192 THE VITAMINES 



crystals with alcohol, the crystalline form changed from spindles to 

 prisms. If these prisms were recrystallized from water, spindles 

 were again obtained. In this experiment, the vitamine was inac- 

 tivated by drying. The adsorption methods were shown to be 

 unspecific. 



OTHEE SOURCES OF SUPPLY 



Hulshoff Pol (I.e. 59 and 504) reported further experiments with 

 theX-acid of Katjang idjoe beans (Phaseolus radiatus) without giving 

 more details on the chemistry of the substance. In 1912, we inves- 

 tigated milk (I.e. 324) with this point in view. As a source of supply, 

 we used a dried milk preparation, sold under the name "Trumilk." 

 This was extracted with alcohol and ether. The combined extracts 

 were concentrated and the residue hydrolyzed with 10 per cent 

 sulphuric acid for 5 hours. In this way, 51 grams of phosphotungstic 

 acid precipitate were obtained from 1398 grams of dried milk. The 

 silver-baryta fraction was prepared from this precipitate in the usual 

 manner. The decomposed precipitate yielded a small amount of 

 crystals melting at 230 C., and was curative for pigeon beriberi. In 

 the same way, it was possible to prepare from 2180 grams dried ox 

 brain (I.e. 324) 220 grams of phosphotungstic acid precipitate, and 

 to obtain a trace of a crystalline substance from the silver-baryta 

 fraction, melting at 203 C. and having curative properties. Voegtlin 

 and Towles (505) investigated extracts of spinal cord and found that 

 autolyzed extracts were more active than natural extracts. . 



From 42 liters of commercial lime juice (I.e. 324), we obtained 1200 

 grams phosphotungstates, from which there resulted 5.9 grams of a 

 vitamine fraction. Although this fraction did not crystallize out, the 

 solution was very curative for pigeon beriberi. From our informa- 

 tion of the vitamines in the above mentioned publication, the 

 presence of vitamine B could indeed be demonstrated, and yet the 

 crystalline substance itself may perhaps have been impure nicotonic 

 acid contaminated with vitamine. 



Sullivan and Voegtlin (506) fractionated wheat chaff and extracts 

 of peas and ox liver. The residues from the respective alcoholic 

 extracts were hydrolyzed with 5 to 10 per cent sulphuric acid for five 

 hours in a stream of CO 2 . The precipitates obtained with phospho- 

 tungstic acid were then decomposed, either directly or after dissolving 

 in 50 per cent alcohol, with neutral lead acetate. After the elimina- 



