Ergot extract, liquid

After the liquid ammonia has stood on the ergot for an hour or two, it is drawn off. Then another 25 pounds or so of liquid ammonia are added to the already once-extracted ergot, and allowed to stand for another hour or two, and drawn off, and may be added to the first liquid ammonia extract obtained. If desired, the extraction may be carried further, by further treatment of the already twice-extracted ergot with liquid ammonia, but usually two or at most three extractions are sufficient to obtain as great a yield as is economically practical. 

To 20 pounds of ergot, conveniently whole and unground but not necessarily so, are added about 25 pounds of liquid ammonia. The ergot thus treated may be used directly as obtained on the market, but preferably 1 first defat it, as by extraction with gasoline, as I find that that gives an increased yield but such preliminary defatting operation is not essential. 

The extraction of the ergot with the liquid ammonia requires no special apparatus. It may be carried out in any ordinary open-top percolator or other receptacle, but desirably one of the usual type of percolator which is provided with a valved opening at the bottom for drawing off the extract. The evaporation of some of the ammonia keeps the remainder of the ammonia sufficiently cold to remain liquid, so that no increase in pressure beyond atmospheric pressure is needed to maintain such liquidity. The walls of the percolator or other container are conveniently heat-insulated, in any usual manner, to minimize absorption of heat from, the surrounding atmosphere and thus to minimize the loss in volume of liquid ammonia by reason of evaporation. The apparatus is desirably located under a hood, to dispose of that portion of the ammonia which evaporates. 

The combined liquid-ammonia extract, which is reddish-brown in color, contains a physiologically active principle (or principles) of the ergot. If desired, this combined extract may be simply evaporated to dryness, to give a solid residue which contains such active principle (or... 

The solid residue thus obtained from 20 lbs. of ergot ordinarily weighs about 2 lbs. It is very crude, and contains much contaminant. But it can be used to make a liquid extract highly potent in ergot activity, and physiological assay by the usual methods, such as the cock s-comb method (the official method of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, Tenth) Decennial Revision, 1926) and the Broom and Clark method, shows that the yield in units of potency is ordinarily close to the full activity of the original ergot. 

The ether solution contains the active principle (or principles) of the ergot, but also contains some of the contaminants that were present in the liquid-ammonia solution. For further purification, I extract the ether solution with weakly acidulated water, desirably several times. While other acids may be used for acidulating the water, I prefer tartaric acid, about 10 grams of it in a liter of water for the first extraction and usually only about one or two grams of it in 200 to 500 cc. of water for the second and third extractions. The acid neutralizes the alkaloidal bases present in the ether solution, to form salts which are soluble in water but insoluble in ether so that these salts are taken up by the water. These salts include the active principle. On standing, the water and the ether separate and the water may be drawn off through a separatory funnel. 

To begin the sterile culture portion of ergot farming, a series of 2000 ml conical flasks are filled about one inch deep with nutrient broth made by diluting malt extract with 5 volumes of water. Malt extract is found at stores and outlets catering to the home brewer. It comes in cans, and is a very thick liquid. Avoid the crystalline version of malt extract. The tops of the conical flasks are loosely plugged with cotton, and then sterilized in a pressure cooker at 15 lbs. pressure for a little over Vi hour. 

Extraction of Ergot Alkaloids from Liquid Cultures of Penicillium commune... 

Ware GM, Price G, Carter L, Eitenmiller RR (2000) Liquid chromatographic preparative method for isolating ergot alkaloids, using a particle-loaded membrane extracting disk. J AOAC Int 83 1395-1399... 

Liquid Extract of Ergot, B.P,C, 1954. Prepared by percolation of ergot with tartaric acid and diluted alcohol. 

Assay for ergometrine. Proceed as directed in the N.F. assay for ergo-met rine under Ergot. Express the concentration of ergometrine as mg of ergometrine maleate in each ml of Liquid Extract of Ergot. 

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