconitine  or  a  small  portion  of  powdered  root  of  aconite,  and 
then  a  drop  of  formic  acid  added,  a  green  coloration  immediately 
appears.  This  is  every  delicate  reaction  as  1/8000  grain  of  aconi- 
tine gives  a  positive  reaction.  Heat  should  not  be  applied  for  this 
test. 
Morphine,  atropine,  digitalin,  strychnine,  eserine  and  hyoscya- 
*  Reprinted  from  The  Analyst,  May,  1921. 
