Materia medica and therapeutics : for physicians and students . comes bitterish, acridand disagreeable. It yields its virtues to water and alcohol, anddoes not keep well, being liable to the attacks of a minute deteriorates much more rapidly in powder than when in grain,in the former condition soon becoming inert. Numerous analyses have been made of ergot, but there is stillsome uncertainty as regards its active principles, though this isgradually growing less. The investigations of Dragendorff seemto show that the specific effects of the drug depend in a highdegree upon a proximate pr
Materia medica and therapeutics : for physicians and students . comes bitterish, acridand disagreeable. It yields its virtues to water and alcohol, anddoes not keep well, being liable to the attacks of a minute deteriorates much more rapidly in powder than when in grain,in the former condition soon becoming inert. Numerous analyses have been made of ergot, but there is stillsome uncertainty as regards its active principles, though this isgradually growing less. The investigations of Dragendorff seemto show that the specific effects of the drug depend in a highdegree upon a proximate principle of an acid character, to whichthe name of sclerotic acid is given. It is odorless and tasteless,soluble in water and boiling alcohol, but not at all in coldalcohol. Good ergot contains about 4 to per cent, of the most reliable investigations upon this question are those of 262 MATERIA MEDICA NEUROTICS. Robert,* which point to the following conclusions: viz., that ergotdoes not owe its ecbolic power to ergotinic acid, which has no Fig. SECALK CEREALE. A, A, ERGOT. influence on the uterus, but that spliacelinic acid, a resinous bodyinsoluble in water, never failed to produce powerful contractions * The Practitioner, Dec, 1885, p. 414; and Arch, filr Exp. Pathol, u. Phar-niakol., 1884, XVII, p. 316. i SPINANTS ERGOT. 263 in the gravid uterus, while coniiitin, gr. ^g, either in the pregnantor non-pregnant uterus, Hkewise exhibited the same action. Ac-cording to this obser\er, the only active preparation is one con-taining both cornutin and sphacelinic acid, and, finally, that nosample of ergot, either European or American, retained its virtuesfor more than 12 months. Ergot also contains scleroimicin (2 to 3per cent.), sclcrerythcrm, sclcroiodin, picrosclerotin (poisonous),sclerocrystallin, and scleroxanthiu (inert), and an alkaloid, crgo-tininc (Maisch). Physiological Effects.—The effects of ergot are not well under-stood, especially as regards its actio
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