Antidotes. See Aconite.
ACONITIC ACID. (Identical with Pyrocitric Acid.) An acid extracted by Peschier from aconitum napellus, and by Bracconnot from equisetum fluviatile. It exists in these plants chiefly in the form of aconitate of calcium.
Properties. A white, colourless, semi-crystalline mass.
ACONITINA. See Aconitia.
ACONITINE. See Aconitia.
ACONI′TUM. [L.] Aconite. The pharmacopœial name of aconitum napellus(see below).
Aconitum Ferox. (Ind. P.) Habitat. Temperate and sub-Alpine Himalaya, at 10,000 to 14,000 feet elevation, from Gurhwal to Sikkim.
Officinal part. The dried root (Aconiti ferocis Radix), in common with those of other Himalayan species, viz., aconitum napellus, a. palmatum, and a. luridum, constitutes the drug well known in the bazaars of Upper India under the Hindostani name of Bish or Bikh.
It occurs in the form of tuberous roots of a more or less conical form, from two to three inches in length, and from half an inch to one inch in thickness at their upper end. They have usually a shrunken appearance, and are covered with a dark shrivelled bark; fracture shining and resinous; sometimes waxy, varying in colour from pale to deep brown. Some specimens are white and spongy; and these, it is asserted, are superior in activity to the more compact kinds. Inodorous; taste at first slightly bitter, leaving a peculiar sense of numbness on the tongue and fauces. Active principle, aconitia.
Medical Properties and Uses. Similar to those of aconitum napellus of Europe. Preparations. This root may be advantageously used for the manufacture of aconitia, the proportion of this alkaloid being much larger than in the European drug; and also for the preparation of Linimentum Aconiti. From its greater activity, however, it is unsuited for the preparation of this tincture, which is intended for external use.