Colchicine

( Chem. ) An alkaloid obtained from, and probably constituting, the active principle of the Colchicum autumn ale. Colchicum, ( kol'tshe -kum.) [After Colchis , its native country.] ( Bot ) A genus of perennial plants, onder Melanthacer. They are indigenous in most parts of N Europe. The name C. is generally applied to the corm or bulb of the Colchicum autumn ale or Meadow Saffron, which is largely collected for medical use. C. bears cro cus- like flowers in autumn, followed in spring by shining sword-shaped leaves. It was much employed for. merly as a diuretic in dropsy; it then fell into disuse, but it has been recently again largely prescribed for the cure of gout, the fact having been ascertained that the cele brated French remedy for gout, called Eau Medic in ale d'Hu ou, was a tincture of C. Col'chis, or COLCHOS, a former country of Asia, to the S. of Asiatic Sarmatia, E. of the Euxine Sea, N. of Armenia, and W. of Iberia. In ancient history it is famous for the expedition of the Argonauts, and for being the birth-place of Medea. It was fruitful in poisonous herbs, and produced excellent flax. In the 15th cent., it was subdivided into several principalities, and is now comprised in the Ru ian govt. of Trans-Caucasus.