Coffea Tosta - General symptoms - T.F. Allen

GENERAL

General

Preparation, Infusion of the well-roasted berries. A decoction of raw Coffea Cruda ^Coffea furnishes a preparation very rich in Coffeïnum.

an infusion of the roasted Coffea Cruda ^Coffea contains some Coffeïnum (the amount varying with the roasting), but much of the alkaloid is changed into "Coffeone" (to which the aroma is due). This Coffeone is obtained free from the alkaloid by distilling an infusion of roasted Coffea Cruda ^Coffea.

some effects of this distillate are here included.

She recognized those about her, and was aware of the cause of her sufferings, but still her sensorium was evidently not quite clear.

and next day she retained only a very obscure recollection of what had occurred. Plain or connected answers were not obtainable from her, and only after much effort and persuasion would her attention be engaged at all, she continuing to incessantly repeat the same phrases in the most dolorous tone,.

The preceding tracings plainly indicate quite a marked decrease of the pulse, with diminished extent of oscillation, and a consequent increase of arterial tension. They are similar to the tracings taken by Meplain ten or fifteen minutes after drinking the cold infusion.

but are still more strongly marked under the action of a simple decoction of the unroasted berry. When, however, the tracings are taken a few moments after drinking an infusion of black coffee, especially when well roasted and of a strong aromatic odor, the peculiarities of the pulse are directly opposed to those presented above. In this case, they indicate more or less excitement of the circulation, as shown in the tracings by the more extended oscillations, by the greater abruptness and height of the ascending line, by its sharp angle at the top, and by the jerking contour of the descending line. This important fact, first noticed by Meplain, is accounted for by him as follows. He distilled a litre of a strong infusion of roasted coffee, and obtained therefrom about 200 grammes of a liquid which, in addition to the aromatic smell and taste of coffee, possessed a slightly acrid taste and decided empty rheumatic odor. After taking this, he observed the pulse to rise from 64 to 72. Hence he inferred that the symptoms of vascular excitement (quickened circulation, diminished vascular tension, flushed face, etc.), which appear immediately after drinking an infusion of black coffee, are effects of the Coffeone. Our own investigations have led us to accept implicitly the ideas of Meplain, as to the part played by Coffeone in inducing the primary effects on the circulation experienced after drinking a strong infusion of roasted coffee. As we ascertained from the experiments we instituted, in order to test the soundness of our colleague's opinion, the changes in the circulation which are among the effects of coffee depend not only on the length of time which may have elapsed since the taking of the beverage before the observations are made, but also on the more or less thorough roasting of the berry. Thus we may account for the astonishing diversities in the opinions expressed by different authorities as to the effects of coffee on the circulation, and especially on the pulse, which latter, according to some (Trousseau, Deltel, Penilleau, Prompt), is increased, while according to others (Rognetta, Caron, Jomaud) it is lessened, in frequency. We remark, in the first place, that those writers who have observed an acceleration of pulse after drinking an infusion of coffee, have taken it either warm, or with the addition of chicory (which Jomaud has shown to be a violent vascular irritant), or else they have made their observations immediately after partaking of the beverage. Those, on the other hand, who have observed the pulse to become slower, have chiefly used in their experiments coffee raw, or but slightly roasted, or else have waited at least ten or fifteen minutes after drinking it, before examining the pulse,.