^m•JaT^!£arm•}       Mydriatic  Alkaloid  in  Lettuce.  47 
from  the  pure  oxalate,  when  crystallized  from  chloroform,  closely 
resembled  hyoscyamine,  both  in  appearance  and  in  melting  point. 
The  aurochloride  was  then  produced  by  the  usual  methods,  and 
this,  after  recrystallization,  was  obtained  in  the  shining  flat  needles 
characteristic  of  the  aurochloride  of  hyoscyamine.  The  estimation 
of  the  gold  and  the  base  in  this  compound  showed  that  the  alkaloid 
was  one  of  three  isomeric  mydriatic  alkaloids  having  the  formula 
C17H23"N03,  while  its  melting  point  was  159-75°  (corr.),  and  closely 
corresponded  with  that  ascrtbed  by  Ladenburg  to  the  aurochloride 
of  hyoscyamine.  The  plant  does  not  appear  to  contain  a  second 
mydriatic  alkaloid,  although  it  must  be  remembered  that  only  small 
quantities  of  material  were  operated  upon. 
The  author  has  thus  shown  that  both  wild  and  cultivated  varieties 
•of  lettuce,  especially  when  the  flowering  stage  is  reached,  contain 
hyoscyamine,  the  mydriatic  alkaloid  occurring  in  Hyoscyamns  niger, 
Atropa  Belladonna  and  other  plants  belonging  to  the  natural  order 
Solanacece,  and  it  is  probable  that  to  the  presence  of  this  alkaloid 
the  sedative  and  anodyne  properties  of  extract  of  lettuce  are  due. 
That  this  important  constituent  has  been  until  now  overlooked,  is 
probably  due  to  the  fact  that  in  chemical  investigations  upon  let- 
tuce, the  dried  milk  sap,  lactucarium,  has  alone  been  examined, 
although  its  value  as  a  sedative  and  anodyne  is  by  no  means  estab- 
lished. The  author  found  that  lactucarium  of  both  English  and 
German  manufacture  was  devoid  of  mydriatic  properties  and  con- 
tained no  alkaloid  whatever. 
The  fact  that  lettuce  contains  a  poisonous  alkaloid  is  not  of  great 
importance  in  connection  with  its  use  as  a  vegetable,  since  it  is  only 
used  for  this  purpose  in  the  early  stages  of  its  growth,  before  the 
bitter  milk  has  been  produced,  when  the  hyoscyamine  is  only 
present,  if  at  all,  in  minute  quantities.  The  amount  of  mydriatic 
alkaloid  in  the  extract  prepared  from  garden  lettuce  when  in  flower 
is  not  more  than  -02  per  cent.  Nevertheless,  cases  have  been 
recorded  in  which  the  immoderate  consumption  of  lettuce  has  led 
to  unpleasant  and  even  fatal  results.  Lettuce  belongs  to  the  natural 
order  Composite?.  This  is  the  first  occasion  on  which  hyoscyamine 
has  been  found  in  plants  not  belonging  to  the  natural  order  Solanacece. 
The  author's  thanks  are  due  to  Messrs.  W.  Ransom  &  Son  and 
to  Messrs.  Wright,  Layman  and  Umney  for  furnishing  him  with 
specimens  and  information. 
