On the medical properties of the natural order Ranunculaceae : and more particularly on the uses of sabadilla seeds, Delphinium staphisagria, and Aconitum napellus, and their alcaloids, verateria, sabadilline, delphinia, and aconitine / by A. Turnbull.

  • Turnbull, Alexander, 1794 or 1795-1881.
Date:
1838
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On the medical properties of the natural order Ranunculaceae : and more particularly on the uses of sabadilla seeds, Delphinium staphisagria, and Aconitum napellus, and their alcaloids, verateria, sabadilline, delphinia, and aconitine / by A. Turnbull. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

    9/74
    OF THE NATURAL ORDER RANUNCULACE^E; AXD OF THE ALCALOIDS, VERATRIA, SABADILLINE, DELPHINIA, AND ACONITINE. Of the three plants, whose medicinal properties it is intended to give an account of in the following pages, two, the Delphinium Sluphisugria and the Jiconitum Napellus, belong to the extensive family ranunculacese; and with regard to the third, the plant which yields the Sabadilla seeds, little appears to be known, by which its precise character and situation in botanical arrangements can be determined. It has been supposed to belong to the class Colchicaceap, but. as in some of its medicinal properties it is much more allied to the ranunculacese, it is intended, for the sake of con- venience, to speak of it as belonging to this latter class, until our knowledge of it becomes more definite. The natural family ranunculacese, as a whole, exhibits consider- able uniformity ; but nevertheless, some discrepancy occurs when its parts are more minutely examined. Many of the individuals are acrid and caustic in the highest degree, whilst others are aromatic, as the Nigella Sativa, which in consequence of its taste is some- times used as a pepper. In some again, the properties they possess are owing to an active principle which can be separated by che- mical processes ; whilst in others, as for instance, in almost the whole tribe of ranunculuses, these are destroyed by drying and boiling, or even by simple infusion in water, whilst they are aug- mented by acids, honey, sugar, wine, alcohol, &c* The acrid Cle- matis Vitalba is used as an article of food after being boiled, by the country people in the north of Italy, and the Ranunculus aquaticus is sometimes given to cattle after being deprived of its acrimony by drying. The general properties of the family may be * Decandolle Essai sur les Proprietes Medicales des Plantes.