[f. ERGOT sb. + -INE.] The active principle of ergot of rye.

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1851.  R. Hunt, in Art Jrnl. Catal. Gt. Exhib., iv. p. xv*/1. Sardinia contributes many chemical products … amongst others … ergotine.

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1875.  H. C. Wood, Therap. (1879), 543. In the frog the injection of a gramme of ergotin caused a diastolic arrest of the heart.

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  Hence Ergotinine. Chem. [+ -INE.], ‘an unstable alkaloid existing in very small quantity in ergot’ (Watts).

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1875.  H. C. Wood, Therap. (1879). 541. Of all the substances named, the crystallizable ergotinine of Tauret seems most promising.

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