Aconite

“ Aconite root has of late been imported into London from India in considerable quantity, and been offered by the wholesale druggists as Nepal Aconite. [60] It is of very uniform appearance, and seems derived from a single species, which we suppose to be A. ferox. The drug consists of simple tuberous roots of an elongated conical form, 3 to 4 inches long, and 1⁄2 to 13⁄4 inches in greatest diameter. Very often the roots have been broken in being dug up and are wanting in the lower extremity: some are nearly as broad at one end as at the other. ”

“ Commercial aconitine is a mixture of the above alkaloids. The total yield of basic substances afforded by aconite root is not more than about 0·07 per cent.
The other constituents of aconite root are but imperfectly known. In the preparation of the alkaloids, a dark green mixture of resin and fat is obtained; it is much more abundant in European than in Nepal aconite (Groves) . The root contains Mannite, as proved by T. and H. Smith (1850) , together with cane-sugar, and another sugar which reduces cupric oxide even in the cold. Tannin is absent, or is limited to the corky coat. ”

“ MONK’S HOOD.—Aconitum has two English names, Monk’s Hood and Wolf’s Bane. The former has been given it from the resemblance of the plant’s upper sepal to the cowl of a monk. The latter is of great antiquity, being the same as that of the Anglo-Saxon. By the ancients (who were unacquainted with mineral poisons) the Aconite was regarded as the most virulent of all poisons, and their mythologists declare it to be the invention of Hecate, who caused the plant to spring from the foam of the many-headed Cerberus, when Hercules dragged him from the gloomy regions of Pluto. ”

“ The root of aconite also bears some resemblance to that of the horseradish; care should, therefore, be taken to prevent accidents arising from mistaking the two roots. In the case of aconite, the root externally is of a dark-brown colour, tapering in shape, and bitter when first tasted. The root of the horseradish has a less tapering form, its odour and taste are at first pungent and acrid, and its external colour is a dirty white. ”

“ Produced a weed by sorcerers renowned
The strongest constitution to confound—
Called Aconite, because it can unlock
All bars, and force its passage through a rock.” With this venomous plant the ancients were wont to poison their arrow-heads when engaged in war and also when in pursuit of wild beasts. As a poison, it had a sinister reputation. Ovid was of opinion that the Aconitum derived its name from growing on rocks almost barren; and he describes, in his ‘Iron Age,’ the step-dame occupied in preparing a deadly potion of this plant:—
“Lurida terribiles miscent Aconita novercæ.” ”

“ As garden plants the aconites are very ornamental, hardy perennials. They thrive well in any ordinary garden soil, and will grow beneath the shade of trees. They are easily propagated by divisions of the root or by seeds; great care should be taken not to leave pieces of the root about owing to its very poisonous character.
Chemistry.—-The active principle of Aconitum Napellus is the alkaloid aconitine, first examined by P. L. Geiger and Hesse (Ann., 1834, 7, p. 267) , Alder Wright and A. B, Luff obtained apoaconitine, aconine and benzoic acid by hydrolysis ”

“ In 1905, Dunstan and his collaborators discovered two new aconite alkaloids, indaconitine in ``mohri'' (Aconitum chasmanthum, Stapf) , and bikhaconitine in ``bikh'' (Aconitum spicatum) ; he also proposes to classify these alkaloids according to whether they yield benzoic or veratric acid on hydrolysis (Jour. Chem. Soc., 1905, 87, pp. 1620, 1650) .
From the root of Aconitum Napellus are prepared a liniment and a tincture. The dose of the latter (Brit. Pharmacop.) is of importance as being exceptionally small, for it is not advisable to give more than at most five drops at a time. ”

“ Nearly every homœopathic remedy is a compound, and consists of two or more elementary substances. But if you had a simple elementary substance, how could you administer it by itself alone? Say, for instance (which is not a fact) , that aconite is a simple elementary substance, and you wish to give the patient one drop of the thirtieth attenuation of this drug in a spoonful of water—you give the patient aconite and carbonate of lime at the same time, and the quantity of lime in the spoonful of water exceeds the quantity of aconite more than a million of times. ”

“ His chief work was his college essay on the 'Physiological and Medicinal Properties of Aconitum Napellus,' Lond. 1845, which led to the introduction of a tincture of aconite of uniform strength known as Fleming's tincture. Having spent some years at Cork as professor of materia medica in the Queen's College, he went in 1858 to Birmingham, where he held the honorary office of physician to the Queen's Hospital until his retirement through ill-health in 1873. ”

“ Cullen reprobated its use. Forms of Exhibition. It is seldom given in substance, but in the form of tincture or extract; or in that of decoction, made with two drachms of the root to a pint of water. Dose of the powdered root, grs. x to ℈j; of the decoction, f℥j. Officinal Preparations. Tinct. Hellebori Nigri. L.E.D. Extractum Hellebori Nigri. E.D. Adulterations. The roots of the poisonous aconites are often fraudulently substituted; this is easily discovered, for the aconite is lighter coloured than the palest specimens of black hellebore; it is safe therefore to choose the darkest. ”

“ In the early stage of this disease, give the first two days ten drops of tincture of aconite, or bryonia, in a little water, every six hours; after which give a pail of water to drink, and, once a day, 1 oz. spirits of nitre, or 2 drams extract of belladonna; and give in the feed, three times a day, one of the following powders: gentian root, saltpetre, and anise seed, of each 1 oz.; sulphate of quinine, 1 dram; mix, and divide into eight powders. The throat should be bathed with mustard and vinegar; or with linseed oil, 3 oz., spirits of hartshorn, 1 oz. ”

“ I'd scorn it, and I never break my word,—but still, look at truth's reward,—here! the home of an honest man, and there!' he pointed towards the castle. 'Ah! forgive me, Mary, stupid dolt, that I am.'
'You have not hurt me, Edward, but must never think honesty and truth has no reward even on earth; a good conscience is a blessing none can take away from us, and there is hope in Heaven.'
'There had need be, Mary,—I won't contradict you, though I don't know much about it. ”

“ The strength (richness in aconitia) varies considerably with the time of the year. 1 oz. of the fresh root contains 1⁄4 to 3⁄4 gr. of aconitia; 1 lb. of the dried English root contains from 12 to 36 gr. (Herapath) . The leaves possess the greatest activity just before flowering; the root, after it. The root is at all times fully six times as strong as the leaves or herb. The wild plant contains much more aconitia than that which is cultivated. The herb, and all its preparations, lose their efficacy if long kept. The powder, more particularly, cannot be relied on. ”

“ Chemical Composition—According to Wright and Luff (see previous article) the roots of Aconitum ferox contain comparatively large quantities of pseudaconitine with a little aconitine and an alkaloid, apparently non-crystalline, which would appear not to agree with the analogous body from A. Napellus. ”

“ Preparations of the leaves are not official in the U. S. P. The root is five times stronger than the leaves.
Constituents.—The alkaloid representing the action of the drug is aconitine, which is precipitated by ammonia from an aqueous solution of an alcoholic extract of the root of various species. It is a colorless, crystalline or amorphous, gray powder, almost insoluble in water, and soluble in 22 parts of alcohol, in 44 parts of ether and 1 part of chloroform. Its salts are soluble in water. Aconitine or its solutions, unless very dilute, are too poisonous to be tasted. ”

“ CHAPTER XVI SAINT THOMAS AQUINAS Long before Saint Francis's death, in 1226, the French mystics had exhausted their energies and the siecle had taken new heart. Society could not remain forever balancing between thought and act. A few gifted natures could absorb themselves in the absolute, but the rest lived for the day, and needed shelter and safety. So the Church bent again to its task, and bade the Spaniard Dominic arm new levies with the best weapons of science, and flaunt the name of Aristotle on the Church banners along with that of Saint Augustine. ”

“ Opposition will avail thee nothing, and for thy grandfather and cousin it will mean suffering and privation beyond their wildest dreams. Every Acadian is rewarded according to his loyalty to the king and to the true church. Hitherto I have spared them, but it is I alone who have the ordering of their going, and of the new home to which they journey. The gran’-père is old, Margot more tender than is the habit of Acadian maidens, yet must the church not stay her hand when the saving of souls is in the balance. She must make example, she must discipline. ”

“ Of all your so-called learned doctors—the most of them but peasants, trembling, as they roast the chestnuts on winter nights, at their grandame’s tales—there is one I do revere, Thomas Aquinas, for he is deeply read in the divine Aristotle, and, to boot, he knows the human heart. Well, your Thomas Aquinas tells of a sin which he calls ‘morose delectation,’ which is the sour pleasure—a dried olive to palates too jaded now for sweet figs—that monks and nuns and women past their prime find in the viewing of, or the hearing of, or the thinking of the bodily joys of the young and lusty. ”

“ Turnbull has succeeded in producing, but with difficulty and in small quantity, an aconitine possessing in perfection all the active properties of the plant. It produces numbness of the tongue when applied to it, and is said to contract the pupil, whereas Geiger's aconitine dilates it. In obtaining the aconitine of Turnbull, much appears to depend on the freshness of the plant; and the alkaloid itself is easily decomposed, especially by alkalies.
"As a remedy in neuralgia and similar painful and obscure diseases, the aconitine of Turnbull possesses most valuable powers. ”

“ We have before us its hydroiodate, forming colourless crystallized scales, which we find to be very sparingly soluble in cold alcohol or water. At boiling temperature the hydroiodate of atisine is readily dissolved; the aqueous solution on cooling yields beautiful crystals. They agree, according to Dunin, with the formula C46H74N2O4. HI + OH2; this chemist has also shown atisine not to be poisonous. The absence in the drug of aconitine is proved by medical experience, [69] and fully confirmed by the absence of any acridity in the root. ”

“ Acota, perfectly aware of what was intended, laughed in his sleeve, and thanked Allah for this fortunate discovery; he crawled away on his hands and knees, so as not to be perceived, and hid himself, with his cloak and mandolin, watching in turn the motions of the others—and thus did all parties watch until the sun descended behind the blue hills which divided the kingdom of Souffraria from that of the other kingdom, which my treacherous memory has dared to forget in your highness’s sublime presence. ”

“ Taken in the hand, the sea-anemone imparts a slippery feeling, and it seems to have the consistency of leather. To get at its precise form, look at the cut given of Actinia rosea, a British species. Now, please follow closely our description a little while. As the actinia erects itself, attached to a rock or stone, it looks like one of the purses formerly fashionable, if one such could be made to stand of itself erect, and have the frill around the upper end to project in a circle. ”

“ Further, the words spoken in the consecration of the bread are not more efficacious than those spoken in the consecration of the wine, since both are Christ's words. But directly the words are spoken---"This is My body," there is perfect consecration of the bread. Therefore, directly these other words are uttered---"This is the chalice of My blood," there is perfect consecration of the blood; and so the words which follow do not appeal to be of the substance of the form, especially since they refer to the properties of this sacrament. ”

“ But all accidental forms act instrumentally in virtue of the substantial form as the principal agent. Therefore, since the substantial form of the bread and wine does not remain in this sacrament, as was shown above (Q. 75, A. 6) , it seems that the accidental forms which remain cannot act so as to change external matter.
Obj. 3: Further, nothing acts outside its species, because an effect cannot surpass its cause. But all the sacramental species are accidents. Therefore they cannot change external matter, at least as to a substantial form. ”

“ Nevertheless, lest the Church be deprived on that day of the fruit of the Passion offered to us by this sacrament, the body of Christ consecrated the day before is reserved to be consumed on that day; but the blood is not reserved, on account of danger, and because the blood is more specially the image of our Lord's Passion, as stated above ( [4700] Q [78] , A [3] , ad 2) . Nor is it true, as some affirm, that the wine is changed into blood when the particle of Christ's body is dropped into it. Because this cannot be done otherwise than by consecration under the due form of words. ”

“ Many, in the case of those who are thus affected from a cold cause, apply, after the acme, mustard with dried figs and the other rubefacients, but some the preparation from cantharides. But these things prove injurious afterwards, unless one use the emollient applications, such as that from fuller’s herb, the one called Pyxis, that of Basilius, that from the fir-tree, that from the poplar, those called Promium and Lysiponium, and the stronger of the Acopa: in which cases sympathetic affections of the nerves and impaction of the humours particularly take place. ”