Post by fEAlEAtArO on Dec 4, 2007 1:53:34 GMT -5
King's American Dispensatory, 1898, was written by Harvey Wickes Felter, M.D., and John Uri Lloyd, Phr. M., Ph. D.
Preparations: Alcoholic Extract of Belladonna Leaves/Root - Tincture of Belladonna Leaves - Belladonna Ointment - Belladonna Liniment - Juice of Belladonna - Belladonna Plaster - Compound Plaster of Belladonna - Pills of Aloin, Strychnine, and Belladonna - Pills of Podophyllum, Belladonna, and Capsicum
Related entries: Atropina (U. S. P.)—Atropine - Atropinae Sulphas (U. S. P.)—Atropine Sulphate - Duboisia.—Duboisia - Hyoscyamus (U. S. P.)—Hyoscyamus - Stramonium.—Stramonium
I. BELLADONNAE FOLIA (U. S. P.), Belladonna Leaves.—"The leaves of Atropa Belladonna, Linné"—(U. S. P.).
II. BELLADONNAE RADIX (U. S. P.), Belladonna Root.—"The root of Atropa Belladonna, Linné"—(U. S. P.).
Nat. Ord.—Solanaceae.
COMMON NAMES: Deadly nightshade, Dwale, Black cherry.
Botanical Source.—Atropa Belladonna is a perennial herb, with a thick, branched, fleshy, creeping root, and annual, erect, round, dichotomously branched, leafy, slightly downy stems, about 3 feet high. The leaves are lateral, mostly two together, of unequal size, ovate, acute, entire, soft, of a dull-green color, smooth and borne on short petioles. The flowers are imperfectly axillary, solitary, stalked, large, drooping, dark, dull-purple in the border, paler downward. The calyx is green, 5-parted, permanent, and nearly equal. The corolla is campanulate, with a short tube, and limb divided into 5, shallow, nearly equal segments. Stamens 5; filaments nearly as long as the corolla tube; anthers cordate and 4-lobed; stigma capitate and 2-lobed. The fruit is a 2-celled, many-seeded berry, subtended by the enlarged calyx; it contains reniform seeds (L.—Smith). When bruised the whole plant exhales a fetid odor.
History.—This plant is common to Europe, growing among ruins and in waste places, blossoming from May to August, and maturing its berries in September. It is also found as far east as Central Asia. It is often found growing in woodlands, and especially in the woods of high elevations, as of mountains. It is cultivated to some extent in this country, in France, and in Britain. The whole plant possesses poisonous properties. The leaves must be gathered while the plant is in flower. The British Pharmacopoeia directs the leaves (gathered at the beginning of the fruiting season and separated from the stems, and dried with care) of the wild or cultivated plants growing in Britain. The British or imported dried German root is directed under Belladonnae Radix. Leaves in as fresh a state as possible should be employed, as the older leaves are said to absorb moisture, causing decomposition of the active constituents, with the liberation of ammonia. The stems should be rejected, also musty leaves, if the herb is desired for the preparation of the alkaloids, or if a full-strength preparation is desired. The leaves yield their virtues readily to alcohol and water. The root should be taken up in the spring or late autumn from plants at least three years old. In the recent state it is pulpy and juicy.
Description.—The U. S. P. demands belladonna leaves and root conforming to the following description:
BELLADONNAE FOLIA (U. S. P.), Belladonna Leaves.—"Leaves from 10 to 15) Cm. (4 to 6 inches) long, from 5 to 10 Cm. (2 to 4 inches) broad, broadly ovate, equilaterally narrowed into a petiole, tapering at the apex, entire on the margin, smooth, thin, the upper surface brownish-green, the lower surface grayish-green, both surfaces whitish punctate; odor slight; taste bitterish, disagreeable"—(U. S. P.).
BELLADONNAE RADIX (U. S. P.), Belladonna Root.—"In cylindrical, somewhat tapering, longitudinally-wrinkled pieces, 10 to 25 Mm. (2/5 to 1 inch) or more in thickness; externally brownish-gray, internally whitish; fracture nearly smooth and mealy, not radiating or showing medullary rays in the thicker roots, only in the layer near the bark; nearly inodorous; taste sweetish, afterward bitterish, and strongly acrid. Roots which are tough and woody, breaking with a splintery fracture, should be rejected; likewise the hollow stem-bases which are sometimes present"—(U. S. P.).
The following excellent descriptions, are kindly allowed for publication by the firm of Johnson & Johnson, being extracts from the monograph on belladonna, edited by Dr. F. B. Kilmer:
BELLADONNA LEAVES.—Macroscopically: "Belladonna leaves are of two sizes, the larger about 1 1/2 d. m. long, the smaller being about one-half this size. They are brownish-green upon the upper surface and gray-green below, broadly ovate or ovate-long, narrowed into a petiole; apex acute or acuminate; margin entire, the petioles and nerves of the underside of the leaf particularly are downy, hairy, and glandulous. Both surfaces of the leaf possess trichomes, numerous cells are apparent, filled with crystal-like contents, giving the leaf the peculiar spotted appearance it possesses. The leaf is membranaceous, odor narcotic, and taste bitter and disagreeable.
Microscopically: "The epidermal cells, on making a surface section, appear undulating. On the under surface the stomata are more numerous, near to which arise trichomes, which tend to cover and protect the stomata by preventing too great evaporation and so assist the work of transpiration. The hairs are of three kinds: (a) Simple-jointed cells; (b) short, glandular cells, with one or more (3 to 4) celled apex; (c) hairs with long stalks and a spherical-celled apex. In the mesophyll are cells containing an innumerable number of granule-like or crystal-like bodies.
Belladonna Leaves of the Market: "As found in the market, belladonna leaves, especially the finer grades, when crumpled or broken up, look very much like the mints, but are easily distinguished from them by the narcotic odor and disagreeably bitter taste. They also resemble somewhat the narcotic herbs, stramonium and hyoscyamus, but from these may be easily distinguished.
"Belladonna leaves, compared to the other official leaves of the Solanaceae, are comparatively smooth and the margin is entire. The upper surface is darker than the lower surface. The undeveloped fruit, a calyx with an unripe berry, is often present.
"Stramonium leaves are dark-green and not quite so smooth as belladonna, the hairs shorter, with a many-celled apex, and in the mesophyll are numerous cells containing large, single crystals of calcium oxalate. The perforations and cork formations in the leaves are numerous. The base of the leaf is unequal and does not taper into a petiole. The fruit is a capsule, and very often a few reniform seeds will be found present.
"Hyoscyamus leaves are furnished with long hairs, which tend to become tangled and matted, so giving the leaf a hairy appearance. There is an absence of petiole and a presence of stem-stalks. The fruit is a pyxis enclosed in an urn-shaped calyx. The seeds are much smaller than stramonium.
"Solanum nigrum leaves are much smaller than belladonna, with a repand dentate margin (Wigand).
BELLADONNA ROOT.—Macroscopic characters. "The root of belladonna is a fleshy, spindle-shaped, primary root. When fresh it is about 5 decimeters long, and about 5 centimeters in diameter. It then possesses a number of stout branches, the remnants of which are sometimes seen attached to pieces of commercial root. The bark contains the largest amount of alkaloid, therefore roots are selected by careful buyers which possess the larger portion of bark compared to the woody portion. Young roots of but 2 or 3 years are preferred. Chemical analysis shows that the amount of alkaloid in roots collected about the time of flowering is twice as much as in spring, so roots should be collected about the flowering and fruiting season, carefully dried and preserved.
The commercial root, to hasten the drying, is invariably split into smaller pieces. It occurs in rough, irregular pieces, from a few inches in length to 6, 8, or even 12 and 15 inches, varying in diameter according as the root is split. Externally, it is longitudinally wrinkled, of a pale-brown, or grayish color; internally, brownish, or whitish; odor heavy and licorice-like; taste peculiar, characteristic, sweet at first, and afterward acrid or bitter. The fracture may be mealy, born-like, or woody, and from these characters may be distinguished 3 commercial varieties:
1. Mealy Belladonna.—"Is lighter externally and internally than the other two, and on cross-section it is of a nearly uniform, dirty-white appearance. The bark is about 1/7 of the cross-section. At the periphery of the fundamental tissue of the pith are yellowish, vascular bundles scattered apparently indiscriminately. These finally disappear beyond the cambium. Starch is present throughout all the cells of the wood and bark, which is colored blue by iodine. In spring and autumn roots the starch is present in the largest amount.
2. Horn-like Belladonna.—"Is very dark. On cross-section it looks brownish and waxy, or horn-like. The bark is separated by an indistinct cambium from the woody portion, of which the fibro-vascular bundles are arranged in single groups, and separated from each other by one or more broad bands of a horn-like tissue (keratrenchym). In the tissues of both the wood and bark occur numerous cells filled with crystal-like contents, appearing to the eye as white spots. This variety looks more like inula root, and is much smaller generally than the other two. The starch grains are replaced by a dark, resinous material.
3. Woody Belladonna.—"This form possesses characters between the other two. The color is more of a light-brown or gray. In cross-section the bark resembles the horn-like variety. Inside of the cambium ring is found a prominent radiating, woody zone, with the largest duct in the very center. The wood bundles have prominent, yellow ducts, and are separated by equally prominent, broad medullary rays. This variety is generally figured in text-books. Starch grains are not so numerous as in the mealy variety, still they are abundant.
Microscopically.—The cork consists of thin layer of cells, next to which is arranged the cortex. In the latter are numerous cells filled with crystal-like particles, called by Wigand krystallmehl, and by Moeller krystallsand. These are very common characteristics in both the roots and the leaves of belladonna. The sieve tubes are scarcely perceptible in the bark of young roots, but later are formed in groups more or less wedge-shaped like the wood bundles. These sieve tubes show a beautiful sieve plate in longitudinal section. Stone cells are wanting. As regards the bast in belladonna authors disagree. Wigand (4th ed., 1887) mentions the presence of bast. Prof. Schrenck announced in the American Druggist (1887, p. 2) that he had detected bast cells in belladonna root, but found it necessary to remove the starch and stain the cells. The writer examined a mount made by Prof. Schrenck from the belladonna root of commerce (October 16, 1886) mounted in glycerin jelly, and stained apparently with phloroglucin, and readily made out, bast cells. Upon further investigation he found it unnecessary to use clearing and staining agents to discover them. The ducts are provided with elliptical pores. The wood bundles are surrounded by wood parenchyma (colored yellow by potassium hydroxide solution), the bundles separated from each other by radially broad, medullary rays. Both the wood and bast parenchyma contain starch. The starch grains are of medium size, in shape round, irregular or hemispherical, or even 2 or 3-sided; single and sometimes compounded of 2 or 4 starch grains. Some of the grains possess a distinct cross-cleft or a stone-like nucleus; in others, however, the stratifications are scarcely apparent. With sulphuric acid alone large numbers of prismatic crystals are produced. With sulphuric acid and bichromate of potassium a greenish coloration is immediately produced, remaining sometimes 24 hours or more" (Kilmer, in Belladonna).
Chemical Composition.—The chief and most interesting constituent of belladonna is the alkaloid atropine (C17H23NO3) (see Atropina), first obtained in crystalline condition from the root by Mein and from the herb by Geiger and Hesse (Pharmacographia). On the history and constituents of this plant Dr. Kilmer, the editor of "Belladonna" (Johnson & Johnson), offers the following data herewith:
"Galen is the first author who refers unquestionably to the mydriatic action of two species of Solanaceae. Dr. Ray, in 1686, reported the case of a lady who had placed a belladonna leaf upon a small ulcer beneath the eye and afterwards was annoyed by an excessive dilatation of the pupil. Evers independently, in 1773, discovered the mydriatic power of belladonna. These writers were followed by Davies (1775) and Loder (1796). After this the specific action of belladonna, upon the eye became generally accepted. Runge, in 1819, approximately isolated the alkaloid of hyoscyamus and called it koromegyn (meaning magnifier of pupil). In 1830 the apothecary Mein isolated the alkaloid atropine from the root. Independently Geiger and Hesse, in 1832, isolated the crystallized alkaloid from the herb, while Liebig, in 1833, determined its chemical formula"—(Belladonna).
The main constituents of belladonna are as follows: Atropine (C17H23NO3) (see Atropina). Hyoscyamine (C17H23NO3), sometimes the principal constituent of belladonna root. It is convertible into atropine by heat; conversion also takes place in the plant itself. Atropamine (C17H21NO2) is identical with the apoatropine obtained by Pesci, in 1882, by the action of nitric acid upon atropine (O. Hesse, 1893). It is convertible into belladonnine by the action of HCl or KOH. Belladonnine (C17H21NO2) (Hübschmann) is an amorphous alkaloid, and is obtainable from hyoscyamine or atropine by heating these alkaloids from 120° to 130° C. (248° to 266° F) for several hours. By raising the temperature gradually, transformation takes place with products resulting in the following order: Hyoscyamine, atropine, atropamine, and belladonnine. Ɣ Hyoscine (Cl7H17NO4), discovered by Ladenburg in Hyoscyamus niger, occurs in belladonna root in small amounts (Schuette, 1892). O. Hesse, in 1893, showed its identity with scopolamine, an alkaloid obtained from the root of Scopolia atropoides, B. and P. (S. carniolica, for which E. Schmidt, in 1892, had found the formula, C17H21NO4. Earlier analyses show the presence in belladonna of chrysatropic acid (Kunz), the concentrated solutions of which show green and blue fluorescence, atrosin, a red-coloring principle in the root (Hübschmann), succinic acid in the herb, malates, and oxalates, combined with sodium, potassium and magnesium salts, gum, wax, asparagin, chlorophyll (in the leaves), starch, and albuminous bodies.
Preparations: Alcoholic Extract of Belladonna Leaves/Root - Tincture of Belladonna Leaves - Belladonna Ointment - Belladonna Liniment - Juice of Belladonna - Belladonna Plaster - Compound Plaster of Belladonna - Pills of Aloin, Strychnine, and Belladonna - Pills of Podophyllum, Belladonna, and Capsicum
Related entries: Atropina (U. S. P.)—Atropine - Atropinae Sulphas (U. S. P.)—Atropine Sulphate - Duboisia.—Duboisia - Hyoscyamus (U. S. P.)—Hyoscyamus - Stramonium.—Stramonium
I. BELLADONNAE FOLIA (U. S. P.), Belladonna Leaves.—"The leaves of Atropa Belladonna, Linné"—(U. S. P.).
II. BELLADONNAE RADIX (U. S. P.), Belladonna Root.—"The root of Atropa Belladonna, Linné"—(U. S. P.).
Nat. Ord.—Solanaceae.
COMMON NAMES: Deadly nightshade, Dwale, Black cherry.
Botanical Source.—Atropa Belladonna is a perennial herb, with a thick, branched, fleshy, creeping root, and annual, erect, round, dichotomously branched, leafy, slightly downy stems, about 3 feet high. The leaves are lateral, mostly two together, of unequal size, ovate, acute, entire, soft, of a dull-green color, smooth and borne on short petioles. The flowers are imperfectly axillary, solitary, stalked, large, drooping, dark, dull-purple in the border, paler downward. The calyx is green, 5-parted, permanent, and nearly equal. The corolla is campanulate, with a short tube, and limb divided into 5, shallow, nearly equal segments. Stamens 5; filaments nearly as long as the corolla tube; anthers cordate and 4-lobed; stigma capitate and 2-lobed. The fruit is a 2-celled, many-seeded berry, subtended by the enlarged calyx; it contains reniform seeds (L.—Smith). When bruised the whole plant exhales a fetid odor.
History.—This plant is common to Europe, growing among ruins and in waste places, blossoming from May to August, and maturing its berries in September. It is also found as far east as Central Asia. It is often found growing in woodlands, and especially in the woods of high elevations, as of mountains. It is cultivated to some extent in this country, in France, and in Britain. The whole plant possesses poisonous properties. The leaves must be gathered while the plant is in flower. The British Pharmacopoeia directs the leaves (gathered at the beginning of the fruiting season and separated from the stems, and dried with care) of the wild or cultivated plants growing in Britain. The British or imported dried German root is directed under Belladonnae Radix. Leaves in as fresh a state as possible should be employed, as the older leaves are said to absorb moisture, causing decomposition of the active constituents, with the liberation of ammonia. The stems should be rejected, also musty leaves, if the herb is desired for the preparation of the alkaloids, or if a full-strength preparation is desired. The leaves yield their virtues readily to alcohol and water. The root should be taken up in the spring or late autumn from plants at least three years old. In the recent state it is pulpy and juicy.
Description.—The U. S. P. demands belladonna leaves and root conforming to the following description:
BELLADONNAE FOLIA (U. S. P.), Belladonna Leaves.—"Leaves from 10 to 15) Cm. (4 to 6 inches) long, from 5 to 10 Cm. (2 to 4 inches) broad, broadly ovate, equilaterally narrowed into a petiole, tapering at the apex, entire on the margin, smooth, thin, the upper surface brownish-green, the lower surface grayish-green, both surfaces whitish punctate; odor slight; taste bitterish, disagreeable"—(U. S. P.).
BELLADONNAE RADIX (U. S. P.), Belladonna Root.—"In cylindrical, somewhat tapering, longitudinally-wrinkled pieces, 10 to 25 Mm. (2/5 to 1 inch) or more in thickness; externally brownish-gray, internally whitish; fracture nearly smooth and mealy, not radiating or showing medullary rays in the thicker roots, only in the layer near the bark; nearly inodorous; taste sweetish, afterward bitterish, and strongly acrid. Roots which are tough and woody, breaking with a splintery fracture, should be rejected; likewise the hollow stem-bases which are sometimes present"—(U. S. P.).
The following excellent descriptions, are kindly allowed for publication by the firm of Johnson & Johnson, being extracts from the monograph on belladonna, edited by Dr. F. B. Kilmer:
BELLADONNA LEAVES.—Macroscopically: "Belladonna leaves are of two sizes, the larger about 1 1/2 d. m. long, the smaller being about one-half this size. They are brownish-green upon the upper surface and gray-green below, broadly ovate or ovate-long, narrowed into a petiole; apex acute or acuminate; margin entire, the petioles and nerves of the underside of the leaf particularly are downy, hairy, and glandulous. Both surfaces of the leaf possess trichomes, numerous cells are apparent, filled with crystal-like contents, giving the leaf the peculiar spotted appearance it possesses. The leaf is membranaceous, odor narcotic, and taste bitter and disagreeable.
Microscopically: "The epidermal cells, on making a surface section, appear undulating. On the under surface the stomata are more numerous, near to which arise trichomes, which tend to cover and protect the stomata by preventing too great evaporation and so assist the work of transpiration. The hairs are of three kinds: (a) Simple-jointed cells; (b) short, glandular cells, with one or more (3 to 4) celled apex; (c) hairs with long stalks and a spherical-celled apex. In the mesophyll are cells containing an innumerable number of granule-like or crystal-like bodies.
Belladonna Leaves of the Market: "As found in the market, belladonna leaves, especially the finer grades, when crumpled or broken up, look very much like the mints, but are easily distinguished from them by the narcotic odor and disagreeably bitter taste. They also resemble somewhat the narcotic herbs, stramonium and hyoscyamus, but from these may be easily distinguished.
"Belladonna leaves, compared to the other official leaves of the Solanaceae, are comparatively smooth and the margin is entire. The upper surface is darker than the lower surface. The undeveloped fruit, a calyx with an unripe berry, is often present.
"Stramonium leaves are dark-green and not quite so smooth as belladonna, the hairs shorter, with a many-celled apex, and in the mesophyll are numerous cells containing large, single crystals of calcium oxalate. The perforations and cork formations in the leaves are numerous. The base of the leaf is unequal and does not taper into a petiole. The fruit is a capsule, and very often a few reniform seeds will be found present.
"Hyoscyamus leaves are furnished with long hairs, which tend to become tangled and matted, so giving the leaf a hairy appearance. There is an absence of petiole and a presence of stem-stalks. The fruit is a pyxis enclosed in an urn-shaped calyx. The seeds are much smaller than stramonium.
"Solanum nigrum leaves are much smaller than belladonna, with a repand dentate margin (Wigand).
BELLADONNA ROOT.—Macroscopic characters. "The root of belladonna is a fleshy, spindle-shaped, primary root. When fresh it is about 5 decimeters long, and about 5 centimeters in diameter. It then possesses a number of stout branches, the remnants of which are sometimes seen attached to pieces of commercial root. The bark contains the largest amount of alkaloid, therefore roots are selected by careful buyers which possess the larger portion of bark compared to the woody portion. Young roots of but 2 or 3 years are preferred. Chemical analysis shows that the amount of alkaloid in roots collected about the time of flowering is twice as much as in spring, so roots should be collected about the flowering and fruiting season, carefully dried and preserved.
The commercial root, to hasten the drying, is invariably split into smaller pieces. It occurs in rough, irregular pieces, from a few inches in length to 6, 8, or even 12 and 15 inches, varying in diameter according as the root is split. Externally, it is longitudinally wrinkled, of a pale-brown, or grayish color; internally, brownish, or whitish; odor heavy and licorice-like; taste peculiar, characteristic, sweet at first, and afterward acrid or bitter. The fracture may be mealy, born-like, or woody, and from these characters may be distinguished 3 commercial varieties:
1. Mealy Belladonna.—"Is lighter externally and internally than the other two, and on cross-section it is of a nearly uniform, dirty-white appearance. The bark is about 1/7 of the cross-section. At the periphery of the fundamental tissue of the pith are yellowish, vascular bundles scattered apparently indiscriminately. These finally disappear beyond the cambium. Starch is present throughout all the cells of the wood and bark, which is colored blue by iodine. In spring and autumn roots the starch is present in the largest amount.
2. Horn-like Belladonna.—"Is very dark. On cross-section it looks brownish and waxy, or horn-like. The bark is separated by an indistinct cambium from the woody portion, of which the fibro-vascular bundles are arranged in single groups, and separated from each other by one or more broad bands of a horn-like tissue (keratrenchym). In the tissues of both the wood and bark occur numerous cells filled with crystal-like contents, appearing to the eye as white spots. This variety looks more like inula root, and is much smaller generally than the other two. The starch grains are replaced by a dark, resinous material.
3. Woody Belladonna.—"This form possesses characters between the other two. The color is more of a light-brown or gray. In cross-section the bark resembles the horn-like variety. Inside of the cambium ring is found a prominent radiating, woody zone, with the largest duct in the very center. The wood bundles have prominent, yellow ducts, and are separated by equally prominent, broad medullary rays. This variety is generally figured in text-books. Starch grains are not so numerous as in the mealy variety, still they are abundant.
Microscopically.—The cork consists of thin layer of cells, next to which is arranged the cortex. In the latter are numerous cells filled with crystal-like particles, called by Wigand krystallmehl, and by Moeller krystallsand. These are very common characteristics in both the roots and the leaves of belladonna. The sieve tubes are scarcely perceptible in the bark of young roots, but later are formed in groups more or less wedge-shaped like the wood bundles. These sieve tubes show a beautiful sieve plate in longitudinal section. Stone cells are wanting. As regards the bast in belladonna authors disagree. Wigand (4th ed., 1887) mentions the presence of bast. Prof. Schrenck announced in the American Druggist (1887, p. 2) that he had detected bast cells in belladonna root, but found it necessary to remove the starch and stain the cells. The writer examined a mount made by Prof. Schrenck from the belladonna root of commerce (October 16, 1886) mounted in glycerin jelly, and stained apparently with phloroglucin, and readily made out, bast cells. Upon further investigation he found it unnecessary to use clearing and staining agents to discover them. The ducts are provided with elliptical pores. The wood bundles are surrounded by wood parenchyma (colored yellow by potassium hydroxide solution), the bundles separated from each other by radially broad, medullary rays. Both the wood and bast parenchyma contain starch. The starch grains are of medium size, in shape round, irregular or hemispherical, or even 2 or 3-sided; single and sometimes compounded of 2 or 4 starch grains. Some of the grains possess a distinct cross-cleft or a stone-like nucleus; in others, however, the stratifications are scarcely apparent. With sulphuric acid alone large numbers of prismatic crystals are produced. With sulphuric acid and bichromate of potassium a greenish coloration is immediately produced, remaining sometimes 24 hours or more" (Kilmer, in Belladonna).
Chemical Composition.—The chief and most interesting constituent of belladonna is the alkaloid atropine (C17H23NO3) (see Atropina), first obtained in crystalline condition from the root by Mein and from the herb by Geiger and Hesse (Pharmacographia). On the history and constituents of this plant Dr. Kilmer, the editor of "Belladonna" (Johnson & Johnson), offers the following data herewith:
"Galen is the first author who refers unquestionably to the mydriatic action of two species of Solanaceae. Dr. Ray, in 1686, reported the case of a lady who had placed a belladonna leaf upon a small ulcer beneath the eye and afterwards was annoyed by an excessive dilatation of the pupil. Evers independently, in 1773, discovered the mydriatic power of belladonna. These writers were followed by Davies (1775) and Loder (1796). After this the specific action of belladonna, upon the eye became generally accepted. Runge, in 1819, approximately isolated the alkaloid of hyoscyamus and called it koromegyn (meaning magnifier of pupil). In 1830 the apothecary Mein isolated the alkaloid atropine from the root. Independently Geiger and Hesse, in 1832, isolated the crystallized alkaloid from the herb, while Liebig, in 1833, determined its chemical formula"—(Belladonna).
The main constituents of belladonna are as follows: Atropine (C17H23NO3) (see Atropina). Hyoscyamine (C17H23NO3), sometimes the principal constituent of belladonna root. It is convertible into atropine by heat; conversion also takes place in the plant itself. Atropamine (C17H21NO2) is identical with the apoatropine obtained by Pesci, in 1882, by the action of nitric acid upon atropine (O. Hesse, 1893). It is convertible into belladonnine by the action of HCl or KOH. Belladonnine (C17H21NO2) (Hübschmann) is an amorphous alkaloid, and is obtainable from hyoscyamine or atropine by heating these alkaloids from 120° to 130° C. (248° to 266° F) for several hours. By raising the temperature gradually, transformation takes place with products resulting in the following order: Hyoscyamine, atropine, atropamine, and belladonnine. Ɣ Hyoscine (Cl7H17NO4), discovered by Ladenburg in Hyoscyamus niger, occurs in belladonna root in small amounts (Schuette, 1892). O. Hesse, in 1893, showed its identity with scopolamine, an alkaloid obtained from the root of Scopolia atropoides, B. and P. (S. carniolica, for which E. Schmidt, in 1892, had found the formula, C17H21NO4. Earlier analyses show the presence in belladonna of chrysatropic acid (Kunz), the concentrated solutions of which show green and blue fluorescence, atrosin, a red-coloring principle in the root (Hübschmann), succinic acid in the herb, malates, and oxalates, combined with sodium, potassium and magnesium salts, gum, wax, asparagin, chlorophyll (in the leaves), starch, and albuminous bodies.