This identity was generally
admitted by all chemists. The pharmacologists, headed by Soubeiran,
Erhardt, Schroff, and Poehl, were much more reserved in their judgment.
I thought it as well, therefore, to recommence the study of daturine,
the more so as I had already determined the incorrectness of the
long accepted point of fusion of atropine, and that my researches on
hyoscyamine convinced me that this base is an isomer of atropine,
although very analogous to it. I have also shown that Merck's daturine
differs from atropine, and is merely pure hyoscyamine. A short time
afterward there appeared a paper by Schmidt which again asserted the
identity of daturine and atropine. I therefore requested Mr. Merck, of
Darmstadt, to send me all the bases which he obtained from datura. This
eminent manufacturer was good enough to comply with my request, and sent
me two products, one of which was marked "light daturine," the other
"heavy daturine," the separation of which was effected in the following
manner: The solution of crude daturine in concentrated alcohol was mixed
with a little hot water; this treatment caused the deposition of the
"heavy daturine," while the "light daturine" remained in the mother
liquor.
Pages:
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113