Khellin in the Treatment of Angina Pectoris

KHELLIN§ is a pure crystalline derivative of Ammi visnaga, a plant that grows wild in the eastern Mediterranean countries, and that is known in Arabic as "khella." The medicinal properties of this plant have apparently been known since ancient times, and a decoction of its seeds has been used by the native populations for many centuries as an antispasmodic for the treatment of renal colic. However, the first recorded pharmacological study of Ammivisnaga is that of Mustapha,1 who in 1879 isolated the chief active principle, khellin, in impure form. Since that time, an extensive series of investigations2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 has clearly . . .