XXI.—Strophanthus hispidus: its Natural History, Chemistry, and Pharmacology

Abstract

The preliminary notices published by me in 1870 and 1872, on the action and chemistry of Strophanthus, indicated that it was likely to prove of value as a therapeutic agent; and so early as the year 1874, I had applied the substance in a few cases to the treatment of disease. Before sufficient data, however, had been obtained to justify any conclusions regarding its value as a therapeutic agent, the observations were interrupted by my leaving Edinburgh to occupy a public office in England, in connection with which it was impossible to conduct observations on the treatment of disease. In 1879, opportunities were again afforded to resume the interrupted observations, and results confirmatory of the anticipations which had been raised by the earlier physiological observations were gradually collected. The publication of a few of these results at the Cardiff meeting of the British Medical Association in 1885 has led to Strophanthus gaining a wide recognition as an important therapeutic agent, and to the production of numerous papers dealing with its botany, chemistry, pharmacology and therapeutics, not only in this country, but also in the continent of Europe and in America.