A CONTRIBUTION TO THE PHARMACOLOGY OF NARCOTINE

¹ From the Department of Pharmacology, Cornell University Medical College, New York City

1 Certain of the solubilities of narcotine have been determined.

2. No decomposition of narcotine in aqueous solutions occurred in periods up to six months.

3. No decomposition occurred when narcotine in 10 per cent solution of sodium hydrate, or in 2 per cent hydrochloric acid, was heated on a boiling water bath for one hour.

4. The toxicity of narcotine for the cat varies with the rate of intravenous injection.

5. It is eliminated rapidly from the blood stream following its intravenous injection, after which it is fixed (at least temporarily) in various tissues including the lungs, liver and kidneys of the cat.

6. Only traces of narcotine are eliminated in the urine of the cat following the intramuscular injection of large doses.

7. The results of our experiments afforded no evidence that narcotine exerts any effect on the action of equal doses of morphine.