ERGOT, er'got, according to the United States Pharmacopceia, gis the sclerotium of the fungus Claviceps purpurea replacing the seed of the rye) Thus the Pharmacopceia calls for a certain definite kind of ergot for medicinal use; but there are a number of allied species of para sitic fungi that infest not only the rye, but a number of other grasses; other species of the same genus (Claviceps), and other genera. Both the botanical and physiological relation ships of these forms are close. The ordinary ergot of commerce consists of purplish grain like masses, one-half to three-quarters of an inch long and one-eighth to one-quarter of an inch wide, and somewhat resembling large grains of rye. Microscopically the ergot is made up of the closely matted mycelium of the fungus, which has entirely replaced the cells of the seed.
The fungus is propagated by means of mi nute spores. These are blown about by the wind, or carried about by insects and lodge upon rye or other grasses. They there ger minate and form a more or less viscid yellowish mass filled with spores of another type, the conidia. These in turn may be carried by in sects to other grasses. As the fungus grows and, little by little, replaces the tissue in the grain, there results a brownish to blacicish mass which in different species assumes differ ent shapes. These are collected with the differ ent grasses and may be the cause of various types of poisoning in cattle. The fungus grow ing on rye constitutes the ergot of commerce, which has been used in medicine for many years. The principal sources of ergot at the present time are Spain and Russia.
Chemically considered, ergot is an extremely complex body and it cannot be said that even at the present time a full knowledge of its com position has been gained. It. contains large quantities of an inert fixed oil, a resin and one or two active principles which, from the earliest chemical investigation to the present, have been called by no less than 50 or 60 differ ent names, among these being ergotine, ecboline, ergotin, cornutine, sphacelic acid, ergotic acid, etc. The unsatisfactory condition of organic
drug analysis accounts for these vary.Ing re sults and confusions. The investigations of Kobert (1890) and his students are the first of real merit, and Kobert isolated a body cor nutine to which he ascribed the chief activity of ergot. More recently, however, Jacobi, a student of Schmiedeberg, has isolated two bodies, sphacelotoxin and chrystoxin which are, he claims, the active principles.
Taken internally, ergot has the singular power of stimulating an involuntary muscle, causing it to contract. In this manner it pro duces a number of reactions on those organs which are rich in this type of muscular fibre. Acting on the heart and blood vessels, it con tracts the cardiac muscle and the arterial walls, causing an increase in the force of the heart's contraction and a marked rise in the blood pressure. It also stimulates the unstriped mus cular tissue of the stomach and intestines, oc casionally causing purging with violent peristal sis. The organ in the body containing the greatest amount of unstriped muscular tissue is the uterus and naturally the action of ergot would be most forcibly manifested in this organ. It here causes contractions, the uterus becoming hard and pale and forces the blood out of the uterine blood vessels. During pregnancy the action is much more pronounced, since the uterus is so much more dilated. Ergot has many applications in medicine, but its chief uses are to control blood-pressure and to treat uterine disorders. Ergot is usually given as a fluid extract of ergotin, prepared in several ways, as wine of ergot, etc.