The Emmett index. [volume] (Emmett, Idaho) 1893-1925, 1895-06-15
MORPHINE ANTIDOTE.
DR.. mooa's STARTLING PROOF THAT
HE HAS CONQUERED THE POISON
Permanganate OF Potash Demonstrates it'
Mastery over Morphine OF an HquA'
Amount-Poisons, No Matter How Al
ministered, Reach the Stomach

new autldOlc lOr thoip h4Hef 80 -
ing with strychnine, cocaine ana o'ner
poisons. .,.,
his life unon il that the permanganate
will instantly counteract all the poisonous
effects Of morphine. When he took three
grains of the poison, against the protests
Of u musicians. he demonstrated not only
the success of his antidote, which lie took
Immediately afterward, but proved thatit
was new discovery to the medical PROBES
sion. :,
DIR Moor is % years old. He is tall
with n black mustache and a restless, en-
erpetic manner. He has all the enthusiasm
of an inventor. Poisons are his playthings
and experiment his amusement. He Is an
Austrian by birth, studied two years in
Berlin and one in Paris and is graduate
of the College of Physicians and Surgeons
in this city. He has been in practice a III
tie over three years
DIR. Moor was asked how his attention
came to be called to permanganate OF pot
ash. He said it had always been favor
tie with him when as boy he performed
chemical experiments ''It is very pretty
to look at 4" said he Then he took pill
made of the permanganate and put it in
glass of water When he touched it with
spoon, it turned the whole glass to rich
purple color, like that of fine Burgundy.
This showed that the drug, which usually
comes in dark purple, needlelike crystals,
is easily soluble.
81 will show you how it affects NOR
phine," said DR.. Moor. Then he took
little bottle of sulphate of morphine. He
poured out grain of morphine. This he
dissolved in a half glass of water. 1t was
colorless. The reporter, who tasted 1t,
found it intensely bitter. snow watch
the effect" said DR.. Moor. He poured the
colorless morphine solution into the glass
containing the beautiful purple liquid.
The liquid Immediately turned a dirty
black like ink, and the color at once be-
gan to precipitate in fine particles toward
the bottom of the glass.
''Now taste it," said Dr. Moor.
1t was tasteless. The bitterness had all
disappeared, showing that the morphine
had been instantly annihilated by contact
with the permanganate of potash. The
liquid at the top began to get clearer. The
fine black particles in five minutes formed
a thick layer and all the rest looked like
pure water. This residuum is black man
ganese dioxide, harmless substance.
''That is the way it acts in the human
stomach, - said DIR. Moor. 1.-THE morphine
or any of the salts of opium is at once rem
dered harmless by contact with the per-
manganate. The antidote at once seeks
the poison, passing by the other substances.
The soluble salt of morphine is acted upon
by the antidote IS 900 times quicker than
albumen and several thousand times quick
er than pepton."
''How did you find this outi"
experimental upon the white Of egg, :"
said DIR. Moor. "That is pure albumen.
1t is converted into pepton by the action
of pepsin. Pepton is the chief rival Of the
permanganate, because pepton is soluble
in water and permanganate of potash acts
most quickly on soluble substances. You
have seen the demonstration which have
just given.
The effect of the permanganate on NOR
phine is instantaneous, as you see. But
for purposes of calculation | estimate it as
occupying a second. Then | watch the eff
feet of permanganate of potash on white
of egg and calculate the time until the eff
feet is produced 1t is infinitely slower
$4,000 times slower. Thus | knew that the
permanganate would seek the morphine
and not the pepton in the stomach"
but that is only theoretical. Did you
have no practical test before you took the
three grains of morphine YOURSELF" he was
asked.
"Oh, yes" said DIR. Moor. az tried il
on couple of rabbits by hypodermic in
1ections, administering the same quantity
OF morphine to each. In the one which ]
gave the antidote the temperature remain
ed normal. In the other it fell to 10. Then
| began trying it on myself, taking first an
eighth of a grain then a quarter, then a
half, then three-quarters. When took the
antidote, there was no apparent effect
never took as much as three grains at one
time until Igave my demonstration before
the west side German clinic. DR.. Gotthei
was very much frightened. / told him
would just as lief take six grains. Almost
any quantity of morphine would be harm.
less II a similar quantity of the antidots
were taken
Professor Hitzig in Germany year OF
two ago proved that poisons of all kinds
no matter how administered, find theil
way to the stomach. Thus a snake poison
received in the leg or a hypodermic injec
ton of morphine in the arms begins to gei
into the stomach within few seconds
Professor Hitzig found that one-half tn,
poison will get into the stomach within
an hour. The same is true of poisons re
ceived through the stomach, which pas,
back to the stomach again. So it follow,
that permanganate of potash, il admins
tered while person is still alive, begins
at once to destroy the poison. 1t shoule
be administered in successive doses, say a
intervals of 20 minutes. | do not claim
however, that atropine should not also b.
administered hypodermically. Everythin,
should be done to maintain the heart
action
DR.. Moor is hopeful that the power O
the permanganate in killing poison ex
tends TO poisons other than those derive,
from opium. Cocaine is one of the sub
stances with which he is experimenting il
addition to strychnine and atropine. III,
knows from experiment that the effects o
permanganate upon these substances Il
different from that upon morphine and n
the case Of strychnine is very much slower
He said yesterday that he did not know
that it had ever been ascertained WIN
was the active principle Of a rattlesnake'
poison. 81 am going TO experiment witt
the rattlesnake, however" said he. 81
the poison gets into the stomach. Their
ought to be a way of reaching it. as i
: done with morphine. New York World
Booths Retort.
In the days Of his management at IN
Winter garden Edwin Booth received
u 80