[586]. Sertuerner at Eimbeck, in Hanover, had at the same time as Derosne and Seguin, obtained these crystalline bodies, (Ann. de Chim. et de Phy. T. v.) but it was not until the year 1817, that he first unequivocally proclaimed the existence of a vegetable alkali, and assigned to it the narcotic powers which distinguish the operation of opium; to this body he gave the name of Morphia, and it appears to be the same as the essential salt noticed by Seguin. The salt of Derosne, now more usually denominated Narcotine, is quite a different principle, although it was constantly mistaken for one of the salts of Morphia, till M. Robiquet (Ann. de Chim. & de Phy. T. v.) pointed out its distinctive properties. It is an azotized substance, crystallizing in beautiful pearly prisms or tables; soluble in fixed oil, and still more so in æther and the acids; insoluble in water, and little soluble in alcohol; destitute of action on the vegetable colours, and incapable of neutralizing acids. There still exists, however, very considerable confusion with respect to this salt, and farther experiments are required to ascertain its chemical nature, as well as its physiological action.
[587]. The discovery of an alkaline body in opium induced the French and German chemists to examine the composition of other active vegetables, with a view to detect the existence of an analogous principle; and their labours have been rewarded with unexampled success. They have accordingly obtained Strychnia from the nut of the Strychnos nux vomica;—Brucia from the bark of the Brucea Anti-dysenterica (False Angustura Bark) Veratria from the Veratrum album, V. Sabadilla and Colchicum Autumnale;—Cinchonia from the bark of the Cinchona Oblongifolia (Red Bark);—Quina (or Kina) from that of the Cinchona Cordifolia (Yellow Bark);—Emeta from the Callicocca Ipecacuanha;—Delphia, from the Delphinium Staphisagria;—Picrotoxa from the Menispermum Cocculus;—Solana from the Solanum Nigrum, and S. Dulcamara; Gentia, from Gentiana lutea;—Atropia from the Atropa Belladonna;—Hyoscyama, from Hyoscyamus Niger. Besides which, Capsicum, Piper nigrum, and Senna, have been said to yield analogous principles of a salifiable character. With respect to most of these alkaline bodies farther experiments are required to establish our confidence; it is more than probable that several of them will turn out to be disguised modifications of each other; it has already been questioned whether Quina and Cinchonia be not varieties of one alkali; indeed it is possible that all these bodies may have the same alkaline base, and that they differ from each other in consequence of their combination with other principles, derived from the vegetable in question, and impressing upon the salt its characteristic virtues; and this idea receives material support from the fact, that they are neutralized by a very small proportion of acid. (See a paper on this subject in the 70th number of the Edinburgh Med. and Surg. Journ.)
They have all many properties in common, such as a degree of bitterness varying in intensity in different species; they are inodorous; are not altered by air or light, but are decomposed by a moderate heat; most of them enter into fusion, but at different temperatures, some for instance at below 212° Fahr. others not until they are about to be decomposed; Hyoscyama will even resist a low red heat. They are very sparingly soluble in water, but they are in general rendered more so by the presence of resinous matter. They are nearly all highly soluble in alcohol. Æther readily dissolves Delphia, Veratria, Emeta, Quina, and Gentia; but Morphia, Cinchonia, and Picrotoxa, are very sparingly soluble: and Strychnia and Brucia are nearly insoluble in it; they combine with the acids; and, in general, form neutral salts; but it appears that Veratria and Emeta always unite with an excess of acid. All the combinations with the mineral acids, excepting the salts of Picrotoxa, are exceedingly soluble in water; and, with the exception of Nitrate of Cinchonia, and all the salts of Veratria, they are crystallizable. The acetates too, with a few exceptions, are also soluble, and they are disposed to form super-salts. All the oxalates, except that of Picratoxa, which is the most soluble of its salts, and all tartrates, are rather insoluble, and have likewise a tendency to unite with an excess of acid. The action of concentrated nitric acid on these alkaline bodies is very peculiar, converting the greater number of them into artificial tannin; but it appears to peroxidate Morphia, Strychnia, and Brucia, rendering them less powerful as salifiable bases, and diminishing or destroying their action on the animal body. See Edinburgh Med. & Surg. Journ. supra citat.
By analysis, with the deutoxide of copper, these alkalies yield carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen; but no azote, unless they have been obtained by precipitation with ammonia, as in the process of Sertuerner.
It would appear that these bodies exist in their native plants, in combination with peculiar acids; some of them are found in the state of Malates.
With respect to their physiological action it may be stated, that they would appear to concentrate in themselves the characteristic properties of the vegetables to which they belong, and yet, although their effects are much greater than those of the undecomposed vegetables, the same quantity of alkali is not so powerful in its pure form, as in its natural state of combination. Thus one grain of morphia produces no more effect than two grains of Turkey opium, which do not contain more than a sixteenth part of the alkali. To explain this loss of efficacy which usually attends our attempts at concentration, the reader is referred to the observations which have been already offered upon this subject in the first part of this work, page 153.
[588]. The manufacture, however, of Indian Opium has been of late years greatly improved by Dr. Fleming, under whose superintendance that important department was placed by the Marquis Wellesley.
[589]. Forty thousand pounds weight of Opium are annually imported into the Port of London.
[590]. It has been stated in the Historical Introduction to this work, (page 8) that the nepenthe, which Helen mixed with wine, and gave to the guests of Menelaus, was probably opium; such was the opinion of Sprengel, expressed in his History of Botany. Other authors have entertained a different belief. Delile, in his “Flora Egyptiaca,” considers it to have been a preparation of hyoscyamus albus. Dr. Christen, in his late elaborate Dissertation on Opium, agrees with Forbes, who states, in his Oriental Memoirs, that in Hindostan Bendsch, i. e. nepenthe is prepared from the cannabis sativa of Linnæus. Linder informs us that bangue is prepared from the dried leaves of the wild cannabis, the smoke of which is said to be more narcotic than even that of opium. There seems, however, to be good reason for supposing that Indian bangue is a compound of several ingredients. Ray says that he learned from Sir Hans Sloane, that the principal ingredient was not hemp, but a plant somewhat like it.
[591]. The operation of Opium is not unfrequently attended with an itching, or sense of pricking of the skin, which is sometimes terminated by a species of miliary eruption.