It has been demonstrated in several investigations that fluorides in vitro have an inhibitory effect on cholinesterases. Biological (MATTHES KOWSKI 1938) as well as biochemical (NACHMANSOHN 1939; MASSART & DUFAIT 1940; AMMON 1943) methods have been used. A review of the literature on this problem is found in AUGUSTINSSON (1948).
Aconitinethe chief alkaloid in Aconitum napellusis rarely used as a therapeutic agent, but poisoning from overdosage of this highly toxic alkaloid is occasionally encountered. Fatal poisoning has been seen after doses of about 2 mg. Aconite tincture and the tuberous root of the plant (tuber aconiti) have likewise been known to cause poisoning. The very small amounts of alkaloid present in the various tissues together with the unstable character of the substance give rise to special problems of isolation and identification in aconitine poisoning.Lappaconitinethe chief alkaloid in Aconitum septentrimle constitutes about 80% of the total alkaloid in the root. The plant is common in the inner parts of the Scandinavian peninsula and occasionally causes poisoning in cattle. Lappaconitine is less toxic than aconitine, but is present in considerably higher concentrations in the plant. The dried root of Aconitum septentriomle contains up to 5.8% alkaloids (JERMSTAD and BRISEID JENSEN 1951), while the total alkaloids in the root of Aconitum napellus constitute 0.75 to 1%. A specific chemical method of identifying lappaconitine does not seem t o have been described in the literature. Investigations into the toxicity of the alkaloids in Aconitum septentriomle have been of an orientating character (ROSENDAHL 1895). It was, therefore, a matter of interest to
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