Am.  Jour.  Pharro.  1 
May,  1909.  / 
Chemical  Assay  of  Ergot. 
217 
of  these  were  from  the  same  fluid  extract ;  those  marked  I  had  been 
kept  in  a  hermetically  sealed  bottle  and  retained  their  original 
potency,  while  those  marked  2  had  been  exposed  to  the  air  and  had 
lost  much  of  their  power.  It  will  be  noted  that  in  each  case  the 
percentage  of  benzole  extractive  diminished  as  did  the  physiological 
activity. 
Further  evidence  that  the  benzole  extracts  the  greater  portion  of 
the  active  principle  of  ergot  in  an  approximately  pure  condition  is 
found  by  comparing  the  dose  of  the  resultant  extractive  required  to 
produce  a  certain  amount  of  physiological  effect  with  that  which 
should  be  theoretically  necessary.  For  instance,  it  was  found  that 
0.00061  Gm.  per  kilo  of  the  extract  caused  a  rise  in  the  blood- 
pressure  of  10  mm.,  and  that  0.00105  Gm.  caused  a  rise  of  32  mm. 
Now  fluid  extract  B2,  which  in  doses  of  0.17  Gm.  per  kilo  gave  a 
rise  of  10,  contains  0.37  per  cent,  extractive  so  that  there  was  in 
the  dose  given  0.00063  Gm.  as  the  theoretical  requirement  to  compare 
with  the  figures  0.00061  found  experimentally.  Sample  Bi  gave  a 
rise  of  32  in  doses  of  0.16  Gm.  per  kilo,  and  contains  0.58  per  cent, 
extractive ;  therefore  we  have  a  theoretical  dose  of  0.00093  as  com- 
pared to  that  found  experimentally  of  0.00105. 
On  the  other  hand,  it  must  be  confessed  that  the  residue  left 
behind  after  extraction  with  benzole  was  not  inert,  that  is,  the  benzole 
had  not  completely  exhausted  the  drug;  and  no  amount  of  shaking 
out  nor  any  other  treatment  with  this  solvent  was  able  to  remove 
entirely  its  activity.  Evidently  there  is  a  second  principle,  perhaps 
an  alkaloid,  which  is  not  dissolved  by  the  benzole.  But  I  do  not 
think  this  fact  disproves  at  all  the  practical  value  of  the  method  of 
assay;  no  one  claims  that  morphine  is  the  sole  active  ingredient  of 
opium,  nor  that  the  brucine  in  nux  vomica  is  inert  and  the  marc 
after  the  assay  in  each  of  these  cases  must  be  physiologically  active. 
Now  a  few  words  as  to  the  nature  of  the  body  extracted  by  the 
benzole.  It  was  a  golden-yellow  resin-like  mass  soluble  in  ether, 
alcohol,  acetic  ether,  and  benzole;  insoluble  in  petroleum  ether, 
water,  or  dilute  acids,  but  readily  soluble  in  solutions  of  the  hydrox- 
ides apparently  with  chemical  change.  It  is  precipitated  from 
alkaline  solution  by  acids,  from  its  ethereal  or  benzole  solution  by 
petroleum  ether  or  sodium  hydroxide.  When  boiled  with  the  sodium 
hydroxide  in  a  porcelain  dish  a  cherry-red  color  appears  around 
the  edge  of  the  solution  and  the  solution  itself  changes  from  a 
golden-yellow  to  a  reddish-brown.    When  kept  for  some  time  the 
