Santoninum

{The active prineiple of Wommeed.)

BoTABiCAL Descrittion SantoDinum. Santonin, or Santiminic acid, is a crystalline principle, oljtainecl tVom Lenant Wonaaeed, or Ailemisia contra, which istliesanieaathe "Cina" of uur Materia ATedica. It occurs in colorless, pearly, four^sided ortliorLombic tables, soluble in from four to five thousand parts of cold and two hundred and fifty parts of boiling water; freely soluble in alcobol and cbloroform; moderately 30 in cold ether; insoluble, or nearly so, in glycerine.

It has a neutral rea«tinn, but unites with alkalies to form salts, and hence is freely soluble in alkaline Bolutions. On exposure to light, the colorless crystals of Santonin acquire a golden-yellow tint. If this change is a chemical, and not a mechanical one, the alteration must be very slight, since, according to Kruss, the yel- low ciystals conduct themselves in their chemical relation precisely as do the colorless crystals, aad are precipitated bj' the addition of acids to their alkaline solutions, as colorless crystals.

Opficin Ai, Pbbp ARAT10H8.— Tr i turati 0 a s.

ANALoauES — ArtemiHa, Chenopodium, Oureuiita, Oina, Felin raa*., Gelteminitan, Kouiio, Spigelia, Teucrium.

ULtrntal Sphere. *Light febrile paroxysms, with delirinm.

* Wandering delirium, with great agitation.

* Depression of spirits, and inability to follow his work.

* Epileptiform convulsions. Confused state of the mind. Dizzy feeling, lassitude, prostration.

Hot perspiration on the occiput; more clammy in front; head veiy hot.

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568 SAMTONtKE.

AbiKjrmal feelings and pains in tlie head. ° Brain sjinptoms, simulating hydrocephalus, when caused bj worms. {Hale)

Yellow appears red; yellow-sight in all; violet-sight in all;

Quite different is tie next higher degree of iutflxication. The subject of it is then unable to distingaish colors which in Uie healthy make a different, even aa opposite Impression, such as lilac and darlt gray, or violet and black; he not only confounds these colors with one another, bgm n m ktom The colors which are

n hhdwadfl degree of purity and

^ h wh h h w un te b h same for each color,

ha d te n b m uremont the purity and

nghw rs nsmli e can with perfect cer-

anadp nd pr- b ation wilJi which two

1 f all the other colors these two may be confounded. Tliere is hardly a single color which can with certainly be distinguished from the rest; each one resembles an endless number of others; and thus the inilniiehost of colors which a healthy person can appreciate is reduced to an extremely small number. Tliis stage manifests itself in lie fact that all colors, the darker tliey really are, so much the more resemble a tint between violet and ultramarine, with the determination of which tints all other changes of color are determined alike.

The yellow-sighted cannot at all perceive certain impressions of light; violet rays are no more to him than the in- visible thermic and actinic rays; he is color-blind. The violet-sighted, on the contrary, sees every color, is susceptible to every stimulus of light; but ever so many of lliem invariably make the very same impression. He is not colar-bUtid; he merely confoaruU the colors. In one of my early experiments, when I knew nolliing beyond yellow-sight, my colleague went, when tlie narcotism seemed to have disappeared (s. e., when he had got med to U), to dine at a restaurant.

The experiment waa over and forgotten;

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BAHTONINB. o69

during lively conversation in a friendly circle, in comes tLe waiter with yellow egg soup. It smelt peculiar to Aim, and looked quite red, Perfetitly shocked, he sent the soup hack as entirely spoilL To the amusement of his friends, he persisted obstinately in asaeverationa which to tliem were inexplicahle. They came Xi words, and my liot-headed colleague left the good-for-nothing eating house in a pet. No doubt the waiter thought lie ■was " not all there." Now we know that in this delusion tlie first symp- toms of olfactory hallucination and vioieUsight were setting in, of which, then, ao one as yet dreamed.

It is tJie opinion of Dr. Koce, of Berlin, who has made the most eslensive experiments with Santonine, that the yarious colors whicJi corer the field of vision is " not due to any actual change in the color of the media, hy which the rays of ligJit reach the retina, but to an altered pereeplwity in t!i» nernoua organ ofviaion, itself." If such is the case, the Santonine ought to prove curative in some internal disorders of the eye, when such disorders show similar symptoms. As might have been expected, it has been found

curative in some cases of defective vision and weakness of sight. Dr. ,

in the reports of an English hospital, records its curative action in " " Wervous failure of sight."

It was also used in nine cases of

° Cataract. Of these uine cases, foxi/r were cured, and the rest not benefitted.

Very offensive smell experienced; hall nei nations of smell. Bluish pallor around the nose; pinched expression of nose. * Intense itching of the nose; the child ruba and bores into the nostrils.

■pace. Face pnffy and congested; convnlsive movements of the face

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* Choking feeling in the throat, very severe at times; complete

loss of appetite.

* -Dry, hacking cough, tickling in the larynx and windpipe. Continual tliirst.

abnormal vision. ° Vomiting from worms — lumbrici, etc.

* Najisea, which disappears atter eating.

Severe pain in the stomach and side, with vomiting.

Kausea, increased after eating; gastric derangement.

Dull, throbbing pains, worse on stooping.

Pressure in pit of stomach, with distension and tendernesB.

Vomiting, purging and prostration.

Dull pain in the pit of the stoiriach.

" floated stomach, in worn] affections.

worm affections. " Verminous affectioThs, {worms in the intestines, etc.)

[Santonine is one of tLe moat powerful parasificideg, and will destroy tlie life of almost any epeciea of intestinal parasite. It seema to have tlie most decided power over Irnitbriei, (long, round worm,) leas on oxyaris, (pin worm,) and leaat on Uenia, (tape worm.)

For the destruction of lumbrici, no better remedy is known. It should be given in two or tJiree grains of the 1-10(A trituration, in a spoonful of

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8ANT0HIKE. 671

In some cases of exywrU, Santonine will prove useful, but it should be injected into the rectum, as well as given by the mouth. It is a late dis- covery tliat if injections of warm lard are used, for a few nights, the pin worms disappear — their propagation is arrested. If a few grains of Santo- nine in the lowest trituration is added to each injection of lard (one-half or one ounce,) the destruction of theae parasites is rendered still more certain, I do not know that this medicine has ever destroyed a toipemoria, although instances may have been placed oa record.

The urine is always colored a peculiar green or orange-green, "Waking up aiiddenly with urgent desire to urinate; a few

Chills and Fever. " Violent fever, with great frequency of the pulse, and dry, burning heat of the skin.

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BT2 santohhtb.

LoweriDg of the pulse

° Worm/ever. ° Eemittent fever, irom worms. {B^ale.)

[All Uie fevers of children are liable to be aggravated by intestinal paia sites. In such cases a few doses of BaniiMijte 1-lOth removes the cause of irritation, after which, other remedies act better, and the fever is now e&aily combatted.]

Tongue. Loaded tongue.

* Tongue deep red, without coating.

* Grinding and clenching of the teeth together during sleep.

GeneralitieB. The following is what happened in thirty cases in whieli Santo- nine was given.

Yellow sight in all, 30

Violet eight, 19

Kausea and vomiting, 14

Dizzy feelings, lassitude, prostration, 9

Visions, 8

Hallucinations of smell, Q

Hallucinations of taste, 5

Abnormal feelings and pains in the head, 8

Lowering of the pulse, 2

{1.) Santonine produces a sort of psrlysis, accompanied by rigidity of the muscles.

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8AEEACENIA ITIRPUKEA. 573

(S.) Its effects ai'e produced in a manner analogous to tlie mode of action

of Atropine and Physostigmine (Calabar bean). (3.) It entirely destroys the irritability of mnaclea, rendering them com-

plelely rigid.

(4) Its tlierapeutical properties deserve more fully to be inquired into.

Ill doses of more than three grains, Santonine soiaetiines occa- sions nausea and vomiting, with abdominal pains, great thirst, giddiness, and profuse diarrhcea. Decidedly poisonous effects sometimes arise from doses which are quite insignificant in comparison with those some experi- menters have taken without serious inconvenience. In one case it is stated that a child eixmontha old and conva- lescent from small-pox, took five grains of Santonic acid, instead of three, which had been prescribed.

It became amaurotic, and did not recover its sight for two montlis. In another case, two grains of this substance were taken at a dose, by a healthy child of two years. In a quarter of an hour it was seized with convulsions, and within one hour it lay unconscious, with a hot head and congested face, the eyes twitching convulsively, the pupils largely dilated and insensible, the mouth foaming, the teeth clenched, the breathing stertorous, and the upper limbs occasionally jerking.

On the morrow, recovery was com- plete. This resembles two cases in which Hoffmann wit- nessed such alarming cerebral symptoms, after the admin- istration of Santoniea, that he was obliged to apply leeches to the temples and cold compresses to the head. These examples are sufficient to illustrate the somewhat uncer- tain operation of Santonic acid, both in degree and in kind, and to suggest caution in its administration.

" Convulsions, when caused by wonns. [It may be found useful in cercbro-spinal convulsions.— ifolB.]

SAEEACENIA PUEPUEEA.

(HunUman'g Oyp, PUcJter Plant.)

BOTABiCAt Desobipmon. — This plant, also known as side-saddle flower,

fly-trap and pitcher plant, is an indigenous perennial and "owes its

strange appearance to a e.nrious pitcher-ahaped metamorphosis of the leaf,

which resembles very mu(,h an old-fashioned side-saddle. Sis of these

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674 8CUTELLAEIA lATEEIFLOEA.

generany belong to each plant. Tlie leaf, which springs from the root, Is formed hy a large hollnw tube, swelling out in the midclle, curved and diminisliing downward, until it ends in a stem, contracted at the mouth, and furnished with a large, spreading, heart shaped appendage at tjie top, Which is hairy williin, the hairs pointing downwai"d, bo as to cause every- thing which falls upon the leaf to be carried toward the petiole. Abroad, wavy wing extends the whole length, on the inside.

These lie upon the ground, with their mouths turned upward, so as to catch the water when it falls. They hold nearly a wineglassfui, and are generally filled with water and aquatic insects, which nndergo decomposition, or a sort of Aiges- tioTi, and serve aa a nutriment to the plant. Tlie stem rises direct from the root; it is round, quite smooth, and bears an elegant, deeply reddish purple, terminal flower, having two flower-cups; the external consisting of three small leaves, the internal of Ave egg-shaped, obtuse leaves, shining, and of a brownie purple.

The blossoms are five, guitar-shaped, obtuse repeat. edly curved inward and outward, and finally inflecteu over the stigma, which is broad and spreading, divided at its margin iulo five bifld lobes, alternating with the petals, and supported on a short cylindrical style; this is surmounted by the stamens, which are numerous, having short threads and large, two-celled, oblong, yellow anthers attached to them, on the under surface. In the yellow-flowered species of the Southern States, the bottle is very long, resembling a trumpet, by which name it is often called

King.

The whole species are water plants, and are found only in wet meadows, wet, boggy places, marshes, mud-lakes, etc., and grow from Labrador to Florida, flowering in June. There are several gpecieg.

Officinai Prepaeations. — Tincture of the root; infusion of the whole

[Tliose who care to consult Houatt's provings and pathogenesis, will find It in Vol. 18, page 70, of Ibe North American Journal of Homceopathy.]

SCnTBLLAEIA LATERIFLORA.

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SCDTELLAEIA LATEBIFLOHi. 5T5

bine color, and are disposed in long, lateral, axillarj racemes, witli ovate, acute, entire, subsessile, distichous bracts, each flower axillary to a bract, and pedunculated. The calj/x has an entire margin, which, after tlie corolla lias fallen, is closed with a helmet-shaped lid. The tube of the corolla is about a quarter of an inch Inng, the upper lip concave and entire, the lower three-!obed, Seeds, four in the closed calyx, oval, verrucose.

Scutellarin, the concentrated preparation, is of a light greenish-brown color, with a faint tea-like odor, and a peculiar, herbaceous, somewhat gritty, resinous, tea-like taste, is insoluble in water, partially soluble in alcohol, and more so in ether.

Ofbtcinal Pbeparations. — Tincture of the plant; dilutions- [8cutel- larin and ila triturations are preferable.]

Abaloctobs.— -ilmfierffrjs, Coff'ea, Ch^imomiUa, Oypripedivm, Ooea, Eupa- toriwm a/roiruiticuia, Ignatia, PatiUinia, Vaierian, Thea, Ztneum, Senecio.

Great fullness and oppression of the head; sensation as if the

entire contents were confined within a place too email. *Hemicrania, worse over the right eye, relieved by moving

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676 SBMPEEVIVCM TKCTOETJM.

Cheat.

A dull pain extending vertically beneath the atemiira.

Oppreesion of the chest, witli a sticking pain in the region of the heart.

Sensation of throbbing about the heart, with flushed face,

" Nervous disorder of the heart, such as irregular action, pal- pitation, tremor, and strange sensations, from emotional excitements (even in organic diseases is palliative). {JTat6i\

Pulse slow and intermitting.

TTrinary Organs.

Difflcnlly in urinating and sharp pains in region of left kidney

* Scanty urine, before the headache; profuse clear urine after.

* Sudden waking up from disagreeable dreams.

* Nightly restlessness; wakefnlness from fi-ightfii] dreams.

* Sleeplessness from pleasant thoughts crowding on the mind.

* Tremuloiisness and twitching of the muscles in various pans

of the body. " Chorea, of a purely nervous origin.

that real hydrophobia has been cured or prevented \-^ the free use of an infusion of Scull-cap. (-/5.) ° Hysteria and hysterical spasmodic affections, (/i^-) ° Spasms and nervous irritation in teething children, or when